Life is but a cherry fair ...

Today I got out my special cherry-pitting apron (already covered with indelible splatters of cherry juice) and made cherry compote with the last of the cherries from Céret that I bought at the market last week. Pitting cherries is never quick, but if you have a proper cherry stoner it's quite an enjoyable task.

I absolutely love this recipe. Once cherries get down to 5 euros or so a kilo, I'll buy a 2-kg tray and make a big batch to freeze in small quantities and enjoy through the summer. It's lovely with ice cream, yoghurt, spooned over almond cake ... This evening we had some hot, with little glasses of chilled lemon posset -- gorgeous!