Bring on George Washington's Birthday and Cherry Pie!

February 22nd is George Washington's birthday! Ok, so we all know that George Washington was as the first president of the United States (from 1789 to 1797), but do you know the story of George and the Cherry Tree?

Ok, to cut (pardon the pun) a long story short, when George was six years old he was given a hatchet and one day he wandered about his garden and found a cherry tree. He tried the edge of his hatchet on the trunk of the tree and barked it so that it died. His father discovered what had happened to his favorite tree and demanded to know who had cut away the bark. As difficult as it was, George fessed up and said "I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my hatchet". The anger died out of his father's face, and he said: "My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes, though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!"

Ok, so I thought about posting some George Washington DIYs, but I absolutely LOVE all things cherry, so in the spirit of the Cherry Tree story I thought you'd all appreciate some food and some craft!

Cherry Blossom Craft

• Layer a sheet of dark pink paper atop light pink paper.

• Snip out a five-petal flower that's 2 to 4 inches in circumference. Once cut, reposition the dark pink daisy so the petals won't align with the light pink ones.

• Twist the center bottom of the flower, wrap with a 3-inch length of floral wire, and hot-glue onto a bare branch.

• Repeat, varying sizes of flowers so blossoms look realistic.

And also from my favourite website (www.marthastewart.com), a recipe for Cherry Pie!!

Cherry Pie

Ingredients

Serves 10

2 pounds Bing cherries, pitted and halved

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

All-purpose flour, for rolling

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Basic Pie Dough for Sweet Cherry Pie (below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in lowest position. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll one disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and sides of plate (do not stretch dough). Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhand all around. In a large bowl, combine cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; toss until cherries are coated. Pour into prepared bottom crust.

On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll second disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Cut into eight 1 1/2-inch-wide strips; discard the shortest two. Weave strips over filling to form a lattice (see photo, page 28). Using kitchen shears, trim strips so they hang over rim by 1 inch. Tuck strips under rim of bottom crust; press to seal. Crimp with a fork all around the edge.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush lattice with egg wash, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is bubbling rapidly all over, 60 to 70 minutes (tent with aluminum foil when crust starts to brown, about 40 minutes). Transfer pie to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature, at least 3 hours.

Pie Dough

Ingredients

Makes 1 double crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse briefly. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not over-mix.

Divide dough in half, and turn out onto two large pieces of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over each portion of dough; press to shape into two 3/4-inch-thick disks. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days); dough can also be frozen up to 3 months (thaw before using).

On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll one disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and sides of plate (do not stretch dough). Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang all around; refrigerate until ready to use. Reserve and refrigerate remaining disk of dough for top crust.