This is a story about life changing cherries. You heard me. Life changing cherries.

My parents came up from Ohio to visit this weekend. We went to *gasp* Ann Arbor. Ohio State folks going to Ann Arbor. Brave move. For those of you not from the Midwest, University of Michigan (in Ann Arbor) and Ohio State are HUGE rivals when it comes to sports. Being that I am not exactly a sports fanatic, this didn’t faze me. However, I must say we did double check our attire to make sure we didn’t have any stray Ohio State gear on before we left. We spent the day walking around Ann Arbor, which is a cute town, and walking around another cute nearby town…eating the whole way, of course.

Actually, the whole weekend mostly consisted of eating at local restaurants and laughing. I think we all ended up stuffed beyond belief from delicious food. I’m pretty sure there are worse things in life. However, since we all love food A LOT but are also trying to eat somewhat healthy, what better place to check out than the local farmer’s market?? Well, actually ended up being markets. We started by going to a farmer’s market we had never been to before thinking it would be wonderful but turned out there were about 5 stands, 2 of which actually had fresh food. So we resorted to another local farmer’s market where they have PLENTY of wonderful options. We are very lucky to have multiple farmer’s markets within close proximity!

Okay. Okay, I’ll get to the point of the story. We picked up some teeny tiny sweet Michigan yellow plums, which were good. BUT, let me tell you. Let me tell you about these scrumptious little deep purple cherries. Now, I don’t like cherries. Not one bit. The cherry on top of my sundae does not make it better. My life was changed when I tried these fresh Michigan cherries. Michigan grows a lot of cherries and blueberries and I’ve always gone for the blueberries. But now, I think I have a cherry addiction…for only these delicious cherries. They taste like candy and make my mouth water. I need one now just thinking of them…

Okay, back. It was delicious, by the way. After trying a few cherries upon our return from the market, I told my husband that we are going back every weekend to buy more cherries from the farmer’s market. I’m pretty sure that is not optional. Perhaps I’ll try some from the store if I get brave but I’m pretty sure nothing can get better than straight from the farmer’s market cherries. So if you’re ever looking for me, check the cherry stand at the farmer’s market. Chances are I’m there salivating. Now I just need to come up with some recipes to use these for! They’ll probably be eaten before that happens though. I think I need to go now to eat a few more cherries to “research” for future recipes. Yeah.

P.S. Moral of this long, rambling story is go to the farmer’s market and try local food! You may be surprised at what you like!