U-Pick Blackberries

My mom and I bonded while picking blackberries this morning.

It was a gorgeous morning for it- not incredibly hot and there was a slight breeze. Although, because blackberry season here finishes in a week or so, the vines were starting to overtake the blackberry bushes and it was a hunt for the blackberries. But we ended up with 11 pounds of blackberries- so excited!

We are going to put most of them in the freezer, because I have some orders already for my blackberry lemonade in my family, and I was afraid we would run out of our frozen supply before September! But not a threat anymore :)

Does anyone have any good blackberry recipes I should try? I think they are just delicious and want some new ideas.

Foodie Friday

I forgot to post this, but I had a really good TJ Maxx and Marshall's run yesterday! I picked up a sushi recipe book for 75 cents and an Italian stovetop espresso maker for $6. And its pink so it matches my other coffee appliances. I am pretty proud of myself!

I had a busy and wonderfully productive Friday! I woke up and made some really, really easy freezer strawberry jam with my U-Pick strawberries. Couldn't have been simpler :) I haven't tried it yet, but it looks fantastic!

Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam (from a Swap-Bot swap)

Ingredients:

4 cups strawberries, crushed and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch freezer pectin *very important that it is freezer specific*

Mix fruit, sugar, and pectin by hand, gently, for 3 minutes. Let stand for 30 minutes to thicken.

Ladle into 5 8oz  freezer jars (I used plastic Bell ones)

Place in freezer. The jam will last for 1 year frozen or refrigerated for 3 weeks. If it lasts that long... It works the same for a lot of fruit.

I also whipped up some homemade marshmallows yesterday and we made s'mores with them tonight. They didn't brown up really well because they melted really quickly. But the vanilla tasted wonderful with the chocolate and made some pretty tasty s'mores!

I even finished up making my blackberry sorbet. It was tasty and highlighted the freshness of the blackberry perfectly!

Blackberry Sorbet from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

4 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Puree the blackberries in a blender or food processor with the water and sugar.  Press the mixture through a strainer to remove the seeds.  Stir in the lemon juice. 

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

It was a wonderful, food-filled day! Enjoy the recipes!