Posts Tagged ‘blackberry’

I love the names of rustic desserts.  I mean, who came up with this stuff?  Pandowdy, buckle, galette, fool, etc.  Pandowdy is such a fun word to say and always makes me think of the phrase ”howdy dudey.”  Huhuhuh…she said doody.  (Anyone else miss Beavis & Butthead?)

Ahem.  Sorry.  Moving on.  So, with my giant bucket of blackberries I’ve made mojitos and a few buckles, which I posted on over the last few weeks.  I also used up a few more cups of berries to make this delicious and gingery pandowdy.  I really enjoy making rustic desserts because they don’t have to be perfect.  They are always going to look homemade and that sort of makes them taste better.  Plus, for someone who can get frustrated easily, rustic means I can succeed.  ”It was supposed to look lop-sided…it was supposed to be broken there.”  Life is much easier this way, trust me.

A pandowdy is basically a pie without a crust on the bottom.  It’s impossible to present nicely on a plate, but man does it taste fabulous!!  Plus it’s really good practice at making and rolling out dough.  Eventually I’ll be ready for pies, but for now I’m sticking with rustic!  It’s safer here in my bubble.

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If you missed my blackberry picking post, check it out here.

After digesting all of my cookbooks, I picked out a few recipes in which to incorporate my gallon of blackberries.  Believe me, a gallon is a LOT.  I scooped out four cups to rinse in the sink and it barely made a dent in my treasure trove.  I decided to make a buckle because I love alliteration and the phrase blackberry buckle made me giggle like a little girl.  I adapted this from a blueberry buckle recipe, but I may make a black and blue buckle next time because it’s so much fun to say.  Come on…say it with me.  Black and blue buckle…practically a tongue-twister.

I made two of these on a Sunday morning and brought them over to my mom and sister.  I’m nice because I share.  Actually, I really just like to bring desserts to Emily because of her husband, Michael.  He has a MAJOR sweet tooth and I really get a kick out of watching his reaction.  Whenever I bring over cookies or dessert, he always peeks under the foil and then turns around and squeals “are these for me?”  Emily will then shriek “NO” and leap across the room to save the dessert from total annihilation.  But, it’s always too late.  The cookie monster has been released!  And while it’s fun to watch him scarf down desserts, I never really know if they’re any good because he seems so torn with each one.  Like for example, I got a text later in the evening after dropping off this buckle for them.  It basically said, “F this dessert…I’ve already eaten half of the pan.”  Yes, Michael, blame the dessert.

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I went on a fun little adventure the other weekend.  My good friends Natalie from Natalie’s Killer Cuisine and Joy from Joylicious invited me to go blackberry picking with them at Duck Creek Blackberry Farm.  They got me all excited about the trip before telling me what time we’d have to leave to make the hour-long drive.  Yeah, they’re sneaky that way…that’s why I love ‘em!  The farm opens at 7:00 a.m. on Saturdays and usually sells out of blackberries by 9:00 a.m.  We knew we’d need to get our tired butts out of bed early to beat the crowd.  And yes, blackberry farms do get a crowd.  We met at a local Starbucks at 6:00 a.m., and let it be known that this Starbucks was not open yet!!  Three early risers with no coffee.  We’re like superhuman or something.  Our mission:  blackberries!!

The vines were filled with huge, juicy berries.  It was so peaceful to be out in the country in the early (not so hot) morning.  The fresh air did me good.  Oh, but I could have done without the bugs.  I don’t live on the 18th floor in the middle of the city because I like bugs.  Small ones I can maybe deal with, but bugs outside of the city are like HUGE.  We’re talking giant yellow and black spiders, wasps, and stink bugs.  I know…I’m making this sound fun, aren’t I?  It really was though, promise.

Along with the bugs, we met some really great people out there picking berries in the early morning light.  We learned that there are lots of u-pick farms in our area.  I’m definitely going to find the peach orchards and blueberry farms next!  We all wandered around talking about what we were going to make with our blackberries.  The possibilities are endless, but most of us wanted dessert.  We were starving around all that fruit with no breakfast in our bellies.

With our buckets full and our foreheads glistening, we said goodbye to the farm and left the country for the bustle of the city.  And when we got back to the Starbucks we found it waiting for us with open arms!  The country was great, but ME NEEDS COFFEE!!

All afternoon I poured over my cookbooks.  I took notes, flagged potential recipes, and listened to my tummy growl for blackberries.  I baked most of the day on Sunday and again on Monday night.  I could have frozen some of the blackberries (and will wish I had in a few months), but I couldn’t resist using them at their freshest.  After baking most of them into rustic desserts (which I’ll feature here in a few weeks time) I used the rest for tasty mojitos.  Craig and I make mojitos a lot because they are so refreshing and crisp.  Plus, rum has no carbs (see, we eat healthy)!  Lots of our local restaurants feature fruity mojitos, but I’ve never had a blackberry one.  It was sweet and tart, and well, delicious!!  Plus, look at the color.  Amazing!

Blackberry Mojitos

6-8 mint leaves (more for garnish)
1/4 cup fresh blackberries (more for garnish)
1 teaspoon light agave syrup
3 oz. light rum
2 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
club soda

Add the mint leaves, fresh blackberries, and agave syrup into a cocktail shaker.  Using a muddler or the stick of a wooden spoon, muddle the ingredients until the mint is fragrant.  Add in ice cubes, rum, and lime juice; cover and shake vigorously a few times.  Strain the liquid into an ice-filled glass and top with club soda.  Garnish with mint and blackberries.  Makes 1-2 drinks depending on size of glass.

I bought mini cake pans at the grocery the other day and decided to make giant cupcakes for my nephews to decorate for Easter.  I wanted the cupcakes not only to look nice and festive on the outside but fun and colorful on the inside too.  The blackberry preserves in this recipe make a really nice pastel Eastery purple batter and also add a touch of fruit to these tasty cupcakes.  Have fun decorating these and if you choose to make GIANT cupcakes it gives you even more canvas for everyone to play with.  This recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes so if you want more than that (which you will) double it!   Read the rest of this entry »