This recipe makes a fantastic sandwich. It is by no means quick, and can easily be prepared a day in advance and reheated with the same result. You can prepare the pork in a crock pot or oven rather than the charcoal grill with similar results. (see notes) The barbecue sauce on this sandwich is fresh and complex. I find it worth all of the fuss.
Special Equipment:
Charcoal grill
4 cups Smoking wood chips such as hickory
Foil pie pan
Meat thermometer
Baking Sheet
Aluminum foil
Cuisinart/ or Blender
8 quart pot
Ingredients:
One Pork Butt Shoulder Roast- 2-3 lbs
6 cups water
Eight Bulky or Onion rolls
Pickle Relish or Shredded cheese for sandwich toppers
For Dry Rub:
1 tbsp dried cayenne pepper
½ tbsp dried oregano
½ tbsp dried onion
½ tbsp garlic power
½ tbsp chili powder
½ tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp salt
Prepare Pork:
Remove pork from any packaging. Rinse with cold water and pat pork dry with paper towel. This will allow the dry rub to adhere to the meat better. Rub pork generously with rub. Place in refrigerator overnight.
Soak wood chips in water for approximately one hour. Drain water.
Fire up you charcoal:
Fill foil pan 1/2 full with water.
As this is a slow cooking method, I like to start with about 40 briquettes adding 6-8 briquettes every 20-30 minutes throughout the cooking process. This technique is best achieved on a grill that allows you access to the coals while cooking. Place foil pan in the center of the grill and build charcoal up around it.
Carefully add about 1/2 of the smoking chips to the top of the briquettes prior to lighting.
If you are able to adjust the spacing between the flame and the food rack keep as much space between the two as possible. Keep grill covered throughout cooking process, openig only to check on the meat and to add cooking material. Control the amount of air reaching your coals to prevent them from flaming up by adjusting the air vent near the bottom of the grill. I prefer to keep the vent about ¼ open allowing for some air, but not too much. This will vary depending on your grill.
Place the prepared pork on the grill away from the hot center of the coals over drip pan. The pork should be getting heat, but not in danger of being burned by hot flames. Typically I place the pork approximately 10-12 inches from the hot center.
Monitor the pork’s cooking every 15-20 minutes for approximately two and ½ hours. Add 6-8 briquettes and a sprinkling of fresh wood chips every 20-30 minutes. Be sure that the drip pan has water in it. Test your pork with a meat thermometer. The internal temperature of the pork must reach 160 before final preparations take place. If the pork reaches 155 degrees on the grill, it will be ready. The pork will continue to cook as you allow it to rest off of the grill prior to cutting. Once the internal temperature is achieved, remove the pork from the grill, and allow to rest for twenty minutes.
Using two forks, shred the meat until desired consistancy is achieved. Keeping in mind that the pork will break apart in the sauce during the next step, it is good to leave it fairly chunky.
Place pork in sauce on stove (see Garden Barbecue Sauce recipe) and allow to simmer for one hour or until desired consistency is achieved. Toast large bulky roles or onion rolls on the still hot grill or in your toaster oven. Top rolls with pork and pickle relish or cheese if you desire, and enjoy!
Notes:
If you do not have the time or access to a charcoal grill the pork can be prepared in a crock pot or oven.
Crock Pot:
Prepare the pork with the dry rub and allow to sit overnight. Place in crock pot and add Garden Barbecue Sauce, one bottle of brown ale or lager beer and cover. Cook for up to 5 hours in a crock pot on medium heat. Remove pork from sauce and shred with two forks. Place pork back in sauce and serve warm on a toasted bun.
Oven:
Prepare the pork with the dry rub and allow to sit overnight. Place pork in dutch oven and add Garden Barbecue Sauce, one bottle of brown ale or lager beer and cover. Cook for four hours at 30o degrees. Remove pork from sauce and shred with two forks. Place pork back in sauce and serve warm on a toasted bun.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Recipe: Garden Barbecue Sauce
This sauce is the fundamental element of Garden Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Prepare this sauce while the pork is cooking.
Ingredinets:
30 Roma tomatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
I tbsp salt
1 ½ heads garlic (apx. 15-20 cloves)
2 fresh jalapeno de-stemmed and seeds removed (substitute any hot peppers like chilies or habaneros)
6 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground dried mustard
¼ Cup maple syrup (only use the real stuff- substitute with brown sugar)
One cup fresh whole basil (cleaned and de-stemmed)
¼ cup fresh whole oregano (cleaned and de-stemmed)
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven 500 degrees
Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise. Prepare garlic, leaving cloves intact, but cleaned. Place tomatoes skin side down on foil lined baking sheet. Place garlic cloves around tomatoes on baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Roast in a 500 degree oven for apx. 1-1/2 hours depending on oven and tomato thickness. Check tomatoes approximately every 10 minutes after the first 45 minutes. When signs of brown toasted markings on tomatoes and garlic appear, remove from oven.
Allow tomatoes and garlic to cool. Add all remaining ingredients to cuisinart or blender and blend until smooth. Add blended tomato to caramelized onions on the stove and simmer for 20 minutes.
Caramelized Onions:
(Complete this step while tomatoes are roasting)
Ingredients:
2 large sweet onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter
Slice onions into thin strips. Heat 8 quart pot until very hot. Add butter and allow to melt most of the way. Add onions, sugar and salt, stir every 30 seconds over high heat until onions begin to brown and turn translucent, approximately 8-10 minutes. Onions will stick to the bottom of the pot a bit, and this is ok, it will aid the caramelization process. Turn heat to medium-low and cook until brown and caramelized, approximately 10 minutes.
Ingredinets:
30 Roma tomatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
I tbsp salt
1 ½ heads garlic (apx. 15-20 cloves)
2 fresh jalapeno de-stemmed and seeds removed (substitute any hot peppers like chilies or habaneros)
6 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground dried mustard
¼ Cup maple syrup (only use the real stuff- substitute with brown sugar)
One cup fresh whole basil (cleaned and de-stemmed)
¼ cup fresh whole oregano (cleaned and de-stemmed)
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven 500 degrees
Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise. Prepare garlic, leaving cloves intact, but cleaned. Place tomatoes skin side down on foil lined baking sheet. Place garlic cloves around tomatoes on baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Roast in a 500 degree oven for apx. 1-1/2 hours depending on oven and tomato thickness. Check tomatoes approximately every 10 minutes after the first 45 minutes. When signs of brown toasted markings on tomatoes and garlic appear, remove from oven.
Allow tomatoes and garlic to cool. Add all remaining ingredients to cuisinart or blender and blend until smooth. Add blended tomato to caramelized onions on the stove and simmer for 20 minutes.
Caramelized Onions:
(Complete this step while tomatoes are roasting)
Ingredients:
2 large sweet onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter
Slice onions into thin strips. Heat 8 quart pot until very hot. Add butter and allow to melt most of the way. Add onions, sugar and salt, stir every 30 seconds over high heat until onions begin to brown and turn translucent, approximately 8-10 minutes. Onions will stick to the bottom of the pot a bit, and this is ok, it will aid the caramelization process. Turn heat to medium-low and cook until brown and caramelized, approximately 10 minutes.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Recipe: Quick Crumble Topping Tart
8 to 10 Servings2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole grain oats
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat-free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons ice water
1/2 cup walnuts or hazelnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut cane ginger sugar (found in specialty food stores and on the web- you may substitute regular granulated sugar if necessary
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 cups fresh sliced apples/ or berries
Dough:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small butter lumps. Transfer 2 ½ cups mixture to a bowl and drizzle 5 tablespoons water over it. Stir gently with a fork until incorporated. Reserve remaining mixture for topping.
Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough, or the pastry will be tough.)
Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together and flatten into a 12-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
Make topping while dough chills:
Add nuts , oats, granulated sugar and coconut cane ginger sugar to reserved dough mixture in a bowl and rub together until some large clumps form.
Make filling:
· Combine fruit of choice with brown sugar. (for added depth add a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg to taste)
Assemble pie:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out disk of dough into a 15- by 13-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Fit into 11X13” pan and trim excess dough. Fill shell with berries and sprinkle evenly with topping. Bake tart in pan on baking sheet until topping and crust are golden and filling is bubbling, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 20 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold with vanilla ice cream or my favorite, crème fraiche.
pOp Rocks Pie
I thought that I might make this wonderful tart that I have found as a standby over the years to accommodate my wonderful blackberry surplus. It is a fairly simple recipe and always a winner. I even managed to forget the sugar in the crumble once and it still came out great. I adapted the recipe from one featured in Gourmet magazine about two years ago. That recipe called for raspberries, but I have 
made it with apples, blueberries and a mixture of berries. It comes out amazing every time…
Yesterday’s tart adventure was not such a hit, however. Apparently there is a reason that I have never sat down in a restaurant and dug in to a blackberry pie. I thought that culinary legend was about to be born in my kitchen, with the unveiling of such an uncommon delicacy. Think again...
We returned home to the tempting site of the tart welcoming us in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before I had convinced Jamie that we were hungry again, and the tart was divided onto plates and relocated to the living room to be enjoyed over television. I eagerly dug into my gooey tart and was alarmed as I began to chew. “Crunch crunch CRUNCH” the crunches were audible over the television as I took my first tastes of the tart. Jamie too was crunching. The novelty of the seeds loudly crunching in our teeth was quickly wearing off and giving way to frustration. My blackberry tart, though tasty was not pleasant to eat.
Apparently there is a reason why you don’t see blackberry pie advertized often. I did some research on the internet and found a surprising number of blackberry pie recipes that included no fruit at all, only blackberry Jello mix! I suppose Jello is much kinder on the teeth then the thousands of seeds stuffed into my tart. Jamie and I crunched our way through the tart, laughing out loud at each other as we filled the air with crunching sounds. Not one to give up a treat, I reluctantly offered my remaining tart to the pooches on the floor who were anxiously awaiting their opportunity to investigate the crunching. Oliver quickly gobbled up what he could. Not one to chew his food too extensively there was minimal crunching, but it was present all the same. Finnegan, being the more discerning eater in the house opted for the butter laden crust, plucking a large piece off of the plate and retreating under the coffee table.
All in all the experience was a learning process. I will probably find an excuse to puree my blackberries next time I cook with them. Perhaps they are best consumed whole, right off of the bush in the middle of the woods.
made it with apples, blueberries and a mixture of berries. It comes out amazing every time…Yesterday’s tart adventure was not such a hit, however. Apparently there is a reason that I have never sat down in a restaurant and dug in to a blackberry pie. I thought that culinary legend was about to be born in my kitchen, with the unveiling of such an uncommon delicacy. Think again...
Blackberries, as I pointed out in my previous blog entry are well… seedy. As I was to find out last night, this unique, crunchy characteristic does not change with heat. The tart was bubbling and delicious when I removed it from the oven. As always it appeared perfect in every way. With a golden top and even browned bottom. I couldn’t wait to dig in.
An annual University barbeque took me away from my precious creation. It sat to cool on the stove for the better part of the evening as we dug into an assortment of the usual cookout fare at our local park on the waterfront. It was a beautiful evening to be on the lake, and the juicy grilled meat provided distraction from my berry experiment.
An annual University barbeque took me away from my precious creation. It sat to cool on the stove for the better part of the evening as we dug into an assortment of the usual cookout fare at our local park on the waterfront. It was a beautiful evening to be on the lake, and the juicy grilled meat provided distraction from my berry experiment.
We returned home to the tempting site of the tart welcoming us in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before I had convinced Jamie that we were hungry again, and the tart was divided onto plates and relocated to the living room to be enjoyed over television. I eagerly dug into my gooey tart and was alarmed as I began to chew. “Crunch crunch CRUNCH” the crunches were audible over the television as I took my first tastes of the tart. Jamie too was crunching. The novelty of the seeds loudly crunching in our teeth was quickly wearing off and giving way to frustration. My blackberry tart, though tasty was not pleasant to eat.
Apparently there is a reason why you don’t see blackberry pie advertized often. I did some research on the internet and found a surprising number of blackberry pie recipes that included no fruit at all, only blackberry Jello mix! I suppose Jello is much kinder on the teeth then the thousands of seeds stuffed into my tart. Jamie and I crunched our way through the tart, laughing out loud at each other as we filled the air with crunching sounds. Not one to give up a treat, I reluctantly offered my remaining tart to the pooches on the floor who were anxiously awaiting their opportunity to investigate the crunching. Oliver quickly gobbled up what he could. Not one to chew his food too extensively there was minimal crunching, but it was present all the same. Finnegan, being the more discerning eater in the house opted for the butter laden crust, plucking a large piece off of the plate and retreating under the coffee table.
All in all the experience was a learning process. I will probably find an excuse to puree my blackberries next time I cook with them. Perhaps they are best consumed whole, right off of the bush in the middle of the woods.
A More Sophisticated Berry
What to do with five lbs of blackberries. This is something I am going to ponder this afternoon. After all, being unemployed leaves ample time for exploring such questions.
On Tuesday, Jamie took me to a special place where he partakes in his archaic boy sports, to enjoy a sport more familiar to me.... berry picking. Admittedly I have not been berry picking for some two years now. Allow me to recall my last experience for you on a brief tangent...
Strawberry Tangent:
June 2006- Our second summer in Vermont, living near the hippie lovin', organic produce filled, Intervale. A former waste site now converted to lush organic farmland. As a supply source to the overpriced healthy food stores that many of us patronize, we Burlingtonites (sounds good to me) admire the Intervale as a source of all that is good and sacred in the world of produce. It was a wonderfully hot day. Seventy nine and humid. My idea of the ideal day to kneel in a field of straw and bake my skin while indulging on my favorite berries... strawberries! I worked on a strawberry farm for several years of my youth. Naturally strawberries now hold a special place in my heart as a catalyst to both my love of fresh foods and my workaholic sensibilities.
I hopped into my honda, dropped the windows and headed for the dirt roads of the Intervale. The big red wooden berry was posted at the entrance, and I knew it was a matter of time before my cheeks were full of that juicy red flesh that I craved every June. We had a particularly wet spring and it felt good to be outside.
I rounded the bend into the farm and was surprised to see no pickers anywhere. No cars, no straw hats bobbing through the field. Just me. Humm "More for me" I thought. I barreled forward in my Accord, through the tractor ruts to get a better view. "There he is.. there is Adam", comfort came to me as I knew Adam would hook me up with a few good rows and allow me to get my berry fill. I hopped out of my car and went to see what the farm's owner had to say about this year's crop.
Adam is a particularly neat guy, whom many of us local foodies have come to admire. He left his corporate, salaried job for one of value in the fields of the Intervale. Growing and serving up a myriad of organic berries for the whole community to enjoy. His farm, with it's neatly planted rows has a whole slew of strawberry varietals. Every few rows a new berry with its own unique color shape and flavor presents itself. The Starbucks of strawberries, really. Well at least to me...
I briskly walked toward the straw hat, bent in the field, swatting the mosquitoes as they awoke from their swampy nests on the ground below me. Adam wasn’t as cheery as I had remembered from the year before. He recounted the floods that had occurred in the previous months in this part of town and the hardship his plants endured under the abundance of water. "A week or so.." he said, "we are going to have a short season this year" Disappointed, I headed back to my car, to find another way to spend my afternoon.
No sooner than when I put my foot on the gas did I realize that I was stuck in the mud! I mean stuck. I rocked the car forward and shot it in reverse. I spun my tires and listened as the thick mud spattered onto the body of the car. Back - forth, back - forth. SHIT. Now what? Adam and a couple of wholesale pickers emerged from the fields willing to help me in my ridiculous situation. They lined up in back and I revved the engine, hot smoke emerging from the hood as mud splattered all over them. One hippie guy with a beehive of dreads piled on top of his head slipped in the thick slick behind the car. Watching in my rear view mirrors as their kind hearted eyes gave way to irritation and anger, I began to notice my new and uninvited passengers.
Attracted to the car's heat? Did I put on perfume that morning? Was my car on top of the mother ship colony? To this day, I have no idea. Thousands of mosquitoes had entered my car in a relentless vicious swarm. They were attacking me by the hundreds. Plotting to suck every last drip of blood, from my body. I could not take my foot off of the gas to focus on the downed windows for fear of landing all of my farmer friends in the mud. Being attacked over every square inch of revealed flesh on my body, I stomped on the gas in one last attempt at freedom.
Adam and his helpers managed to not fall into the sea of mud as my car lunged forward onto the dirt road ahead. They stood there, exasperated in my rear view, covered in mud from head to foot. Clearly in no shape to return to the fields, I, with the swarm still in tow, threw a hand of appreciation out the window and proceeded to collect a few hundred more bites as I proceeded at an unsafe speed up the pot hole filled road toward civilization.
I have never been bit by so many mosquitoes in my life, and do not care to revisit the experience ever again. The agonizing irritation of those itchy little bites will forever live in my memory. I never did eat fresh berries in a field that year. I always felt bad for the buckets of mud coating Adam and his staff as I left the farm that day. Good thing I drive a different car, and a few years have gone by. I am sure that he will not remember me come next year. Perhaps this is why I have taken so long to relive my youth, eating fresh berries in the fields, right when they are at their very best.
I have now decided that blackberries are my adult berry of passion. Complex in flavor and surprisingly expensive in most markets, they are a challenging berry to get to know. We found our plot growing deep in the woods along a hunting trail. Who knows how they got there, but there sure are a lot. The bushes were heavily laden with little black gems just waiting to be eaten. Jamie and I picked and picked, eating along the way. Our little dog Finnegan managed to pluck them off of the bushes, his bushy beard protecting him from the thorny stems. In a about an hour and a half we picked about five quarts of black berries. For those of you who are not avid blackberry pickers, I would say that this is a lot for the time spent. I was astonished at how many berries were ripe on each bush, especially for a situation where they were completely exposed for deer, bear and birds to nibble at leisure. "Oh boy, I thought.... I cant wait to make something wonderful from these berries..." yum yum yum....
Now, I sit hear at home and wonder just what to do with them. Other berries are more common in the North East and typically I would know just what to make- Strawberries, make shortcake- Raspberries, make a tart - Blueberries with ice cream. Black berries are not as sweet as other berries in my opinion. They also have a more seedy quality. I find these to be a bit more bitter than a raspberry, with the earthiness of a blueberry. Hum.... Blackberry jam is an option, but we just moved into the house and my canning implements are strewn about the entire basement. Finding everything that I would need would have taken me the whole time it took to write this. Then you wouldn’t have gotten to have read my wonderful story, and that would be a shame. So now I need something else.... hummm... Something with blackberries and basil? We have lots of basil. Would that be good? I do not know. I am off to the kitchen and garden to find out. I will get back to you with the results.
PS I know you are all very mad at me right now, as you are on the edge of your seats in anticipation, but you will just have to wait.
On Tuesday, Jamie took me to a special place where he partakes in his archaic boy sports, to enjoy a sport more familiar to me.... berry picking. Admittedly I have not been berry picking for some two years now. Allow me to recall my last experience for you on a brief tangent...
Strawberry Tangent:
June 2006- Our second summer in Vermont, living near the hippie lovin', organic produce filled, Intervale. A former waste site now converted to lush organic farmland. As a supply source to the overpriced healthy food stores that many of us patronize, we Burlingtonites (sounds good to me) admire the Intervale as a source of all that is good and sacred in the world of produce. It was a wonderfully hot day. Seventy nine and humid. My idea of the ideal day to kneel in a field of straw and bake my skin while indulging on my favorite berries... strawberries! I worked on a strawberry farm for several years of my youth. Naturally strawberries now hold a special place in my heart as a catalyst to both my love of fresh foods and my workaholic sensibilities.
I hopped into my honda, dropped the windows and headed for the dirt roads of the Intervale. The big red wooden berry was posted at the entrance, and I knew it was a matter of time before my cheeks were full of that juicy red flesh that I craved every June. We had a particularly wet spring and it felt good to be outside.
I rounded the bend into the farm and was surprised to see no pickers anywhere. No cars, no straw hats bobbing through the field. Just me. Humm "More for me" I thought. I barreled forward in my Accord, through the tractor ruts to get a better view. "There he is.. there is Adam", comfort came to me as I knew Adam would hook me up with a few good rows and allow me to get my berry fill. I hopped out of my car and went to see what the farm's owner had to say about this year's crop.
Adam is a particularly neat guy, whom many of us local foodies have come to admire. He left his corporate, salaried job for one of value in the fields of the Intervale. Growing and serving up a myriad of organic berries for the whole community to enjoy. His farm, with it's neatly planted rows has a whole slew of strawberry varietals. Every few rows a new berry with its own unique color shape and flavor presents itself. The Starbucks of strawberries, really. Well at least to me...
I briskly walked toward the straw hat, bent in the field, swatting the mosquitoes as they awoke from their swampy nests on the ground below me. Adam wasn’t as cheery as I had remembered from the year before. He recounted the floods that had occurred in the previous months in this part of town and the hardship his plants endured under the abundance of water. "A week or so.." he said, "we are going to have a short season this year" Disappointed, I headed back to my car, to find another way to spend my afternoon.
No sooner than when I put my foot on the gas did I realize that I was stuck in the mud! I mean stuck. I rocked the car forward and shot it in reverse. I spun my tires and listened as the thick mud spattered onto the body of the car. Back - forth, back - forth. SHIT. Now what? Adam and a couple of wholesale pickers emerged from the fields willing to help me in my ridiculous situation. They lined up in back and I revved the engine, hot smoke emerging from the hood as mud splattered all over them. One hippie guy with a beehive of dreads piled on top of his head slipped in the thick slick behind the car. Watching in my rear view mirrors as their kind hearted eyes gave way to irritation and anger, I began to notice my new and uninvited passengers.
Attracted to the car's heat? Did I put on perfume that morning? Was my car on top of the mother ship colony? To this day, I have no idea. Thousands of mosquitoes had entered my car in a relentless vicious swarm. They were attacking me by the hundreds. Plotting to suck every last drip of blood, from my body. I could not take my foot off of the gas to focus on the downed windows for fear of landing all of my farmer friends in the mud. Being attacked over every square inch of revealed flesh on my body, I stomped on the gas in one last attempt at freedom.
Adam and his helpers managed to not fall into the sea of mud as my car lunged forward onto the dirt road ahead. They stood there, exasperated in my rear view, covered in mud from head to foot. Clearly in no shape to return to the fields, I, with the swarm still in tow, threw a hand of appreciation out the window and proceeded to collect a few hundred more bites as I proceeded at an unsafe speed up the pot hole filled road toward civilization.
I have never been bit by so many mosquitoes in my life, and do not care to revisit the experience ever again. The agonizing irritation of those itchy little bites will forever live in my memory. I never did eat fresh berries in a field that year. I always felt bad for the buckets of mud coating Adam and his staff as I left the farm that day. Good thing I drive a different car, and a few years have gone by. I am sure that he will not remember me come next year. Perhaps this is why I have taken so long to relive my youth, eating fresh berries in the fields, right when they are at their very best.
I have now decided that blackberries are my adult berry of passion. Complex in flavor and surprisingly expensive in most markets, they are a challenging berry to get to know. We found our plot growing deep in the woods along a hunting trail. Who knows how they got there, but there sure are a lot. The bushes were heavily laden with little black gems just waiting to be eaten. Jamie and I picked and picked, eating along the way. Our little dog Finnegan managed to pluck them off of the bushes, his bushy beard protecting him from the thorny stems. In a about an hour and a half we picked about five quarts of black berries. For those of you who are not avid blackberry pickers, I would say that this is a lot for the time spent. I was astonished at how many berries were ripe on each bush, especially for a situation where they were completely exposed for deer, bear and birds to nibble at leisure. "Oh boy, I thought.... I cant wait to make something wonderful from these berries..." yum yum yum....
Now, I sit hear at home and wonder just what to do with them. Other berries are more common in the North East and typically I would know just what to make- Strawberries, make shortcake- Raspberries, make a tart - Blueberries with ice cream. Black berries are not as sweet as other berries in my opinion. They also have a more seedy quality. I find these to be a bit more bitter than a raspberry, with the earthiness of a blueberry. Hum.... Blackberry jam is an option, but we just moved into the house and my canning implements are strewn about the entire basement. Finding everything that I would need would have taken me the whole time it took to write this. Then you wouldn’t have gotten to have read my wonderful story, and that would be a shame. So now I need something else.... hummm... Something with blackberries and basil? We have lots of basil. Would that be good? I do not know. I am off to the kitchen and garden to find out. I will get back to you with the results.
PS I know you are all very mad at me right now, as you are on the edge of your seats in anticipation, but you will just have to wait.
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