Blackberry pie

Two years ago, my then 6 year old daughter and I went to a then-nearby farm where we walked up and down row after row of blackberries.

We each had our own basket and we had a friendly competition to see who would get the most blackberries.

Of course, she won.

As I said, that was two years ago.  She still talks about picking blackberries, how stained our shirts and shorts were, how we licked the blackberry juice off our fingers, and how we snuck one or two right from the vines into our mouths.  And whenever she does bring this up, she always mentions the blackberry pie we made with our loot.

Having never made a blackberry pie before and not having a family recipe of sorts, I turned to my online recipe book, allrecipes.com, where I found this recipe for Blackberry Pie I.   It's incredibly easy and amazingly delicious.  The Husband isn't a big fan of blackberries  - he doesn't like the seeds, and I could do without them as well, but I'm willing to do a little extra brushing and flossing of my teeth (which I should be doing anyway) in exchange.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh blackberries

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup white sugar

Directions:

1. Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.

2. Bake at 425 degree F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

And savor the goodness.

Frozen banana treats

Frozen bananas are the perfect antidote for hot summer days when you've been outside working too hard or playing too hard. They are also perfect for balmy summer evenings when you welcome neighbors to sit a spell on the front porch and chat. Or after you've tucked the kids into bed for a night and feel your sweet tooth calling. Actually, they are perfect just about any time. With just a little bit of planning, frozen bananas are a quick, healthy snack that appeals to just about everyone. And, if you can stand a little bit of a mess, making these treats can be a fun activity for the kids.

You will need:

2-3 bananas
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
popsicle sticks
desired toppings (grated coconut, ground peanuts, sprinkles, chopped fruit, granola, etc.)

Melt the chocolate chips with the vegetable oil in the microwave and stir well. Allow to cool a bit so that it is easier to work with. Then, peel the bananas into the desired size and insert a popsicle stick into each part. I sometimes use tooth picks and they work equally well but the bananas have to be cut a bit smaller.  Now, roll each piece in the chocolate then quickly sprinkle with whatever toppings you have chosen. Place on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil or parchment paper and freeze.

These can be served when the chocolate sets or stored in a covered container in the freezer for up to a week. Mine don't normally make it that long!

Flowers of fruit

This one comes to us by way of our housekeeper, who gave me a similar bouquet for my birthday. I thought it would be a nice thing to include here, just in time for spring fruits and spring celebrations.

The "it" here is a bouquet of flowers made from fruit.

You'll need a variety of fruits. Small non-green fruits can serve as flowers, while small green fruits, like grapes, can be stems. A pineapple, jicama, melons...these can all serve to cut out or carve larger flowers. Finally, you'll need some wooden skewers, of the kind used for kabobs, some leaf lettuce, and a small head of cabbage. Yes, cabbage.

Cut the cabbage in half and place one half, dome side up, in an accommodating vase or bowl. Cover this with a nice dark green leaf of lettuce (or kale). Set aside.

From the larger fruits, cut flower shapes (pineapple makes great flowers), even using cookie cutters if you've got 'em. From the melon, cut crescent moon shapes or smaller flowers. If you have a honeydew melon, you can cut slices to make crescent-shaped "leaves." Any grapes, strawberries, etc., can simply serve as "buds" or small flowers on their own. I wouldn't use any fruits that brown easily, of course, like apples.

Load the skewers in various permutations of the following: short skewers are good for the honeydew leaves or melon slices. You can line an entire skewer with green grapes to make a "stem." Pineapple, strawberry, jicama, or small cuts of other fruits or berries go on the tips to make the flowers. Assemble it by poking the skewers through the lettuce and into the cabbage. See? There was a reason for that cabbage.

The final outcome is a colorful, edible, perfect spring bouquet that is fun to receive and fun to eat. It might be a way to introduce new fruits to your little ones, gift someone who doesn't like cake or can't eat it, or simply a way to add a little fun to dessert. Whatever you decide to do with it...enjoy it quickly. It likely won't be fresh longer than a day at most.