Cherries

It's almost time for making tart cherry sauce. We are deep in yard cleanup today so the cherry sauce will be a treat (in a week or so) for all this work. Here is the recipe, from a year with many more cherries on the tree.  

Blackberry Days

The blackberries are on full force now. I should try jam or something else, but I like to make blackberry sauce to serve with ice cream or angel food cake, etc. I've sometimes made blackberry cobblers, too. I did see a blackberry barbecue sauce recipe I'd like to try.

As shown in the photos from this 2007 post, I love using an old ricer/fruit press to separate the seeds from the fruit (after blending in my old blender). The seeds stick nicely to the wooden roller.

I'm not a huge blackberry fan. This year the flavor seems better than some years. The thorns are awful! But, I love fresh food and being able to do something with the fruit growing locally (in this case, in my yard). Takes the edge off of the work to keep the blackberries from taking over the whole property, too.

What do you do with blackberries?

Apples & Pumpkins

DH did a nice job cleaning up the kitchen this afternoon. I took it as an open invitation to make a mess! He helped, too. First, an extra large apple crisp. Then cooked apples were run through the contraption, above, to make applesauce (we didn't peel them before cooking). Yes, we have an apple tree (remember?). I was surprised how good the applesauce tasted! Then the first of the pumpkins went in the oven.

Tomorrow, there will be honey-pumpkin butter, and pumpkin bread to make. Here is the link to the honey-pumpkin butter recipe from an earlier post.

Saucy Blackberries

The blackberries don't seem to have benefited from our cool summer and regular rain. They just don't seem as sweet and rewarding (for putting up with their bad habits) as in some past years. But, one doesn't have fresh blackberries just any time so we made our first batch of blackberry sauce last night and had it still slightly warm over ice cream. It also gave me a chance to try out my new to me, old Vita Craft ricer/vegetable/fruit press, bowl and bowl cover. My mother and grandmother had bought several Vita Craft items in the late 1940's or early 1950's. I brought several items back with me from my trip to Kansas in June. The stovetop & oven pans held up great over the years but their bakelite and thermoplax handles didn't age so well. This press, however, looked just like what I needed to deal with blackberry seeds.

Also above, and part of the preparation, is the blender DH's parents passed on to him when he moved out in 1986. We don't know the year, but it is an Osterizer Galaxie model. With a new gasket for the bottom of the glass part, it has served us well since. After a quick blend, I poured the blackberries into the press and lightly rolled around the wooden roller. It quickly drained and the seeds actually stuck to the roller, photo below, which made them very easy to wipe off. Much better than the sieve I've used in the past.
To finish up the sauce, I heated the blackberries, sugar and a little cornstarch in a saucepan. It was good enough that I didn't complain too much about picking a few remaining thorns out of my hands this morning.

I've heard this press is great for apple sauce too. We should have some apples ready about the time we tired of blackberries.