Blackberry Pie...from scratch!

Here is how it works:

You take a little more than a quart (5-6 cups) of frozen, handpicked blackberries from the freezer in the morning, putting them in a large bowl. When I run out of the blackberries I will use the 3-berry bags from Costco.

When they are mostly thawed add about a cup of sugar (I use evaporated cane juice crystals.), 3 tablespoons of flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour.), 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange zest (I used orange zest today.), and 1 apple (I used a Pink Lady.), peeled and cut in small chunks.

Mix all together, and then let it sit for several hours so the berries can absorb all the other ingredients. Sift and measure 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour with 1/2 teaspoon of salt,

and cut in 2/3 cup of cold butter.

I have a 'pastry cutter' shown in the picture below for this part of the process.

Add 5-7 tablespoons of cold milk, depending on the humidity of your kitchen.

I live in a dry climate and in a home with wood heat,

so I used a little more than 7 tablespoons today.

Stir with a fork until you can form a ball of the dough,

and then roll it out on a pastry canvas like my Auntie Lela gave me back in the 1970's.

Place the first rolled out crust portion in the bottom of a pie pan. I use a 10" glass pie dish.

Pour the filling in and dot with two tablespoons of butter on top in various places.

Roll out top crust, place it on top, pinch the edges all around, cut a design on top for steam venting purposes, sprinkle about a teaspoon of sugar on top, and bake at 400 for 50 minutes.

Wait at least an hour before cutting into it.

However, it SHOULD be eaten warm.

An hour and a half is the maximum time for waiting, and you'll need to top it off with some really high quality ice cream (Bryers)...because you will have a high quality pie.

I took it out to 'The Ranch' where 'the kids' are building their house.

Lovella made coffee from Costa Rica to accompany it.

It doesn't get much better than this for a blustery day in winter that needs some spicing up!

Yum, yum, yum!

Tour Mine!

Finally it has warmed up to produce a little fruit. This is a Costata Romanesca Zucchini with a nutty flavor surpassing all others, in MY opinion. I like to slice it lengthwise, paint a hint of olive oil on the slices, sprinkle Kosher salt on top of that and broil them until crispy. A scattering of parmasean cheese helps too. Yum!

Some Cosmos has begun blooming in the nursery bed where I start perenniels like Hollyhocks and Coreopsis. Don't your just love to capture a picture of a pollinator at work?

These Gailardia, below, have 'volunteered'. I cannot recall planting any such thing in the nursery bed. I LOVE the color...maybe the 'Arizona Sun' variety of Blanket Flower (its common name).


Out of the nursery bed came this favorite Hollyhock, of which I'm truly fond. It probably has a 'right' name, but I merely collect seeds from ones I love at other people's gardens. Putting them in small zip-lock baggies with lables like 'Double, bold pink, HH from Janet' is how I get them started.

It is Lily season here; one apple tree and one Honeysuckle tree are surrounded by a large circle of these Lilies.

There are more...Calendulas, Coreopsis, and others. You'll just have to come by for a visit in order to feast your eyes on what's blooming. See you soon!