Leader food writer Kathleen Brotherton is offering website readers one stellar recipe a week in the “My Leader Yummy” feature.
What a great time of year for strawberry lovers! And, before you know it, raspberries and blackberries will be in season too. Usually, there are still a few strawberries around when raspberries begin to bear fruit, but the blackberries and dewberries are ready a little later in the season.
How I remember when I was little picking strawberries with my mom. Back then, Mom saved all the wooden quart boxes that strawberries came in at the store and used them when she went to farmers’ strawberry patches to pick her own, which was cheaper than buying them at the store. And, you got an even better deal if you picked enough strawberries to fill a “tray,” which if I remember right, held a dozen of those quart boxes.
After Mom went strawberry-picking, we would have strawberry shortcake for dessert for a few days and then she made jam out of the rest. We didn’t have a freezer (or as they were called then, a “deep freeze”) back then, so you had to use all the strawberries right away. My favorite part of picking our own strawberries was being allowed to eat as many as you wanted while you picked. I guess the farmers knew you could only eat so many or you’d get sick!
Blackberry-picking was memorable, too. When Mom was ready to pick wild blackberries, she would put on my dad’s knee boots, sling the milk bucket over her arm and head out to the fence row at the edge of the garden where they grew. And, it never failed that a copperhead snake would be lying in the brambles ready to strike. She always gave the snake plenty of room and eventually it would move on, giving her time to go back and pick the berries she missed.
This Triple-Berry Cobbler recipe may come in handy with “berry-picking-season” here. I made it the other day from a combination of frozen strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. The combination of colors makes a pretty dessert and the blend of flavors can’t be beat.
Looking for a recipe you can’t find? Email me at kbrotherton42@gmail.com and I’ll see if I have it.
TRIPLE-BERRY COBBLER
Filling:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup water
4 cups of any berry combination
Topping:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon OR nutmeg
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
To make the filling, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add the water and then stir in the berry mixture. Cook on LOW-MEDIUM heat and stir until thickened and bubbly. Keep warm while you make the topping.
For the topping, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon or nutmeg in a roomy bowl. Work the cold butter or margarine into the mixture with your fingers or a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
In a separate bowl, combine the egg and milk and then add it to the flour mixture, stirring just to moisten and combine.
Pour the filling into a greased 8-by8-inch square pan, although an oblong pan will work as well. Drop the topping in mounds over the hot filling.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 2 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with frozen yogurt or ice cream, if desired.
Serves 9. Each serving has 240 calories and 7 grams of fat.
