Gingered Blackberry Cobbler and a Few Favorites

Here are a few things I've enjoyed from around the internets this week and a bonus recipe for a sweet and spicy blackberry cobbler that I made towards the end of my Seattle trip. When life hands you blackberries and you've already made 10 jars of jam and a crisp and you don't have time to let pie dough chill, make cobbler! It is one of those multi-purpose desserts that's not too sweet, making it perfect for breakfast the next day.

- Shae's beautiful post about the terroir of Alaskan blueberries and the jam she made. If you've ever had them, you already know that Northwest blackberries have a distinct terroir of their own.
- Kimberley's lovely words about running and returning
- Some tips on bread management from the always inspiring Rachel
 - A killer circus birthday party with warm cotton candy, a striped cake, and a hot dog bar from Ashley
- I wish I had known about this cocktail from Erin when I had my bounty of blackberries. Campari has been my drink of choice all summer. I guess I'll need a new drink soon, any ideas?
- This series of intimate performances from the Newport Folk Festival, in the ruins of a fort no less
- Lil Bub because if you haven't, you should

Have a great weekend.

Gingered Blackberry Cobbler
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
yield, 1 10'' pan

For the Filling

32 ounces fresh blackberries, rinsed
3 1/2 ounces sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (watch out, it's spicy!)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (meyer lemon if available)
juice from 1/2 lemon

For the Topping

5 ounces all purpose flour
2 ounces oat flour (or finely ground oats or use all purpose flour)
4 tablespoons sugar plus 1 tablespoon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ounces butter, melted
1/2 cup plain yogurt (full fat if possible)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375º

For the Filling

Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, grated ginger, lemon zest and juice. Add in the blackberries and mix gently to combine. Transfer the mixture to a 9'' or 10'' pie pan and place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Slide into the oven and bake until the filling is hot and bubbling around the edges, about 25 minutes.

For the Topping

1. While the berries are baking, whisk together the flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, yogurt and vanilla extract.
2. One minute before the berries come out of the oven, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir gently until thoroughly mixed.
3. Carefully remove the berries from the oven and increase the temperature to 425º. Divide the topping into 8 equal pieces and place them gently on top of the berries about 1/2'' apart, they should not touch. Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the biscuits.
4. Slide the whole shebang back into the oven and bake until the filling is bubbling and the biscuits are golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp

I pick blackberries from the school yard and rhubarb from the side yard. I remember to wear long sleeves and long pants to protect myself from the blackberry brambles, but my hair keeps getting tangled up in the thorns. Later I find a picture of my teenaged self picking blackberries with my best pal, both of us wearing overalls with bandanas tied around our heads*. I cut thin stalks of rhubarb from a forgotten plant and free them from their massive leaves. They are red almost all of the way through. I turn them into summertime crisps. I mix and stir the crumb topping with my hands. I bake them in borrowed ramekins and old jelly jars and they spill all over the baking sheet in the oven. We eat them on my brother's birthday with earl grey ice cream on top, after the babies have been put to bed.

Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp
yield 8-10 individual crisps or, 1 9x13 pan 
A few notes on this recipe: If making individual crisps, you'll want heatproof dishes (ramekins, canning jars, etc) that can hold about 6 ounces. The rhubarb gives the filling a wonderful tartness, which is just about perfect with some ice cream on top. I like a fairly equal fruit to crumb topping, so this recipe makes a generous amount. If you don't want to use it all at once it can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Don't thaw before using, just break up the crumbs and sprinkle them over your dessert before you bake it.

For the Filling

1 1/2 pounds blackberries
3/4 pounds rhubarb, chopped into 1/4''-1/2'' pieces
1 ounce flour
4 1/4 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest (meyer lemon if available)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Crumb Topping

6 ounces softened butter
4 1/2 ounces rolled oats
4 1/2 ounces whole wheat flour (or sub half all purpose)
4 1/4 ounces brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375º

1. In a large bowl, gently toss the blackberries, chopped rhubarb, flour, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together. Set aside while you prepare the topping.
2. In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add in the butter and use your hands to work it into the mixture until it holds together in medium clumps.
3. If making individual crisps, divide the filling mixture evenly between 8-10 ramekins, then top with a generous amount of crumb topping. If making 1, 9x13 crisp pour all of the fruit into the dish and evenly sprinkle the crumb over the top.
4. Place the ramekins or baking dish on top of a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any juices) and slide into the oven. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the the topping is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream on top.


*No doubt an attempt to channel Angela Chase

Summertime in Seattle

Seattle in the summertime just gives and gives and gives and I filled my cup with as much of its northwest magic as I could manage. I wandered through gardens and on the beach. I chased babies who were crawling (!) and teething and finding their voices. I spent a ton of time with family and friends, I ate blackberries (and figs and plums) warm from the sun until I gave myself a stomach ache and then I took them and made two types of jam and crisp and cobbler. Then I had a fancy cocktail at the newly opened Essex, ate A LOT of pastries and had the good fortune to meet the lovely Ashley Rodriguez in person and I have her to thank for my new kouign amann obsession. It was everything I wanted and more, more than I can say.

See you next week with a few summery recipes to end the season right!

p.s. All of these photos were taken with my iPhone and edited with the VSCO Cam App, my personal favorite. Many of them were posted on Instagram, sorry for the repeats if you follow me there. I just loved them too much to leave them off of the blog.