What Happened to the Blackberries?

My family took a 10-day vacation this year for the first time ever.  It was wonderful, except that it was planned during the last couple of weeks in June, when our garden was full of yummy vegetables and our blackberry bushes were full of yummy........ blackberries.  I had planted three blackberry bushes that I received in the mail from Stark Brothers Nursery the second spring that we lived in our home.  We all had visions of endless blackberry cobblers by that next summer atleast........that was about seven years ago.  At the time, we had no idea of the wait we had in store.

 My husband accidentally mowed over one of the bushes  that very summer, because they were in fact more blackberry "sprig" than "bush".  After replacing that one, those three sprigs did in fact turn into three bushes which multiplied into a plethora of bushes that have even required some pruning and thinning this past year.  We actually gathered fallen cedar logs in the woods around our home and on my uncle's nearby farm to build a support structure for them so that we would have something on which to drape the heavily-laden limbs.  (It also turned out to be a great way to hide our less-than-attractive cement well cover.)

Well, just before our trip, it was apparent that all the beautiful red berries would be turning black and would be screaming to be picked while we were hundreds of miles away in Utah. Alas, because of poor timing, it appeared that we would have to wait yet another year to cash in on the fruits of our labor all these previous years, because even though we have harvested blackberries in the past, our hoard had never been enough to make a true blackberry cobbler.  I casually mentioned to several friends that they could feel free to pick the blackberries while we were away, and even shared with my sister-in-law next door why the timing of our trip was so unfortunate.  It was my grandmother, though, who mentioned on the day we were leaving, that my uncle loved blackberries.  I told her to tell him to come and get all he wanted while we were away.

When we returned from our trip and checked the blackberry bushes , their once heavily- laden branches were almost bare.  I asked my grandmother if she and Uncle Rick had enjoyed the berries and she explained,   " No , we didn't get to eat any.  When Rick was picking your garden one night, he noticed how full and ripe the berries were, and told me he was going to pick them the next evening after work, but when he returned , the bushes were empty. He was really disappointed because he loves blackberries." 

My sister-in-law later mentioned to me that she had frozen one bag of berries for us, but that when she went to pick them , there were hardly any there.  Mmmm, I wondered....had the birds eaten them all?  I wasn't sure but really had no way to find out.

A few days later, the most wonderful neighbors in the world (mine!) casually mentioned that while we were away, mom and third-grade son had had so much fun together picking our blackberries.  She also mentioned that she had made the most wonderful cobbler in the world with them - in her crockpot!  ( I love crockpots, because you just basically dump in your ingredients, turn it on, and go about your merry way!  Even I can cook like that!) 

Well, I was so happy to have solved the mystery, and happier still that our dear neighbors had been the recipients of the bounty.  With the blackberries my sister-in law froze for us and the late-bloomers that ripened after our return,  I made the cobbler myself for friends and family.  My 14-year old son said, "That's gotta be our new summer dessert - I LOVE IT!"  (I just need to make another cobbler soon to share with my grandmother and especially my uncle!)

Here's the recipe my neighbor shared with me....frozen berries work just as well as fresh ones!

Crockpot Cobbler

10-ounce bag frozen strawberries

10-ounce bag frozen blueberries

10-ounce bag frozen blackberries

Spray crock pot with cooking spray.  In large bowl, toss all frozen fruit, 1/3-2/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup baking mix.  Move to crockpot.  Stir together 2 1/4 cups baking mix, 1/4 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons of melted butter, and 1/2 cup milk with wooden spoon.  With your hands, drop bits of dough on top of the fruit in crockpot.  In a small mixing bowl, stir together 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.  Sprinkle cinnamon suger on top of dough and put lid on crockpot.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours (while you tend to your blackberry bushes!)

 (My neighbor found 2 blackberry "sprigs" on her front porch the next week.....in pots that she had used to share her perennial cornflowers with me a few months before.  Having friends that garden is a double blessing!  Give it a try - just take turns passing the pots back and forth filled with whatever's blooming at your house.)