Blackberry Cobbler

Success! I found a recipe online and used some of my freshly picked blackberries, to make this incredible cobbler.....I know, humility is a gift of mine...anyway, the only downside is I have no vanilla ice cream in the house, sad, but true. Tomorrow I will rectify this situation by walking down to the homemade ice cream guy and buy a quart, reheat some cobbler and...ah, perfection! Try some seasonal baking, it is fun. Tomorrow I am going to get up early and make some blackberry muffins for my breakfast meeting.

Blackberry Pickin'

So confession time.....while I am a small town girl, love nature, loved going to camp all my life, have stepped in all sorts of , well you know, on a variety of farms (barefoot no less), I am a light weight when it comes to outdoorsy things. In fact, today I was called something akin to a pansy, I can't remember exactly the slight, but pansy is close enough. I went blackberry picking with some of the lovely ladies from my book club at the home of one of the ladies. I am shredded to bits from the 'stickers'. I am terrified I will have a killer poison ivy outbreak from the abundance of exposure. ....and I had several close encounters of the eight legged variety. (One such encounter elicited the pansy moniker.) I think three hours of berry picking is enough for me this summer. At least I am using seasonal local and seasonal food. I am going to risk 2 1/2 cups of blackberries in a cobbler tonight. I am having a company tomorrow morning at 9:30 am, is that to early to serve cobbler? Maybe I will find a muffin recipe. Hmm. In the meantime, I am researching homemade poison ivy remedies just in case. Photos of the cobbler process will come in a future post.

Taking in the View!

Just a cute little vacation from information for a cute little photo of Emmy grooming in front of the mirror. Awws all around.

Cooking Diva

Oh, yes, I am becoming a domestic goddess. Bow down to my culinary prowess.....okay, going a bit overboard here, I know. However, I am determined to learn how to cook. I have been using the Simply in Season cookbook I mentioned a few post back. The soup is the Zucchini Garden soup found on page 93. It is scrumptious! The other is a vegetable pancake thing. I was supposed to use a 9 in pie plate, but alas, I am without one. My mamacita has graciously offered me one of her spares for future endeavors. In the general cooking area, I am trying to use local and in season items (I have been bumming veggies from already fruitful gardens, mine is slow growing.) in my cooking. Check the cookbook out from the library and try the soup it is yummy and easy.

Eww, what's that smell?

So I have been testing out a variety of 'earthy' deodorants....I have said the above statement for a couple of them as I realized, darn, that smell is me! These are three that have performed more efficiently. I was very skeptical of the crystal one but it works fairly well, not overly convenient for a quick reapply later in the day due to the need to get it wet, but it works fairly good. I like the Kiss my Face the best but am a little concerned about the packaging involved for the roll-on. Hmmm. Things to ponder.

Garden Again

So a progress update on the garden: It's Growing!! I honestly was worried due to the late planting, but most everything is coming up. The second go of sunflowers didn't come up and only one measly clump of spinach came up but I had a good row of spicy mix lettuce. I was certain I was wasting my time on the watermelon and cantaloupe seeds because they were 'expired' but I have four vines of each started. Yeah. Some lettuce is ready, the rest is a waiting game.

Door Mat

So I needed a door mat for the front door. I found this one that is made from 100% recycled rubber. Not super cute, but in this case I needed function. Remember, your purchases contain power. If more people buy products made from recycled products there would be a greater demand for recycling. Give it some thought need time you shop!