A Berry Yummy Surprise

A few weeks ago we went out into the back yard to check on the apple tree that we discovered growing in our yard a couple of months ago. We were disappointed to find that the apples were very small and were not ready to pick and eat. But while we were checking the tree we discovered a berry yummy surprise: blackberries!

The previous owners of our home had a wonderful structure that they had built for growing muscadines. We had considered tearing down all of the dead vines and planting some Concord grapes and raspberries eariler in the year, but we decided to wait and see what we thought of the muscadines since they were already planted. Unfortunately, the muscadines did not come back this year, and once again we almost cut down all of the growth on the structure a couple of weeks before our discovery. How happy we are that we hadn't gotten around to it!

I was excited to harvest enough berries that first evening to make a blackberry cobbler. We only had two cups, but I was able to find a recipe in my go-to cookbook, Dining with Pioneers. It is the first cookbook my Grandmother ever purchased for me, and the one that she used more than any other. The cobbler turned out wonderfully. If only there had been some vanilla ice cream in our freezer that evening!

We just gathered another large bunch of berries this evening. I see blackberry dumplings, another delicious blackberry dish my Grandmother used to make, in their future and in mine! I will let you know how it turns out.