Backyard Bounty

Many people (including yours truly) would call blackberry vines a nasty and noxious invasive pest of a plant. And about 11 months out of the year that's all they are, creeping across the yard, over fences, under sidewalks. Reappearing seamlessly out of thin air after you've spent hours attempting to annihilate every branch and root, these weeds are relentless. But every August the blackberry bush seems to redeem itself with a bounty of berries and I can't help picking them by the bucket full.

This year I happened upon thousands of bushes overloaded with ripe berries at a local park. At high noon, when I should have been heading home with my tired puppy and very tired and hot toddler, I insisted on picking "just a few" berries. I filled Punkin's little green bucket (and his tummy) with big, fat ripe ones and when I finally headed home I figured my sunburn would be worth the prize. Instead, I managed to dump THE ENTIRE BUCKET ON THE GROUND and not just on any ground, but in a spot the local dogs like to use as their "potty place." I nearly cried as I pushed the stroller around the sad little pile of berries on the ground. And I vowed to redeem myself.

The next day I headed back to the park, this time with an extra 4 hands (and another toddler tummy) to help. We picked enough berries to fill a large colander and the kids (and grownups) ate like kings that weekend.


As luck would have it, and thanks to our very lax "gardening" practices, a blackberry bush has taken over a good chunk of the fence separating our yard from the neighbors. I relieved those heavy branches of their ripest fruit this morning and now I just need a fantastic blackberry recipe for them. I've been scouring the blogosphere for ideas but I'll give big kudos to anyone who can tell me: What's the best blackberry recipe out there?