Dewberries... Woods To Table

It's dewberry time.  Dewberries are similar to blackberries, but better.  They are bigger and juicier.  They grow on vines that run along the ground in the woods and edges of fields.  They come our earlier than blackberries.  Years ago they grew in abundance in the ditch across the road from us.  They no longer grow there since the field is mowed frequently now.  

Not to worry.  I've found a 'honey hole' in the woods behind the henhouse.  I noticed all the white flowers and made a mental note to check back in a few weeks.  I'm glad I did.  Tricia and I walked back there yesterday with quart-sized yogurt containers.  In three shakes of a billy goat's tail, we had them filled up and were walking back to the house.  Here's a sneak peek at what dewberries look like:

I have a weakness for pies, so I was thinking homemade dewberry pie would be a nice dessert for Sunday after church with some coffee.  Tricia was thinking about making a homemade dewberry tart.  Well, I like them both.  I'm not gonna sit here and split hairs about which one is better.  Bright and early Sunday morning, the wife began making the dough and putting together the dewberry tart.  Doesn't that look nice?

After folding up the edges, she began applying an egg wash to the sides of the crust.

And then, yes, you can't forget to sprinkle some sugar on the edges...

This tart is so fresh.  Those dewberries slept in the field last night.

Speaking of fresh.  Here's the dewberry tart, fresh out of the oven.

We sliced that up and served homemade goat-milk ice cream on top.  So good!  I'll be checking the woods for more dewberries in a couple of days.  When picking there were some that were still red that will be ripening in a day or two.  We'll pick more and maybe make a pie or use them in a smoothie.

Blueberry Hill

The blueberries are really coming in right now.  We have six blueberry bushes that are about six feet tall.  Even though we have had a very dry spring, the berries are plump and juicy and they are producing well.  I attribute that to two factors.  First, Russ pruned the blueberry bushes in early spring, taking off limbs that crossed other limbs or were dead.  This opened up the bushes to sunlight.  Then we used organic fertilizer around the base of the bushes when they began putting on new leaves.  

Each day we have to go out and pick.  Blueberries don't get ripe all at once.  That is a good thing because it stretches out the season and the ability to enjoy them.

We go out with quart-sized yogurt containers and pick the ripening ones.  Sometimes the sunlight fools you and you end up picking some that aren't perfectly ripe.  That's okay - but they are tart and aren't as sweet as the fully ripe ones.  We pick a few blackberries each day as well.

We put them in a colander in the vegetable sink and rinse them off.  We freeze a bunch of them on trays and then fill zip loc bags with them.  That keeps them loose and then you're able to scoop out the amount that you want since they aren't frozen together.

A friend of ours introduced us to a refreshing salad that makes use of blueberries.  It has cut up cucumbers, blueberries, feta cheese, mint, and basil.  Talk about good!

It is a nice accompaniment to your meal.  We have a lot of cucumbers coming in right now, and this is a great way to use them up.

Another friend gave Tricia the recipe for a tart.  Tricia tried it with blueberries and it was a hit at our home.  It uses a springform pan and has a sweet dough crust.

Just look at those berries bursting with deliciousness!

Once we remove it from the springform pan and garnish it with some fresh mint, you can almost hear the tart beckoning you...

Here's one more money shot:

Fortunately the blueberries will be coming in for about another month, so we'll have opportunities to make many more of the delicious blueberry tarts!