Thursday, August 13, 2009

Fairy Rings and Blackberry Cobbler

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We've got them all over.





"Fairy rings appear as dark green circles or semi-circles in the lawn. They vary in size from 1 to 10 feet in diameter. They are caused by the decay of buried stumps and other pieces of wood. Fairy rings often contain clusters of mushrooms and puffballs. Mushrooms grow from decaying organic matter and are most likely to form in areas with high organic debris, such as buried wood. Mushrooms grow best under wet conditions, but die off quickly with warm, dry air and sunshine. Fungicides do not suppress fairy rings or mushrooms, so it is recommended to dig up and remove the soil in the infected area."

We had an 8" mushroom growing out there, but Michael mowed it over before I could snap a picture of it.





I don't know... I kind of like them!

Michael, going cruising...





I froze most all of the blackberries we'd picked, but saved some for this recipe. Wednesday nights are always good for sharing food. This a sort of a cobbler, but not really.





Regardless of what you want to call it, whenever I make it, it is enjoyed. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Here is what you need for a doubled batch, such as the one I made.

Faith's Sort-of Cobbler

Blackberries, pictured yesterday.
2 cups of self rising flour (Or, add 1 tsp salt and 1 TBL baking powder to all-purpose flour to make your own, as I did.)
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of milk
2 cups of sugar





First, melt your butter over a low heat. And preheat your oven to 350 degrees.





To make your own self rising flour, add in baking powder.





And salt.





And whisk together. The two bowls here are from my grandmother's set of four Pyrex colored glass mixing bowls from the 1940's. I love them!





Add sugar.





And flour.





And mix thoroughly.





Add milk





And whisk it up.





Ooooooh, now that luscious butter. I do REALLY love butter!





Pretty!





Surprise! More butter liberally spread on a casserole dish.





A little help here, as I had one hand on the camera...





Now, for the UNscientific part. Just start piling in all those berries you have no idea what to do with because you already have gobs of pie filling, jam, and frozen berries, up to your eyeballs and you know more is on the way, so you have no idea what volume of berries you put in over the required 4 cups, but you just put them in until the batter won't hold any more...





The big fat one...? It's mine.





Oh, yeah. Don't forget. More sugar. Sprinkled liberally on top. Because if you are going to do sugar overload, do it right.





And tuck this little baby into the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. The single batch called for an hour, but I had to extend it twice as it was pretty big and thick. Use the toothpick test, but remember, if you have as many berries in there as I did, you've got to tell the difference between berry juice and batter when you pull it out. It's an ULTRA moist dessert!





Wa-LAH!

What's that? A missing piece?





You betcha'!





Add this dish to wonderful friends while still warm and you have made yourself a little piece of Heaven on earth. :)

~Faith

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15 comments:

  1. 1st off....I had NO idea about the fairy rings!!! Very interesting!
    And secondly...the cobbler. Wow. Easy Peasy, and looks delicious!

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  2. I have those same bowls. I love them they were my grandmothers too. But I only have a set of 3.

    And I just discovered that very recipe last week.

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  3. Cyn,

    Yeah, I was thinking I might do our local town a service and plant little sticks in patterns around the parks.

    Next summer, beautiful patterns of rings ALL OVER. :D I know they will appreciate it. LOL

    ~Faith

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  4. Sharon,

    Aren't they sweet? I have all four. I have seen these sets for sale in a lot of the antique shops around here, so they must have been a very popular item when they came out.

    The very same one? LOL Well, it's awfully good, isn't it!

    ~Faith

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  5. Fairy rings....they are prettiest when they have wild flowers growing in them...have you seen them like that?

    and all I got to say is..mmmmmmmmmmmmmm I will totally be making that!

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  6. SBF,

    No, I haven't. I bet that's pretty! :)

    ~Faith

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  7. Faith, great post..our mouth's are watering!!! :-)

    Jan had a note already prepared for me to send to you when I got home tonight! :-)

    And I quote.."Tell Faith she forgot the ice cream..along with that piece of Heaven on Earth, hear the Angels sing for ice cream...yummmm... :-P

    R Dean and JD :-)))

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  8. Hi Jan!

    Yup, that was brought to my attention last night, as one gentlemen said he was bring the ice cream next week. LOL

    ~Faith

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  9. I think I know what I am making for dessert this weekend! We are overflowing with blackberries and it is such a good crop this year- really sweet. I want to make one more batch of preserves for gifts and whatnot and then I am done with blackberries. I just know this cobbler will be a hit with everyone in my family. Thanks for sharing it!

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  10. Cynthia,

    It really was a great blackberry year, wasn't it!

    These were cultivated blackberries, so sweeter than the wild ones. I find those wild ones bitter, very often.

    Gifts.... another thing I was supposed to accomplish this year. Preserves, knitted items, soaps and toiletries. Hasn't happened yet. LOL

    ~Faith

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  11. I love Fairy Rings. I ALWAYS look for them.


    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

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  12. I learned something new today...fairy rings! TFS! Those blackberries looked absolutely gorgeous and your cake today looked yummy! I haven't had blackberries in ages. My cousin made the best backberry jam one year and gave us a bottle...YUM! I just discovered your blog while searching for info on dehydrating. I did a couple pounds of green beans today...my first attempt!!

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  13. This looks yummy... I have the same bowls too! Also my grandmother's... actually, my Mom was a twin & a premie, and she and her sister had their first baths at home in the smallest Pyrex bowl!

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  14. Viv,

    I'm so glad you stopped by.

    I'm also very grateful for my dehydrator.

    How did your beans turn out?

    ~Faith

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  15. Beth,

    You mean the littlest blue bowl?

    That's amazing! So sweet, too! Any pics?

    ~Faith

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