Blackberries!

 For eleven months of the year, I curse the invasive blackberry plant.  It is ugly.  It is predatory.  It climbs native trees, and smothers native shrubs.  It is a runaway plant which takes over our woods and road sides and I spend hours pulling it out of flower beds and woodland gardens.

But come August and September, I am drawn to the blackberry thickets that dot our island.  The sweet, juicy berries hang on the branches and are free for the taking.  The taste of one sweet berry takes me back to my youth where I would play with my brother and neighbors, and graze on the bountiful blackberries--a sweet, free snack.

I love to eat them sun-warmed right off the canes, but they are particularly good in jams, smoothies, cobblers and sprinkled over vanilla ice cream.  So this time of the year, when we are wanting a dessert, all I have to do is send the kids to the end of the road to pick a few cups of blackberries, and within an hour we will have a delicious blackberry dessert.

My favorite is blackberry cobbler and the recipe I use is easy and delicious.

Blackberry Cobbler

Step 1:  Send the kids out to pick blackberries (3 cups will make a nice size dessert for a family)

Step 2:  While the kids are out, mix the batter together:
 1 Cup flour
 1 Cup sugar
 1 tsp. baking powder
 2/3 Cup milk

Step 3:  melt 1/2 stick margarine or butter and pour into the bottom of an 8" square baking dish.  Next pour the batter into the butter, stirring it until almost mixed.

Step 4:  when the kids get back with the berries, pour them on top of the batter and place the cobbler into a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
(*If you are having company, double the amounts of berries, butter and batter and use a 9" x 13" baking dish.)

Step 5:  Enjoy!!