I LOVE living in Asheville, NC! Growing wild in my backyard and the vacant lot next door are blackberries, black raspberries and wine berries. Blackberries have always been my favorite berry and now I am blessed to be surround by them. I get such a thrill everytime I come in from picking. I think, "I can't believe I got all of these for FREE!"

Well, right now, my house is filling with the smell of warm Blackberry Cobbler that is baking in the oven. This is a fabulous, very easy recipe that I got from the Jackson Service League Cookbook (pg. 237 for all my Jackson, TN friends).


BLACKBERRY COBBLER


2 pints fresh blackberries or 4 cups frozen, thawed and drained (can use blueberries too.)
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
6 TBSP butter, melted (you know I love my butter!)
1 TBSP dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon


preheat oven to 350 degrees. wash blackberries well, drain. place them in an 8x8" baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. in a medium size bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and egg with a fork. it will be dry and crumbly. sprinkle dry mixture evenly over blackberries, and drizzle with melted butter. sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over flour mixture. bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. (sauce thickens as it cools.)

serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

Here are a couple of recently requested recipes. One is Red Beans and Rice (I was never a fan until I had this recipe - amazing!!!) The other is a Grille Chicken that my mom would make when I was growing up. It is great for camping trips. Make it ahead, let it marinade in a ziplock, then put it on the grill - no prep and no clean up.


RED BEANS AND RICE (crockpot)

2 lbs dried light red beans
2 1/4 TBSP salt
1/2 TBSP pepper
1 TBSP garlic powder
1/2 tsp cyanne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
less than 1/4 c fresh chopped parsley
2 packages kebasa sausage

Soak beans in a large pot of water overnight. In the morning, drain and put in crockpot with spices and 8 cups of fresh water. Stir and turn on low. Around lunch add sliced kebasa. Serve over long grain white rice.


DIJON MARINADED GRILLED CHICKEN

1/4 cup oil
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 or 3 chopped green onions
4 chicken breasts

In a small bowl, whisk marinade ingredients. Place chicken in ziploc bag and pour marinade over it. Massage bag. Refrigerate 2 - 6 hours, turning occationally. Grill.

Happy 4th!!!