just freezin' my berries off

I can't believe it's October and I'm still picking berries!  We have been having a beautiful summer on the Oregon coast and so far our Fall has been unusually warm and sunny.  The fab weather seems to be promoting berry ripening and I am reaping the benefits.  When you pick wild blackberries you have a small window of time before they start to mold.  When I don't have time to make jam I end up freezing them.  There is a technique to handling berries and I'm sure everyone has their own but below you'll see my freezing method to my blackberry madness.

I never wash my berries until just before I prep for freezing or making jam.

I lightly wash my berries in small batches removing bugs and stems in the process.

It's important to not water log them, treat them like your washing mushrooms.

 

Then I line a cookie sheet or two with wax paper and carefully spread the berries out.

I then pop the berries in the freezer over night and the next day vacuum seal them.

I can now make blackberry pie in the dead of winter, or make a sauce, or a cobbler, or whatever.

recipe remix

There's nothing more inspiring to me then opening a new months Bon Appetite, Gourmet, or Saveur magazine.  I love reading about regional cuisine, looking at pictures of food so carefully displayed, and learning new and old recipes.  My biggest challenge is taking a recipe from that "every day people" magazine and utilize the various game we have in our freezer. 

The other day I was in the mood for some Italian and I decided to make Chicken Marsala with some backstrap I had thawing in the fridge.  Chicken Marsala calls for the chicken to be pounded with a meat tenderizer but most, if not all our backstrap is already steaked out so I opted out of that procedure.  I instead decided to soak the meat in milk for a couple of reasons.  First, to take some of the game flavor away and draw out the blood and secondly, to tenderize the meat.  The malic (did I spell that right?) acid in milk helps breakdown the tough stuff. 

my inspiration was Gourmet's Italian Kitchen (May's special addition)

it turned out AMAZING but don't judge the pic.  I was to hungry to fuss with the lighting.

dinner was served with brussel sprouts and creamy polenta

click "Venison Marsala" for the recipe.

salmon every which way....or at least two ways

Holy smokes we are eating our share of salmon and frankly I find myself bored.  It's hard to get inspired to create something new when your constantly stuffing you're face.  I guess anything can get old huh?  Don't I sound awful?  I hate that I get bored eating sooooo much fresh salmon caught by manly husband (said in a snooty-old money lavish-voice).  Well, I got creative this week with some leftover salmon and ripe flavors.  I used a recently purchased Champagne Vinaigrette from Trader Joe's and I love it! 

spinach salmon salad with champagne vinaigrette and fresh blackberries

Trader Joe's Champagne Vinaigrette

salmon salad sandwich with champagne vinaigrette, blackberries OH, and celery

tonight's leftovers is tomorrows lunch



last nights sunset

I can enjoy a sunset almost every night from the same spot at my house and each one paints it's own artistic interpretation of night fall.  This night the sun started it's descent towards the ocean but it was impossible to see because a blanket of fog was thrown over the most western part of the sky.  What seemed like only minutes the fog started to move and shift exposing the blues, pinks, and purples of the sky.........with a hazy twist. 

 

After snappin' a few photos I turned around to walk back inside and the moon was all like "Hey, what about me?"  "Take a picture of me!" 

 

i'm gonna try that!

Yes, more salmon.  We have lots and lots of salmon to eat and we still need to get through some of our venison in the freezer!  I can't eat fast enough!! 

The other day I was browsing through my Cooks Illustrated and I noticed a sweet little idea for preparing a salmon steak for cooking.  So, I gave it a shot.

It seemed to work fairly well but the salmon was a little slippery so it was hard to get the string to stay in one place while tying a knot.  Oh, and my salmon steak wasn't cut perfectly so it was a little hard to coil the tail but I managed somehow.  I liked this technique and even better I like that I could cook a steak evenly. I would most definitely do this again.



something sweet-rhubarb and blackberry crisp

My mother in law Leslie has been growing rhubarb in her garden (among other things) and she was kind enough to supply me with some.  I washed, chopped, and tossed the stalks in the freezer to chill and wait until I bought strawberries.  Once the day had come for me to bake something rhubarbie the strawberries I bought were mush and Steve managed to eat most of them, crap! I needed to think fast.  By this point I was jonesing for something sweet and I wanted it now!  In a cold sweat, hands shaking, heart beating fast, I tore through the cupboards searching for something ANYTHING!  I ripped open the freezer door and there they were sitting under the glow of the freezer light........my very last bag of blackberries from last year!!!!  Aaaaaammmmmeeeennnnnnn

wash, chop, and pop in the freezer (keeps rhubarb firm when baking) this recipe was about 8 cups

pre heat oven to 375 degrees

combine 3 cups blackberries 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup flour juice of 1/2 a lemon

make sure it's well combined but gently you don't want it mushy, place in a baking dish and set aside

for topping: mix together 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup brown sugar 1 stick melted butter

layer topping over prepared fruit then top that with 2 tablespoons cubed butter 

bake for 45 minutes until juices bubble, topping is golden brown, and fruit is tender

holy crap it turned out good

course I would tweak the recipe here and there but it wasn't bad for pullin' it out of my.......eerrrr...freezer, ya freezer.
If anyone has any rhubarb recipes to share (cause I could use em') post them on www.recipesfromthewild.com

cumin and chipotle crusted salmon with blackberry sauce

Yes, salmon AGAIN.  I know that sounds crazy for me to say but when the fishin's good we eat a lot of it and frankly, it can get old.  I'm always looking for creative, easy, yummy recipes for salmon and this one is one of my favorites.  The recipe is super duper simple.



start with a fresh filet of salmon-season with a pinch or two of kosher salt

coat filet with cumin and chipotle mixture-then broil

while fish is broiling-start making the sauce

Want the recipe?

click  Chipotle and Cumin Crusted Salmon with Blackberry Sauce

being reminded of the important stuff

I happen to live in a little corner of the world where people flock from around the world, the country, the state to experience it's awesomeness......and I can't blame them.  I love that others love my home as much as I do but there are days, like today, where just going to the grocery store after a day of work is crowded and exhausting and annoying and frustrating and crowded!!! 
Tonight when I braved my way home from the grocery store Steve and Chewy were MIA sssooo I called Steve to see where the heck he was and he said "we're on the beach, come join us!"  Leaving my groceries on the table I quickly threw on a pair of flip flops and headed west.

After a glorious walk on the beach soaking in the earths splendor.....the grocery story doesn't seem so bad.

sunday dinner - grilled salmon with rosemary and garlic

Hurray, Steve caught a salmon today!  It's only natural to prepare it for dinner.  This recipe was first introduced to me by my neighbor (thanks Roz).  It's super simple and super deliciouso.  There's no measurements for ingredients but don't worry, you really can't mess it up.

to start you'll need a few cloves of garlic-chopped and a handful of fresh rosemary-washed and stemmed

coarsely chop rosemary

incorporate garlic and rosemary

now together, finely chop rosemary and garlic, set aside

to prepare salmon, drizzle with olive oil

cover salmon with rosemary and garlic combo

once prepared you can set aside while preparing the rest of your dinner

Prepare for grilling-get grill nice and hot, really hot.  Once grill is ready place salmon skin side down and cook for about 4 minutes on each side depending on the size/thickness of the fish.  The trick is to cook it quick and hot and NOT to overcook it!  Yuck, dry overcooked fish.