Easy Blackberry Cobbler

One of my favorite summer time desserts is blackberry cobbler (topped with vanilla ice cream, of course!). Blackberries are now being grown by my parents and are available for purchase at Granddaddy's Garden.

This recipe has been in my family for as long as I remember. My mom frequently made this cobbler growing up and it never lasted long. My kids enjoy it today, although they prefer peaches. It is a recipe that adapts well with a variety of fruits, and I've made it with blueberries, apples and peaches as well blackberries.

No Dough Blackberry Cobbler
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
4 - 5 c. prepared fruit
1/2 c. additional sugar

Melt butter in a 9 inch baking dish. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, 3/4 c. sugar and baking powder. Add milk and stir until blended. Pour batter on top of the butter in the dish and DO NOT STIR.

Combine the fruit and remaining sugar. Spoon over batter and do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. The fruit will sink to the bottom and the golden crust will rise to the top.



Be sure to leave a comment if you try the recipe, and let us know what you think!

Sweet Strawberries

At Granddaddy's Garden, strawberries are grown using a hydroponic system. This system allows Granddaddy's Garden to have strawberries from early June until the first frost, unlike the short season that comes with growing berries in the ground. In the photo below, my daughter Anna experienced her first strawberry harvest.



Although these berries are sweet enjoy to enjoy on their own, many visitors to Granddaddy's Garden have talked about how they couldn't wait to get them home and into a strawberry pie. Here's a recipe in case you don't have one of your own.

Strawberry Pie

1 baked pie crust or graham cracker crust
4 c. strawberries, halved
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
3 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. strawberry gelatin powder
Whipped cream

Bring sugar, water, and cornstarch to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Remove from heat and chill 1 hour. Arrange the berries in the crust and pour gelatin mixture over top. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Uncover and pipe whipped cream around the edges of the pie before serving.

Microwave Sweet Pickles and Zucchini-Corn Skillet

If your garden is like mine, the first of the vegetables to arrive each summer are the squash, zucchini and cucumbers. Of course, these crops are known for their ABUNDANT harvest. Both of these recipes are tried and true in my home, and my daughter will eat the pickles by the jar if I let her. I hope that you'll try one of these out, and if you do, leave a comment with what you thought about it!

Also, before you leave the blog today, be sure to scroll down to the bottom and vote in our fresh produce poll.

Microwave Pickles
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1 onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cucumbers, sliced

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl for 4 minutes on high. Remove and stir well, then return to the microwave for 4 more minutes.

*This recipe can be doubled and the pickles keep well if you want to preserve them for the winter months.

Zucchini and Corn Skillet
*This recipe is actually a "grandma" recipe, but it originally came from my husband's grandmother. I've adapted it to suit my family's tastes.



3 small zucchini, sliced and quartered
2 T. butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
*Fresh corn may be used when it's available in summer months
1 2 oz. jar pimentoes, drained
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. lemon pepper
2 T. chopped fresh basil
mozzarella cheese, grated

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and garlic; saute three to four minutes.

Add the corn and the next 3 ingredients. Cook 2-3 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Add the basil and stir to blend. Top with mozzarella cheese and serve immediately.

What's Grandma's Kitchen?

Hello!

Grandma's Kitchen is designed to be a blog to help you find some new recipes to use up all that garden produce. It's a partner site to the website www.granddaddysgarden.com, a produce market local to Lebanon, KY. (Visit its site for its history). This blog is named in honor of my grandmother, Addie Florence Browning, a mother of nine children that made the most of the bounty the garden provided each summer. While not all of the recipes that will be posted here, her cooking and recipes were some of the first that I was exposed too and I love preparing home-cooked meals for my own family today.

We hope that you'll visit here often to check out the new recipes posted by me, Leslie, and that if you're in the Marion County, KY, neighborhood, you'll stop by and visit Granddaddy's Garden.