I looooooooove Sonoma County!  In the late summer, every morning that I walk the doggies, I come home with a bag of blackberries.  I have a rule with blackberry picking... if they don't FALL off of the vine, they aren't ripe enough.  This generally means that something must be done with them (well, often the bag is empty when I get home) immediately or else they will turn to mush within a few hours.  They are so ripe and plump with juice, that as they sit in a bowl or basket, the weight crushes the bottom layer.  It generally is not a problem to get rid of them that day (smoothies, yogurt topping, fruit salads, handfuls) although I truly think that pies and tarts are my favorite way to eradicate ripe berries.  For most fruit pies, I generally cook them for one hour at 425 degrees F.  This pie cooked a bit less than that (about 50 minutes) as it was a thin, open-face tart.   For the blackberry tart, I put 1 1/4 C flour into a bowl and mix it with a pinch of sea salt and about 2 tablespoons of sugar. I take my one (1/2 C) stick of butter which is very cold (I put it into the freezer for 10 minutes) onto a cutting board, and I cut the stick in fourths lengthwise, then dice it, to get little cubes.  I have made a habit of doing this because then you don't have to use a mixer or a food processor.  With my hands I break the little cubes up into tiny pieces throughout the flour, evenly crumbling it.  Then, I sprinkle in about 3 tablespoons of water from a cup that I have put water and ice into (the colder the water, the better!) and slowly press the dough into itself until it turns into a ball.  When you can gather and press it into a ball, stop mixing and flatten it to approximately a 5 inch disc and it into the freezer (if you want to use it soon) or fridge (if you will be using it tomorrow). I learned that the flakiness comes from the butter and flour not completely mixing, so it's good to see "marbling" of butter and flour! After the dough has firmed up for about 30 minutes, I roll it out to cover the dish I will be using.  If your "innards" of your pie are not too juicy, you can make a free-form tart by simply putting the filling in the middle of this flat crust and folding the sides over so that they form a small lip.  This is usually served in high end cafes and called "rustic fruit galette."  I call it "too lazy to make a nice pie crust," but they taste the same. For the filling, the recipe changes depending on the fruit.  When you have something with a lot of natural pectin, such as apples, you hardly need to add any thickener to the fruit.  For berries, I used about 3 Tablespoons of flour sprinkled over the fruit.  The same rule applies for sugar.  If you have a very ripe and sweet crop, you may use hardly any sugar at all.  I hand picked and hand selected these berries and I knew that each one was very sweet.  I only used about 2 tablespoons of sugar for my 3 cups of berries.  If I were using mixed berries or fruit that had a tartness to it, I would increase the sugar to up to 1/2 cup for 3 cups of fruit. Gently toss the flour and sugar into the fruit and pile it into the center of your pie crust.  If you are not pre-baking your crust, I always poke the bottom of the crust with a fork before adding the fruit, or else you may find that the center actually rises and forms an air pocket under the crust.  The last two touches, recommended by my Grammy, are always to dot the top of the pie with butter and brush the crust with an egg or milk wash.  I like the egg wash best.  Pies are truly a simple pleasure to make, and an extreme pleasure to eat!  crust: 1 1/4 C organic unbleached white flour 1 stick COLD organic pastured butter 1/2 t salt 2 T sugar (less if you like a more savory crust) 3 T ice cold water filling: 3 cups fresh fruit 2-3 T flour 2 T sugar

Inspiration

Inspiration is a word that I hear too often without appreciating its true form.  The word, itself, recollects images of posters from middle school counselor offices (okay, I might like the one that shows the Dalmation litter boasting a rainbow-spotted pup) , but beyond the disposable and marketable "inspiration" that you can find on every Target shelf, there are true moments of inspiration in this world.

I can recall watching a childhood friend of mine holding a piece of chalk to the cement of my driveway while she twirled in circles.  The spiraling designs she created were ones that I had never made before.  She giggled with contentment as she stopped spinning and took a few dizzy steps to regain her balance.  Just as her laughter subsided, a squeal erupted from her lips.  "EEEEK!," she looked at me with bursting excitement, "Come do it next to me with a different color!" she demanded.  I couldn't have hoped for a better invitation.  Here I was, almost silenced with envy at her beautiful circular creation and there she stood, beckoning me to join her.

I was inspired by her carefree approach to art that day on my driveway, and later in life, this brazen redhead would inspire and motivate me in many more ways.  I have thought about this day many times.  However, a new revelation has occurred to me.  She didn't have to ask me to join her.  It wasn't the tango.  She could have easily continued her spinning, twirling, giggling, and shrieking with a party of one.  Perhaps she caught a glimpse of me standing statuesque with jealousy that I had not come up with this idea myself.  I believe others might have turned to me and said, "Look at what I did!"  She did not.  She looked to me and said, "You should, too!"  That is inspiring in a whole new way.

I have been inspired by the lives of a few bloggers, and in the same way that Jane asked me to join her, I discovered a wonderful invitation today from one of them.  Miss Nici Holt, of Dig This Chick MT.com has updated her blog with hilarious diddies and tidbits of her life in a weekly special called "Hump Day Nuggets."  Upon reading some nuggets from her today, I discovered that she created a little icon for this and offered it to others to use.   I can just picture her reaching toward me with an oblong shape of chalk and calling to me, "You should, too!"  Thank you Nici.  I don't know you, and you "did it first," but you have welcomed others to the party.  Here's to Hump Day Nuggets!

Some Photos

Poor Man's Souffle

Can you spot the mushrooms? :)

Wild Fermented Pickles - Not just for cucumbers!

Hiking Partner

Organic Cabot Cheese, anyone?

"Yes, many of your favorite foods are fermented!"

I used the Festival sign to sort morels when I had found a few

Grilled and Stuffed Morels

Wild Mushrooms - Dehydrated

In the process of re-hydrating!

Some of my favorite things to make friends are balms and salves with healing local herbs.

Bag O' Porcini

My Lil' Lady

My best bud and hiking partner, Eleanor