Blackberries EVERYWHERE

When we first arrived in Oregon looking for a house we were surprised to find so many blackberry thickets "in town", in fact they were lining the sidewalks and fences just about everywhere one looked. Our daughter who lives "in the country" had thickets that lined the edge of her property and stood over six feet tall. The house we selected had a "small" thicket on the outside of the back fence and along the sidewalks at the end of the street. When spring arrived we soon learned how quickly they grew and how far the vines would reach. When we would go for an afternoon walk we had to keep ducking to get out of the way or carefully brush them aside. Soon the thorns became so large that "brushing" was no longer an option. In fact, I had to get the clippers and cut the invading vines out of our maple trees on the other side of the fence, some of the vines reaching about 10 feet up into the tree.

We learned that some people around here go to U-Pick vineyards and "buy" blackberries to put on their ice cream, use to make jam and jelly, or for baking cobblers or pies. Why "buy" them when they are so plentiful? Well, we went to a U-Pick to find out. The vines are neatly arranged on trellises so you can pick at a convenient height and there are several varieties bearing rather large berries. You can reach all the berries you see to pick. Convenient? Yes. But still "Why pay for something that's growing everywhere?"

Wild growth

U-Pick convenience

So, we decided to walk the sidewalks and fence rows around our house and pick what we found. They were a bit smaller than the U-Pick varieties but we think they have a more distinctive flavor. They are also a bit more difficult to pick; long sleeves are a must and even then I always ended up with scratches on my hands and coming back to pick small thorns out of my fingers. Sandra made jam with the first batch we picked and we had enough to share with neighbors and friends. We carried some back on a trip to Taiwan and it was so well received that we have even carried it back after the increased luggage charges on flights.

Chinese are always drinking tea, and now flavored teas or fruit teas are very popular. We decided to try making blackberry tea. Simply adding about a cup of ripe blackberries to a large pot of brewing tea transforms it into a unique beverage; tasty and thirst quenching.

Ready for brewing

We were having a Mexican Dinner at church and a couple of the Mexican members were preparing the main dishes; other members were preparing the sides. When it came around to us to say what were bringing all that was left was the beverage. So, we decided to bring blackberry tea. Hot, cold, sweetened, and natural - Everybody was surprised and thought we had bought some exotic flavored tea to prepare. They couldn't believe that it came from our backyard. Now everybody's doing it!

Next time you see blackberries growing along the side of the road, sidewalk, or fence stop a few minutes and pick a handful. Take them home, brew them with a teabag, and enjoy one of Life's Pleasures God has made so freely available to us.

What to do with "free" pears

Last year we met a new family that has a large pear tree in the back yard. They enjoyed looking at the tree blooming and all the fruit on the tree but when the pears begin to ripen and fall they lost interest fast. So, we were invited to strip the tree for them. Sandra worked with our daughter Stephanie and they made 85 pints of pear salsa, incorporating peppers and onions in a vinegar base. This year the tree didn't produce much fruit so we didn't have much hope for pears.

BUT, we met another new friend who has a wine grape vineyard that we were invited to glean (another story) and they also have two pear trees that were dropping pears on the ground and being fed to the hogs. What a waste.

SO, we loaded up bags of pears and brought them home.

After eating all we could fresh, giving some to neighbors, and distributing them to friends at church, we decided to try something we had seen in a food magazine, red wine poached pears.

We took a recipe from one of Sandra's cookbooks and modified it some to suit our taste.

4 pears - peeled, halved, and core removed

2-1/2 C red wine (we used Burgandy)

1 stick cinnamon

7 cloves

1/4 C sugar

Place in saucepan, liquid must cover the pears. Simmer 7-8 minutes, remove from heat and cool in the liquid. You can eat warm or cold as you choose. Also good with some cream cheese and chopped nuts in the center.

Especially good in cold weather - serve warm along with some of the simmering liquid. Afterwards not only is your tummy satisfied but your body feels warm down to your toes.

A Story for Jasmine

Jasmine, I remember when you were just about 1-1/2 years old you liked to tell us stories. My favorite story was the one you told about Snow White. When you got to the point about her eating the poison apple you would grab your throat and make choking noises. It made me laugh every time you did it. So I have decided to tell you some stories. You can use them to practice your English and maybe you can tell them to your friends at school.

Many years ago in Ireland a group of people called Celts were living on farms. At harvest time in the fall they collected the crops from the fields and killed the animals they had raised to prepare the meat for storage so they could use it during the winter. They thought that at this time the evil spirits of the dead could come back to earth and cause them trouble. To prevent this happening they made huge fires at night and threw all the bones of the animals they had killed into the fire. They also put on scary masks and danced around the fires to frighten away the evil spirits. Today we buy our meat at the market but a lot of kids take advantage of this old custom and dress up in scary masks to trick their friends and neighbors into giving them candy.

Also at this time in Europe the people thought that a person's intelligence was located in their head. So, to scare off evil spirits they used the head of a vegetable to make a lantern to scare away the evil spirits. They usually took a large turnip, carved a hole in it, and placed a candle in to to use as a light. There was an old farmer named Jack; he liked to drink a lot and gamble. One day he tricked the devil into climbing up a tree. He carved a cross on the trunk of the tree to scare the devil and keep him up in the tree. The devil put a curse on Jack and made him wander the earth at night carrying a lantern made from a turnip with a candle inside it.

In America people found out that pumpkins are larger, more available, and easier to carve - so they use pumpkins instead of turnips. The lights are called Jack's Lantern or Jack-O-Lanterns.

These are pictures of neighbor's yards that they have decorated to scare the kids who come to Trick-or-Treat and ask them for candy.

These are some Jack-o-Lanterns.

These are pumpkins by our front door

This is the candy we will give kids coming to "Trick-or-Treat"

Chestnut Harvesting

Last fall we bought some chestnuts at an Asian grocery store, they were delicious but they cost $4.99 a pound. In November we found a U-Pick place not too far away to get chestnuts. But, when we decided to go again this year, we forgot where it was - duh! After some searching we found one place but weren't sure it was the same one. We made a trip out there today to check it out and sure enough it was the same place. We have written the contact information down so we don't forget it again. Since we were already there we decided to pick a little bit to be sure they were as good as we remembered them; we wound up bringing 37 pounds home. Next Saturday we plan to return and lead a "field trip". We may have to pick some more for the cupboard! Sandra is roasting some as we write this and the smell is inviting so will stop now.

The trees were loaded with pods just bursting with ripe nuts. Some had fallen to the ground and were ready to pick up.

Heavy leather gloves are a necessity as the pods are covered with sharp spines that will go through even regular gloves.

You can use your hands to open the pods and remove the nuts or you can use your feet to step on the pods and squeeze them open so the nuts can be easily removed.

Most pods have two to three nuts along with a few unformed ones. Some have a larger number and some have a single large nut.

Harvested Chestnuts

Picked up off the ground or plucked from a pod, you will wind up with a high quality harvest ready to process.











One hour's picking yielded a five-gallon bucket about 3/4 full; that's about 20 pounds.

















Two people picking for about an hour yielded a harvest of 37 pounds.

















Store-bought size (R)
U-Pick size (L)













The cream of the crop - Korean chestnuts. Five different varieties are available for harvesting at the one location