Monday, July 19, 2010

more forest goodness

wow. Summer is on (finally) around here. We went foraging for berries in the mountains on Sunday with Cass' parents, an aunt and uncle, and a friend of ours. We were out on the trail about 4 hours, all seven of us hunting and picking (this family can forage!). We picked wild mountain blackberries (tiny and far more floral than the ones that grow by the highways); red huckleberries, salmonberries, and thimbleberries (my personal favorite).

What to do with all of them?

I made one small pie just of wild mountain blackberries. They are Cass' favorite and he just LOVES wild mountain blackberry pie. I couldn't not do it.
The rest (mostly red huckleberries because I'd rather stay safely in the forest than scramble down hillsides for the tiny blackberries) I put in a pot...


and yes, made another dozen small jars of jam. Won't this be nice, at yuletide? Tangy delicious, truly wild berry jam for the holidays. Presents from the summer forest.

I swear, I do other things than make jam and fruit desserts all summer! Hopefully I'll have another sewing project to show you soon!

4 comments:

afreckledlip said...

I love this idea. Thimble berries are so cute, I love how they fit on your finger. Have you ever tried making anything with Oregon grape? I've heard that with a lot of suger they can make a good jam.

fleur_delicious said...

you know, I haven't tried Oregon grape, but as a native Oregonian, I kind of feel like I should! I've also been contemplating salal jam; apparently it's not as sour as Oregon grape and you know it grows everywhere, so I figure I should be able to find an ample supply of berries.

what about you, Tonya? Any berry foraging in your summer?

Itchin' Stitchin' said...

So jealous! I have been thinking about making jam this year - it's just too hot here (100+). These look delicious.

afreckledlip said...

I made strawberry jam, but for some reason my jars didn't seal so my freezer is full of jam. I have August off from school so I'm hoping to do some jamming, canning, and some dehydrating, well I hope. I didn't know salal was edible. I'm inspired by all your wild berry adventures.