Blackberries and Swiss Chard - In Season

We have an EXTREME abundance of blackberries all around our property this year.   The kids and I go out each night and pick, pick, pick and they eat, eat, eat as they pick.

The first and best recipe of the week is this Blackberry Crisp.

Blackberry Crisp


Click on the link for this delicious recipe.  I can not WAIT to make this again.  I give this a two thumbs up - delish!!!

Next I made some Blackberry Puff Pastries

I made the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastries.  Next I stirred up 5 oz. of cream cheese, 3 T of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of whip cream, and 1 tsp. of vanilla.  After I topped the pastries with the frosting I added strawberry jam and then added the blackberries.  My kids LOVED them!


Swiss Chard has proven to be difficult for me to prepare and every year I receive quite about from the Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program.    Last year I made a fabulous Swiss Chard soup, but I could not find the recipe (I made one but it was terrible).   In the end, I found two great Swiss Chard recipes.

Swiss Chard Tuna Salad

Tuna Swiss Chard Salad

I'm a vegetarian, so I left the tuna out of mine, but it was truly fabulous!

I added 1/2 cup of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of mustard and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.  From there I added 1 cup of Swiss chard, 1/2 cup of Swiss chard stems, black olives and onions.  Delish!!!

Last but not least I made a creamy Swiss chard pasta dish.

Creamy Swiss Chard Pasta

I LOVED this Swiss Chard recipe and it made for great leftovers.  I did use whole wheat elbow macaroni and I added a little crushed red pepper because I was in the mood for some spice.

We've had a great weekend picking blackberries, working in our garden, shopping at the Farmer's Market, attending the play Beauty and the Beast, and chilling on Lake Owen today.

Here's the little ones enjoying a picnic on the shores of Lake Owen today.

Picnic with our produce on Lake Owen

And, finally - here's the produce from our garden today:

Produce - picture captured in my Grandma's Jelly Jar Cupboard 

Does anyone have a good beet recipe?  I love them, but have not had much success this year.

Kristin :)