Summer is that magical time of year that heralds the arrival of colorful, plump and delicious berries.  There is no way in the world that I could just pick one single berry as my favorite.  I love them all, each with their own unique flavor profile that dances delightfully on my tastebuds.  Right now your local area Farmer’s Markets are offering up these sweet little treasures.  Summer is the best time of year to enjoy their nommy goodness, so make it a plan this weekend to visit a Farmer’s Market – I’ve even put together a list for you.

I’m going to step back in time a bit to share a berry memory.  I grew up in Puyallup, home of Daffodils, U-Pick Berry Farms and little unattended roadside Farmer’s stands – the kind that had an old MJB coffee can to hold the money and your honor to pay for that forearm sized zucchini.  I also grew up in the 70’s with gas lines stretching for blocks, job shortages combined with  a recession meaning trouble for a lot of folks.  Our family was no different and my Father ended up out of work.

With my Dad tirelessly looking for work and struggling to find anything, my Mom went job seeking  to help and found work at Valley Packers, working the conveyor line sorting out the cruddy berries from the good ones.  She used to wear this heavy white rubber apron that she would scrub down every night.  It was stained red with the berry juices and I LOVED the way it smelled, I know… I’m weird.  Every once in a while she would slip a couple  super plump, super sweet berries in the apron pocket at the end of her shift and bring them home as a little treat for my Brother and me.   This is my first memories of the taste of berries and I haven’t found a berry as sweet as they were back then.

So I managed to pick up 4 different kinds of berries and as I was standing at my kitchen counter sorting through them I absentmindedly put my finger to my nose and inhaled… I was 5 again and picturing my Mom in that red stained white apron gathering us around close with her hands behind her back while we eagerly awaited the reveal of what sweet little treasure she had to share with us.  So this recipe is for my Mom… sweet, a teeny bit tart, a little crusty around the edges and all put together…. absolutely beautiful.

Recipe notes: If you don’t have all 4 varieties of berries you can mix and match, or make this with just one kind of berry as long as the measurement is the same.  And also… don’t be frightened of the Black Pepper as a spice, it plays beautifully with berry fruits.

Crispy Berry Crumble

Preheat oven to 350º
Filling

• 1 Cup of each – Strawberry (quartered), Blueberry, Raspberry & Blackberry
• 1 1/2 Cups White Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Flour – All Purpose
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cornstarch
• 1 Vanilla Bean (insides scraped out) or 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper – finely ground
• Zest of 1/2 Lemon
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Combine and mix together in a large bowl, being careful to not crush the berries too much.  When thoroughly mixed pour into an 8″x13″ baking dish – or something close – the fruit filling should fill the baking pan 1/2 way up the side, do not overfill the pan as it will result in spillover during the baking process.

Crumble Topping

• 1 1/2 Cups Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Flour – All Purpose
• 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
• 1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
• 3/4 Cup Butter – unsalted, cold and cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• Pinch of Salt

Put everything into a large bowl and using either a pastry cutter or your hands, start mixing until the butter is incorporated.  Do not use a food processor as it will pulverize the oats and almonds leaving this topping with an unpleasant graininess. You will know the topping is ready when you can pinch a large finger full and it holds together.

Final Assembly and Baking
Using your hands start sprinkling the topping mixture over the berries you’ve poured in your baking pan.  The ideal thickness is about 1/2″ to 3/4″, you are likely to have a little leftover topping, so save this for topping your next batch of muffins.
Place the baking pan into your 350º oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the top is a nice toasty brown and the edges of the topping have bubbling fruit peeking out.

Let it cool down for about 15 minutes.  Then when you can comfortably (and carefully!) touch the side of the baking pan for 5 seconds, it is ready to be served warm.  Top it with fresh whip cream or a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

U-PICK NEWS!
Wanna pick your own Strawberries?  I just got notification from the folks at Stocker Farms that their U-Pick Strawberry Field is open!
Located at  8203 Marsh Road, Snohomish WA 98296
1 mile West of Highway 9 or 1 mile East from the bottom of Seattle Hill Road
Look for the yellow building to the North of Marsh Road.
U-Pick is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Sunday
Price per pound for Strawberries is $1.80
No pets
For more information visit Stocker Farms website.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from Stocker Farms for this article.
Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved
All content, text and images are  ©2010 All Rights Reserved and may not be used or reposted without express written consent.

Have you heard of Halloumi? It’s a wonderful semi-hard sheep and/or goat’s milk cheese from Cypress, that has a high melting point. Which means that you can put it right on the grill and grill it or fry it in a fry pan. PERFECT for Summer!

Halloumi is very salty, so a little goes a long way. You can marinate it with olive oil and herbs or purchase it already marinated. It pairs really well with Summer fruits like watermelon, peaches and strawberries.

I put together a little salad combining the tastes of Summer and Halloumi Cheese. This salad is so delicious and the crunchy, salty Halloumi is a perfect briny bite that compliments the sweet Summery melon. It also travels well, you can cook it up ahead of time and take it to one of the many beautiful public picnic parks in Seattle, or anywhere for that matter,  for a delicious, healthy picnic treat. Places around Seattle that carry it are Metropolitan Markets and Big John’s PFI.

Grilled Halloumi Cheese Salad

• 1 8 ounce brick of Halloumi Cheese- Cut into 1/4″ Slices – Marinated (See recipe below)
• 4 Cups Baby Spinach, washed
• 1 Cup Seedless Watermelon, cut into 3/4″ cubes
• 1/2 Teaspoon Chive Flowers or Chopped Chives
• 6 Kalamata Olives, pitted and quartered
• 8-10 Fresh Mint Leaves – cut as Chiffonade or thin strips
• Honey Balsamic Dressing (see recipe below)

If you did not purchase already marinated Halloumi, prepare the marinade as listed int he recipe below and let it rest for 4 hours or overnight.  If you purchased Marinated Halloumi then proceed without waiting.
Make sure that you grill is not too hot.  You may use a fry pan or a BBQ grill.  The heat should be around medium, on a grill, you should be able to hold your hand over the center of the coals for about 7-8 seconds without discomfort and that’s when you know the temperature is right.

Place the Halloumi on the grill, and just toast it until it is golden brown on both sides.  Set aside.

Assemble the rest of the salad ingredients as listed above, give it a toss and put a heap of salad on each plate and top it with one or two slices of your grilled Halloumi Cheese.

You can Garnish with a little additional dressing and mint leaves if you desire.

Marinated Halloumi

• 1 8 ounce brick of Halloumi Cheese- Cut into 1/4″ Slices
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Oregano, or dried if you don’t have fresh
• 1/8 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
• Optional – Pinch of whole Peppercorns
• Optional – Pinch of Chive Flowers or Chopped Chives

Combine the above ingredients and let it rest covered for 4 hours or overnight.  Very important!!! – DO NOT ADD SALT!  This cheese is very salty and you will not need to add any salt.

Honey Pepper Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Honey
• 1/8 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Water

Put in a small bowl and whisk together and use.

So how do we hold on to the flavor of this Summer gem without going the same ole Pesto route? I’m about to show ya…

Don’t get me wrong now, Basil Pesto is one of my favorite condiments. But there is sooo much more you can do with Basil.   I’m going to give you a super simple recipe to preserve your basil and turn it into a base ingredient for many other Basilicious condiments and recipes. And yep… I’ll be throwing a Pesto recipe at ya in the very near future.

Basil Paste

• 3 Cups Basil Leaves, washed and well packed
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Stuff this all into a food processor equipped with chopping blades and pulse until the Basil is blended to about the size of a peppercorn. You may have to scrape the sides of your processor, the consistency should be a similar to a tomato paste.

Refrigerator Storage: Pour the Base Paste Base into an air-tight container, spread evenly and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. You can store it for 3-4 days in the fridge this way.
Freezer Storage: Prep ice cube trays by either rubbing or spraying the insides with Olive Oil. Place roughly 1 Tablespoon in each compartment, cover each with a thin layer of Olive Oil, cover and freeze. Once they are set after a couple hours, pop them out of the trays and place them in a zipper top freezer bag. These will keep beautifully in the freezer for 6+ months.