Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Forced study break and blackberry cobbler!

Helllooo, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I was recently forced out of my cave. Well, I was lured by a large mocha and the promise of some company in the kitchen. My friend Mindy told me she was coming. Just like that. I had no choice about the matter. I was going to have to actually brush my hair and put on a shirt without stains.
 (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. I brushed my hair that morning.)
                                          
 Since we were out of bread and milk and peanut butter and all the other food that children live on, I went to the grocery store before she arrived. And there, I saw blackberries on sale! Score!
 When my college roommate visited a few years ago, she made Pioneer Woman Cooks blackberry cobbler and it lives in my memory as a dish of sugar-crusted perfection. She also gave me her cookbook, along with a picture of them together! Whoohooo! She's met Pioneer Woman!
Since we had everything we needed, we decided to throw it together while her boys and my kids were chasing each other around the house with mini laser guns. (Thanks, Christalee. I'll get even with you someday...)

 Ok, doubling this recipe because... you know... lots of people.
2 sticks (1/2 lb) of butter
2 1/2 cups sugar, and 4 TBS extra
2 cups self rising flour (or normal flour plus 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder per cup)
2 cups milk
2 cups fresh blackberries
 Mmmm. Sweet cocaine.
 Melt the butter and whisk in the flour and the sugar.
 Add the blackberries and sprinkle with sugar.
 Into the oven they go at 350F for one hour!
 This is about 30 minutes in, and they're starting to puff.
 This is about 45 minutes in to the cooking. About now, you can sprinkle the remaining 2 TBS sugar over each one. Or you can misread the directions and do it before they start cooking, like I did. Apparently it doesn't make much difference.
 MMMMM.
 The picture is fuzzy. Probably because I was elbowing kids out of the way so I could take the shot. Suddenly, everybody was in the kitchen!
 After it's cooled about 10-15 minutes you can dish some out and add any leftover berries. It was plenty sweet enough that it didn't need any vanilla ice cream, but PWC says you can add any toppings you so desire.
Closer, closer... YUM. This is probably the easiest recipe I know for a dessert and next time I'd like to try a peach version. Not sure how it will be but I'll keep you updated!
And speaking of updates, here's a final picture of the book nook. I think the last time I posted, we weren't quite finished...
So, the bean bag arrived and at first I was worried. It was about 1 ft square and rock solid. The directions said to cut it out of the wrapper and put it in the inner bean bag pouch. It supposedly would start to expand over the next few days. Huh?? The bean bag was going to grow? 
But, it was true! The environmentally friendly bean bag material indeed started to expand and soon, within hours, it was two feet wide.
By the next morning it was 48 inches wide and completely soft. We placed in the book nook, right under the origami dragons. (Here is Edward looking at St. George and his shiny sword.)
With all that reading, little boys need a bit of a nap. Minutes later, there was quiet snoring. Ahhh, double duty book nook! Napping and reading, what a life!
One more picture of the before, for contrast:

I do believe this wasn't a Pinterest fail, for once! Also, the kids had a great time working together to make their ideas happen. Okay, until next time!

18 comments:

  1. This blackberry cobbler is awesome, but so is the nook! The kids did beautiful work. I hope they enjoy it. I think peaches would be easier for the cobbler, because you can get canned ones easily. Let us know how it comes out!

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    1. I definitely will! I like the bit of sour to balance out all that sugar, so I think I'll cut the sugar when I try a peach version.

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  2. I want a book nook! though I probably wouldn't fit in that one LOL! great job!
    love reading Pioneer Woman's recipes- should probably try some since obviously NOT cooking them isnt' keeping me thin LOL! I miss my mom's berry cobbler- though I don't remember her ever making it after I was maybe 1st or 2nd grade..before we moved..it had lattice crust layered and I remember my brother and I got to eat the leftover blackberries in a bowl with milk and sugar. that was back in the day when you didn't buy berries- you walked along the side of the road and picked them! tons of blackberries all over the place
    Susanna

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    1. Yup! We almost never have berries outside of summer/fall here, but I was dying for something other than soup and casseroles.
      I have a lot of cookbooks, and a lot of recipes, and try a lot of different things. I can say that PWC recipes have never failed. Ever.
      For me, that's a pretty good winning streak!

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    2. definitely but it's hard to fail with butter LOL! I enjoy reading her cookbooks - have the first one but haven't gotten the to hers yet (I don't think!) seems like it was the first one I bought for my mom right before she passed so I brought it back down here after one of my trips up there. Have you read her book about how she met her hubby? the first meal she cooked was funny -can't remember it but it was frou frou and he was a beef man...I can understand that a bit - she was used to eating different stuff and he probablycould have lived on steak! my mom was probably feeling that her entire marriage- she liked to eat at Wyatt's cafeteria and get 'something over rice' - we always joked she'd get 'something over rice' because non of us would eat rice back then - I finally did after college! and no one wanted steamed veggies except her - Wyatt's was her finally eat what I like time!
      I mix up my seaons here - Houston is usually warm so I'll fix chili in summer sometimes (and crank down the a/c!) I'm actually craving a casserole right now! gonna go eat Malaysian with my friend (she's from there so knows how to order and boss the waiter around!)
      Susanna

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  3. I love the book nook BEYOND WORDS. Seriously, words fail me, I think you and your children are amazingly creative and adorable...

    And snoozing in the nook! PERFECT!!!!! Love it, Virginia!

    The cobbler we must try. It doesn't look at all dry like some cobblers turn out so I might try that today with the pre-schooler set.

    We're working on writing.... forming letters.... enunciation.... pronunciation.... I think they'll add do fine with COBBLER, LOL!!!! :)

    I have apples here that need to be used. I wonder if that would require something added???? I'm going to try it and see!

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    1. Tell me how it goes! And the apples would be fine, if the blackberries didn't need any more sugar. If anything, they might need less. Maybe a lower temp and longer cooking? If the pieces are large? maybe cinnamon? But now we're basically making pie...

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    2. LOL I don't see how it'd be dry with 2 sticks of butter! I might have to give this a try...dangerous dangerous dangerous since I dont' have a house full of kids or company...will have to wait and see if my friend comes down then I can make it!
      Susanna

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  4. The nook reminds me... we turned our "Harry Potter Closet" (beneath the stairs closet) into a "Dress Up Closet" a few years back. I wall papered it below, painted above, added a built-in rod for their dresses and a shoe organizer for their accessories (and shoes!) and a rug. That way the little girls could change into their BEAUTIFUL GARAGE SALE GOWNS in a private and pretty "room"! Amazing what a closet can become when you're little!

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    1. Oh, that is BRILLIANT. I'm a fan of privacy, although my children seem to strip naked at the drop of a hat (or their pants). The older ones are not so amused with tiny toddler bottoms running free, so I think a specified changing place is a wonderful idea.

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  5. I love how your bean bag blends in with the castle -- looks like a poofy meadow in the foreground! I'm seriously envious!!!! Y'all did a great job. I bow to your creativity.

    And the blackberry cobbler -- it's magic!. So cool the way it puffs up like that. You must have a magic want at your house!

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    1. Oh, Kav, if I did, there would be NO DISHES! And I ordered the green bean bag to look like hills. the kids wants purple, but I convinced them otherwise. Ha! If I couldn't have a bugs and butterflies nook, then I could at least have a meadow....

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  6. what did you cook these in? they look like my fiesta bowls - are they bigger? trying to figure out from the pics - they look bigger in the oven and with the kid's hands...
    Susanna

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    1. They're large Fiesta serving bowls, I think they hold 6 quarts?

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  7. This looks so yummy, Virginia, and, like you said, easy. That's a SCORE in my book.

    Love, love, LOVE the book nook. I still think you should rent Ana to your friends, though. :)

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    1. Yes, maybe some day she can make her own money that way! For now, I pay her to amuse small kids while I write at the park. :)

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  8. I keep trying to tell you to stay in your stained shirts. I'm not sure I'd notice. I get to get out of my house! I couldn't care less if you had horns and breathed fire. Ok. Maybe not. I am a fan of my dragons after all. But really. Allowing me to invade your house for a few hours to bring you coffee and keep you sane warrants you being allowed to stay in whatever you're wearing when I show up on your doorstep.
    Mindy

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  9. I just realized I missed this post. It was deadline day. :)

    That reading nook is SO CUTE!!! You and the kids did an amazing job. I want to come read and nap! I also want some of that cobbler that's making me drool.

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