Monday, August 16, 2010

Sweet Blackberries



I love blackberries. They're my favorite berry to eat in the languid days of late summer. When I lived in Maine, my house had a long hedge of them, and I used to pick them like mad. Waiting for those berries to ripen was one of my annual pursuits. Enjoying their sun-warmed sweetness was one of the highlights of my summers there.


We also bought a loaf of crusty wheat bread...


...to enjoy one of our favorite weekend breakfast treats - French Toast.

Hubby makes these. He uses a recipe from Joy of Cooking, but then adds a few extra spices that make them extra special.

Joy of Cooking recipe:

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Hubby's extra spices:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all of the above ingredients in a square shallow dish. Dip bread slices in and grill until done.

Top with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

49 comments:

  1. What beautiful images! Thanks for sharing.

    I'm fairly new to your blog - where in Maine did you live? I had the pleasure of a visit to Maine just once, and bits of it reminded me of my home state, Alaska.

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  2. Trina, you never fail to make me stop and take a breath with the gorgeousness of your photos and tales.

    Thankyou.

    B

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  3. That looks so yummy! I hope you enjoyed. ;-)

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  4. What a lovely recipe...the cardamon sounds delightful. Thank you for the recipe!

    ~Julia

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  5. Yum! Thanks for sharing the recipe Trina. Hope you are doing well and getting plenty of rest.

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  6. oh yummo trina, that looks delish! and i love hte contrast of the dark berries in the milk glass. looks so lovely!

    hope you're keeping well mate!! jxx

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  7. There is nothing like local berries -- so good with just a sprinkle of sugar and a pour of cream! Alas, ours ripen a bit earlier and are gone now -- but they are so good while they last!

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  8. pure goodness. can't wait to try to recipe. thanks so much for all the yummy recipes that you give to us!

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  9. I love blackberries too! Thank you for the french toast recipe, I'll have to try that one for my husband and son who love it!

    Kat :)

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  10. MMMMMMMmmmmmm...sounds so yummy!

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  11. Trina,
    I am loving all of your summer pictures. That breakfast looks delicious and I love the set up on the porch.
    Do you have any pictures from your home in Maine. I would love to see how your style has evolved and how you incorporate some of the things you have had for a long time in a different way.
    Hope your are enjoying your lazy days of summer!
    Nancy

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  12. Love blackberries. And that breakfast looks delish!

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  13. Lucky you. Fresh blackberries and someone to make you french toast.

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  14. Hi Trina,
    Hope all is well with the four of you! The picture of your rocking chairs is wonderful - the perfect summer look. Isn't is funny that something like berries can hold such memories...I have so many of the mulberry bushes that grew wild when I was younger and couldn't wait for the summers just to have black stained hands everyday!
    Hope you are relaxing and taking care of yourself ~

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  15. Looks absolutely wonderful!
    Teresa (Splendid Sass)

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  16. Fantastic! Here in Niagara, our peach trees are bursting with peaches! There are farm stands on every road and this morning, I'm heading out to go find myself a bushel and start canning them so I can make fresh peach pie any time I want.

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  17. The only thing better than sun-warmed blackberries is to have them bubbling out of a golden crusty pie. Love your blue gingham tablecloth too!

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  18. Hi Susan and Nancy,

    I lived in the little college town of Farmington, Maine. The house was a rental home that I lived in for eleven years, an old Cape Cod. Perhaps I'll find some old photos of it!

    Trina

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  19. I love blackberries too - I'll have to try adding some cardamom into my french toast next time! :)

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  20. oh. lovely photos, lovely food:). we have random blackberry bushes all over our yard. i have a 6th sense as to where they all are and have been monitoring their progress for months. finally, they've turned the beautiful blackish/ blue color that i've been awaiting all summer and i've been eating them like mad!

    i hope you and the babies are doing well. i will definitely try the blackberry french toast- two of my favorite things:).

    xoxo,

    Blair

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  21. thanks for reminding me about blackberries. wonderful pics!

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  22. Mike's french toast looks devine! A handyman and he can cook! Now, that' a keeper!
    Hope you are staying cool- looks like it will be 97 there today? :O Yikes!

    joan

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  23. Hi Trina,

    I do live in Maine and yes the berries have been quite good here this summer. I am lucky to have all kinds on my land. Just when you think you got them all picked; nothing is more exciting than finding a hidden bunch. Your blog is truly beautiful.

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  24. Lovely pictures, thank you. I too, love blackberries, so two years ago I planted three thornless bushes, this is the first year that I have one teeny tiny black berry. By golly I will take it as next year I may have many. NUM

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  25. Simple and beautiful again. Love it!

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  26. You take such lovely pictures I was thinking of you yesterday and wishing I brought my camera on my outing to Essex MA..The main street in town is filled with antique shops.I was in a little shop and spied a shelf with six beautiful marble lamps.I wish I were rich I would have bought the lot of them , keep three fot me and sent you they other three, sooo gorgeous.Very expensive though ,cheapest one was 95.00.Oh well I still had a nice day with my husband poking around the shops.

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  27. Sounds delicious...I'll be sure to add cardamon and a bit of salt to my next batch of french toast. My daughter loves it.

    Your chairs and table look precious!
    Hugs~
    T

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  28. We lived in Finland when I was a child. Cardamom was used in many of their breads and sweets. Never have thought about using it in French Toast, but it sounds wonderful! I'll have to try that.

    Judy :)

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  29. ~ Thank you for the delicious recipe! Your blog is beautiful~Blessings, Rachel

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  30. mmmmmm.....cardamom and nutmeg. The berries and the milk glass are lovely.

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  31. Oh YUM! I understand your sentiments exactly. Growing up my mom had a long row of blackberry bushes along one side of the garden where we would pluck and eat them for hours on end. I'll always remember those sweet Summers with fondness. Everytime I see them in the market I think of lazy days growing up. Only, in Texas they last about 3 weeks in May.

    Your pictures are gorgeous...and it looks like your French toast was probably divine! That's so sweet that your hubby likes to cook. ;0)

    Hugs,

    Gail

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  32. Beautiful post!

    http://mainstreetsisters.blogspot.com/

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  33. Looks so yummy! I enjoy blackberries too in my yogurt.
    And thanks for the french toast recipe..cant wait to try it..I love french toast!!

    Love your blog!!

    Deborah :)

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  34. Hi Trina,
    I am laughing lovingly at your beautiful french toast breakfast. Next year this time your mornings will be so hectic that breakfast for yourself will take a back seat. :) Save those recipes because time flies and so do children. Enjoy every minute!

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  35. Those berries are beautiful and the French Toast looks and sounds scrumptious! We saw some wonderful blackberries at the local farmers market yesterday but I couldn't pass up the strawberries so I opted for them...me thinks I might have made the wrong decision! ;)

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  36. Blackberries=love!



    That bread looks delicious as well!

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  37. The photos were so perfect I thought I could just pop one of those blackberries in my mouth and no one would notice!

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  38. Hi Trina! I've just discovered your nice blog..the blackberries look delicious!!
    Hugs
    paola

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  39. Looove blackberries!!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  40. My formative years
    were spent in Oregon
    and Washington and
    when I return to visit
    my parents, NOTHING
    brings me back like
    the smell of the sunshine
    warming all of the wild
    blackberries rimming their
    property!
    Hope you are blooming!
    xx Suzanne

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  41. I love blackberries, too! You reminded me to check the plants on my sister's farm. It is usually late in the summer when the berries are finally getting ripe! I made a really tasty cobbler a few years ago, too. Thanks for sharing the french toast recipe!
    ~michelle~

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  42. Hi Trina! I had to giggle when I saw this post because I just posted on how hubby and I make wine from juicing our blackberries! But now you've got me craving French toast.....mmmmm! Thanks for the recipe, too! I'll give it to my hubby for him to whip up for me this weekend! :) Oh, and I LUV the photo of the rockers. Sooooo summery......

    xoxo laurie@heavens-walk

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  43. When will the nursery post be? Anxiously awaiting!!!!

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  44. Always enjoyed your blog! Your pictures are always crisp... loved every one of it. I am the one who asked you a while ago for advices on buying camera. I am so happy for you... twins....cant wait for the nursery pictures. I know it will be fabulous! Love the way you fix things up... beautiful yet simple!

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  45. Mmmmm....delicious!

    -FringeGirl

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  46. I just picked up some blackberries at the farmers market last weekend. So delicious.
    I am going to try your recipe.
    It was fun seeing your blackberry post because my friend just gave birth to her first child last week...a little baby boy. She told me today that she now has a craving and it's for blackberries! Gotta love those post-preg cravings! Hope you are doing great.

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  47. Do you need a nanny? I would love being there by your side, seeing all your lovely table scapes and delightful tastes!
    Beautiful blackberries~
    pve

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