berries

Just at the turn of the seasons, San Francisco has finally gotten the word that it's Summer. While the entire city's been reveling in blue skies and warm weather, the lack of air conditioning has everyone reaching for an ice-cold beer. Me? I opted for an invigorating blueberry cocktail instead.

I consider gin, with its piney, clean flavors, to be the ideal spirit for creating thirst-quenching cocktails. When I got ahold of this recipe with ginger beer and blueberries, I had a feeling it'd be the ultimate refreshment. And it is: the blueberry buck is floral and zippy, with an effervescent ginger finish. For the recipe, be sure to read on.

Although there hasn't been much Summer weather in San Francisco, I haven't let it stop me from making scrumptious sorbets. I've experimented with berries since May, so it was time to give blackberries a chance as a sorbet. I kept the recipe really simple since the berries are in season and barely need any sugar to sweeten them. If you didn't want to spend the money on fresh blackberries, frozen would work just as well. For any sorbet, it's important to taste test; you don't want to add too much simple syrup. The end result is incredibly refreshing. If you want to cool down from a sultry Summer day, keep reading for the recipe.

Do you frequent the farmers market? Then be like pinkflake2 and snap a picture of the beautiful fruits and vegetables you come across.

When you get home, upload it to the upload it in the Savory Sights group in the YumSugar Community. Your photo could be featured here!

Normally, for a special occasion party like a bridal shower, I like to serve a specialty cocktail. But for my friend Melissa's upcoming shower, I'm making a specialty mocktail instead. Several of the guests are pregnant, and to include them in the fun I'll offer these berry-lemon sparklers. They consist of muddled berries with fresh lemon juice and a splash of seltzer for effervescence. For those who prefer to sip something potent, I'll pour sparkling wine. I plan on picking up a case of my favorite girlie bottle, Sofia Blanc de Blancs by Francis Ford Coppola.

I'll also have white wine on ice in case anyone wants to imbibe that. To look at the mocktail recipe I'm going to use, keep reading.

This year, I haven't been able to resist making savory berry recipes: first strawberry spaghetti, then cherry-stuffed tenderloin and blueberry-glazed ribs. And, in my desire to incorporate blackberries into an entrée, I came up with this recipe for pulled pork sandwiches using a blackberry purée. Not only do the ingredients make this dish perfect for the Summer season, but it won't heat up your kitchen because it's cooked over low heat in a slow cooker. Over the course of eight hours, blackberries, hot sauce, ketchup, vinegar, and garlic meld together to become a sweet and tangy condiment that not only highlights the pork roast's natural flavor, but is less aggressively syrupy than traditional barbecue sauce. If you're interested in the recipe, read more.

I've made a crumble, I've made a cobbler, but I've never made a grunt! So the moment I came across a blackberry grunt recipe, I knew it was a must make. It's a pretty basic concept that involves cooking berries and prepping a dough that's very similar to buttermilk biscuits. Rather than pulling out the baking sheet to cook the biscuits, they go right on top of the syrupy blackberries and straight into the oven. It's said that as it bakes, it begins to make a grunting noise (hence the name), although mine never made a peep. The best part of this delicious dessert is that the biscuit absorbs some of the blackberry flavor, and it comes out golden on the top and a lovely purple shade on the bottom. Make your oven grunt by reading more.

With only one month of berry season remaining, I've been buying strawberries and blueberries in flats. And while I do a pretty good job at finding ways to eat them all, sometimes there really is too much of a good thing. In the weeks that I have too many ripe berries, I freeze them to use later in the Fall and Winter, or make jam. Last week on an incredibly hot day, I experimented in the kitchen to make my own mixed berry yogurt frozen treats. This treat is sweet, creamy, and best of all, a healthy way to cool down this Summer.

Disclaimer: this is a very loose recipe — so loose that I can't even call it a recipe. I had a bunch of ripe berries that I blended with some nonfat Greek yogurt and sugar. The finished mixture was based strictly on personal taste. If you need a gauge, ask yourself if you'd enjoy drinking the mix on its own, much like a smoothie. If yes, freeze away! Pour the berry yogurt mixture into a clean ice cube tray, add some toothpicks and freeze. It doesn't have to stop there either. Since the first batch, I've experimented with different berry combos, and thrown in fresh mint and lemon juice too. Whatever the combo, this treat is a big hit in my house!