Tiger on the Beach

All of you know that Tiger likes the water.  And some of you have seen him on the beach.  But these pictures are taken by my sister and she has a great camera.  My friend Chuck has a great camera and has taken some great pictures of our ATV rides and even of the petro-glyphs of New Mexico in some of my earlier blogs.  But sis captured Tiger and Sweetie, (Sheila's dog) on the beach with such precision, I just have to share with all of you.

                All you know Tiger is my soul mate…LOL

            He's just having to much fun…

            I'm a guess he thinks he can swim to Hawaii. (Awe!! we'll miss him)

             Darn he's back, sure hope he doesn't want alimony…..

           My camera wont take these action shot. Thanks Sheila.

             These are just a few of the pictures sis took. Hope you enjoyed them.

  Mosses and Stu…  Tiger and Me.  Tiger wants to play..

Hope you all are safe and healthy. Till the next time. Tiger and Stu..

PS. Tiger and I are going to stay in Bandon this winter. Maybe see you all next year. Be safe.

Black Berry Jam

Since the last post Tiger and I have been busy with two more pies. Also a Fruit Salad an a Black Berry Cobbler. (This is fun!)   

But the most fun was canning and preserving the Blackberry Jam. Tiger even helped as usual.

You might notice he really doesn't give a Damn….LOL   But don't know what I'd do without him.  So what I did was to wash the berries and then mash them in a pot and cook them.  While I'm cooking the berries I sterilize the jars and then can the jams in a water bath.

                                       Let them cool and refrigerate for 24 hours to make sure we canned them properly. Here's the recipe we used.

Blackberry Jam

    * 6 cups crushed blackberries (about 3 quart boxes berries)
    * 1 package powdered pectin
    * 8½ cups sugar

Yield: About 11 or 12 half-pint jars

Procedure:

Sterilize canning jars and prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer's directions.

To prepare fruit. Sort and wash fully ripe berries; remove any stems or caps. Crush berries. If they are very seedy, put part or all of them through a sieve or food mill.

To make jam:

Measure crushed berries into a kettle. Add pectin and stir well. Place on high heat and, stirring constantly, bring quickly to a full boil with bubbles over the entire surface. Add sugar, continue stirring, and heat again to a full bubbling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim.

Fill hot jam immediately into hot, sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner.

I know this is old to most of you, But its my first and the jam is great. Came out just like you would buy in the local store. Except much less money.  However that is a trade off for the amount of time involved.  And believe it or not Tiger still could care less…

So till next time stay healthy and safe. From Tiger and Stu

Blackberry Pie

Yep!! You guessed it. The blackberries are in full bloom and most are ripe and sweet to eat. My sister and I went out to pick blackberries and had a great time. I remember when I was a kid we use to pick these and sell them for fifty cents ($.50) a gallon. Now they are still wild and easy to pick and are selling for Ten Dollars ($10.00) a gallon. So all you inventors out there thinking about running you car on blackberries, (Forget It).

But if your thinking of making a pie. That will work. These berries are quite large and very taste.

 

If you can't stand the thorns on the vine, Where long sleeve shirts, it helps.

Oh! be sure to stay standing. I slipped and fell twice, right on my ____(feel free to insert any word you like) and found every thorn that this particular bush had to offer. The bad thing is they don't come out till you get home. So take a bus so you can stand up on the way home. You know I don't remember ever doing that when I was young.

But I do remember the purple lips and the purple fingers. I do have a way for you to pick your berries in half the time. The secret is not to eat them as you pick them. Don't fall down so your bowl will stay full longer. LOL

 

Okay so were home now and ready to wash our bounty and make a pie. Believe it or not this is my first pie I've made from fresh fruit. Not out of a can. I must say it came out just right. One of my favorites is Blackberry.

Make the dough and wash the berries and you will have everything just right and ready for a great pie.  Roll out the dough and fit it to the pie pan and fill the pan with berries and bake.  

Blackberry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

    * 1   pie dough recipe for top and bottom crust
    * 5-6 cups blackberries, rinsed, picked clean, patted dry  (if you use frozen berries, defrost and drain them)
    * 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your  berries are)
    * 1   teaspoon lemon juice
    * 1   teaspoon lemon zest
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
    * 3   Tbsp quick cooking instant tapioca (can usually find  in the baking aisle of your local supermarket)

Method:

1 Place blackberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, almond extract, and quick cooking instant tapioca in a large bowl. Gently fold the berries until they are all well coated with sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 400°F. You should have two balls of pie dough, one for the bottom crust, one for the top crust. Roll out one  of the balls of pie dough on a lightly floured surface to 12-inch diameter if you are using a 9-inch pie pan, or 13-inch  diameter if you are using a 10-inch pan. Line the bottom of  your pie pan with the dough. Chill in refrigerator while you  roll out the bottom crust.

3 Roll out the second ball of pie dough for the top crust. If  you would like to do a lattice top, weave the dough strips as  described in How to Make a Lattice Top for a Pie Crust.

4 Spoon the berry mixture into the dough-lined pie dish. For a  lattice top, weave strips of pie dough over the top of the  fruit-filled pie dish. For a solid top, place the second  rolled-out pie dough crust on top of the pie. Press ends of   strips into the rim of the bottom crust. Use scissors to trim    the edges to 1/2-inch from the outer edge of the pie pan. Fold   the edges back over themselves and use your fingers to crimp  to seal the edges. If you are using a solid top crust, score  the top with a sharp knife to create air vents for the steam  to escape.

5 Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven. Put a baking  sheet on the lower rack to catch any juices that might bubble out of the pie while it's cooking. Bake the pie in two stages. First bake it at 400°F for 30 minutes. Then place a sheet of  aluminum foil over the pie to protect the edges and tops from getting too burnt. (A pie protector is quite useful here.)  Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 minutes, until crust has browned and filling is bubbly.

  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
  Cool completely before serving.  Makes 8 servings.

 

When cooled or at least just warm you can serve, and it is great with Vanilla Ice Cream.  Sorry I didn't have any ice cream with mine. Tiger and I have a lot of blackberries left so I'll just make some jam with them. Now you know what the next blog up date will be.

Stay safe and healthy till the next time from Tiger and Stu.