Day 4.5 - Blackberries!

Yesterday Erica and I  ventured across the street to pick blackberries.  

Erica Picking Blackberries

I found a recipe for a Peach and Blackberry Galette using Foodgawker. The recipe was one that was adapted from a couple of other recipes on a blog called Cookie + Kate

The Filling for my Galette

Blackberry Peach Galette Recipe
Filling inspired by Roost’s Alabama Peach and Blackberry Cobbler. Whole wheat crust very slightly adapted from Whole Living’s Zucchini Pesto Galette.


Filling ingredients:

• 5 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (I used organic Giant Peaches that I got from Klippers Organics and only used 3)
• 6 ounces of blackberries (one small container) (I used about a cup)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar (I didn't have any so I used refined sugar)

Whole wheat galette crust ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 4-6 tablespoons ice water
• sugar, for dusting (the blog recommends raw sugar but I didn't have any so I used refined sugar)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the crust first, because you’ll need to chill it in the refrigerator. Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Use a pastry cutter (or a butter knife and your hands) to cut in the cold butter until the mixture has coarse crumbs.
3. Add four tablespoons of ice water, and mix with a spoon until it starts coming together into a workable dough. Four tablespoons was just enough for my dough, but if it still looks dry, add one tablespoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency.
4. Form the dough into a disk, then wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate for one hour. You want the butter to be cold so the baked crust turns out flaky.
5. In a bowl, mix together all of the filling ingredients.
6. Once your dough has been refrigerated for nearly an hour, preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet or a large jelly roll pan (the raised edges will catch escaping juices while the galette cooks) with parchment paper.
7. Place your dough disk on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into approximately a 12-inch round. You don’t want any holes or extra thin spots, though, so don’t stretch it too far. Place the rolled dough onto your prepared baking pan.
8. Add your filling: using your hands, transfer the filling to the center of the galette. Arrange the berries and peaches into a pleasing pattern, leaving about two inches of crust around the edges.
9. Start at one end and fold the edge over the filling, pleating as you go around. A galette is meant to be rustic, so don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfectly uniform.
10. Use a pastry brush or sprinkle cold water over the crust. Sprinkle a light dusting of raw sugar over the entire galette.
11. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden. (The original recipe called for 25 to 35 minutes, but my galette took longer than 35 minutes.) Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.

The Finished Blackberry and Peach Galette

For breakfast this morning we also used the blackberries in delicious and healthy, (or so the blogger claims),   Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins.  This was a recipe I also found using food gawker from a blog called A Sweet Spoonful written by an out of work English Teacher from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins 

Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. Agave syrup (or, if you prefer, honey or maple syrup) - I used honey
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 heaping cups fresh blackberries 

Directions:Preheat the oven to 375 F, and grease two muffin pans.

Whisk together the first six ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together the yogurt, oil, agave syrup, vanilla and eggs in a separate bowl. Fold wet ingredients into dry mixture with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Gently fold in berries.

Fill muffin cups to the top and bake for ten minutes. Rotate pans and bake 10-12 minutes longer or until muffins are slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. (Ours only took 15 minutes and they were cooked all the way through - so I would recommend keeping an eye on them). Cool muffins in pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes: 2 dozen muffins

We still have about a cup of blackberries left - I may make another galette this afternoon or maybe we will try something different - I haven't decided.