Mountain Blackberry Cobbler

A generous neighbor presented us with a gallon of blackberries late Friday night. It was a complete surprise and brought a flood of childhood memories of going to the blackberry patch down in the pasture  with my grandparents on hot,steamy July days.

When going to the blackberry patch,   I was always cautioned to watch for snakes but not one word of caution about those chiggers! It was well worth the discomfort for the reward of blackberry cobbler, dumplings or jelly that followed those picking experiences.

 I don't think I will ever match my grandmother's  blackberry cobbler, but Mountain Blackberry Cobbler comes pretty close. The recipe is found in the Junior League of Springfield,Missouri's cookbook, Sassafras!. 

Mountain Blackberry Cobbler

2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
Water

2 quarts fresh     
   blackberries,
   washed and drained 
1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare crust,mix 2 cups flour,1/4 cup sugar, salt and shortening with a fork until crumbly. Add enough water to make a soft dough. Divide dough into 2 parts with slightly more for bottom crust. On a heavily floured board, knead dough until smooth. Roll each portion of dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Arrange larger portion of dough on bottom of a greased 8x10-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup flour with a fork. Pour berries into pastry-lined baking dish. Sprinkle flour and sugar mixture over berries; dot with butter. Place top crust over berries and crimp edges. Cut slits in decorative pattern in dough to release steam. Bake 1 hour. Serve warm. Serves 10 to 12.

                                                       
                     Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Urban Farm Girl

After a lifetime of city living in Bentonville, my mother has moved to the farm with us. 

We're providing her with a lot of new experiences in this transition from urban to rural living.

This afternoon, Mother  took her  first ride in the  big tractor  while Cody

 was preparing the field for planting the fall silage crop. 

                                                                                 
                                    Although she has heard us talk about what we do on the farm,
                          there's no substitute for experiencing it first hand from the cab of the tractor!
                                                                     

The smiles say it all...

life is good down on the dairy farm!   

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

On  hot,humid afternoons, these pregnant cows 

  love this   shady  resting place next to the house. 

I planted the pine trees along the fence twenty five years ago never thinking that the bundle of twigs I received from the Arkansas Forestry tree program would live!

                                                     
                     I'm thankful for these pine trees that provide shade for the dairy cows that we love
                                                                             and
                   lift my weary spirit as  I walk across the yard listening to their song in a gentle breeze.

Dairy Rounds Up Zucchini

In spite of the rainy spring weather and  the priorities of silage chopping and hay baling coming before any garden planting, we did manage to plant  a small garden that is now growing by leaps and bounds. You can almost see it growing every day with our hot,steamy summer days. Everyone in the family is keeping their eye on the corn, beans,okra and tomatoes but you don't see too many of them pulling any weeds!

Although I didn't plant any squash in our garden this year, I'm lucky to have a generous neighbor that is delivering squash to my back door!  Midwest Dairy created Zucchini Parmesan Rounds  for zucchini squash but I found that yellow crook-neck squash works great,too. Whether it's from my garden or the neighbors, there is nothing better than fresh, home grown vegetables!

Zucchini Parmesan Rounds

Ingredients:

Non-stick cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Paprika to taste



Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds, leaving green skin on. Place rounds in a resealable plastic bag with olive oil; shake to coat all sides. Combine Parmesan cheese,bread crumbs, salt,pepper and paprika in a small bowl. Press each zucchini round into the Parmesan mixture, coating on both sides. Place in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve warm.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It's been a family tradition before I was a member of the dairy farm family

 to have a picnic supper on July 4th  on the banks of this spring fed pond.

Adventure has always been part of the gathering!

I'm thankful for the land that we work on, play on, 

and

 protect for the next generation to enjoy.

Dairy Q&A

                                                                       Question: 

                    What kind of dairy cattle do you have on your farm?

                                                                         Answer:

Holsteins (black and white)

and 

Ayrshire (red and white)

There are 6 dairy breeds of North America: 

Jersey, Holstein, Guernsey, Ayrshire,

Milking Shorthorn and Brown Swiss

Dairy Farm Dog Delivers Devotion

There's nothing easy about losing a pet.

 Best way I can describe losing my dairy farm partner,Chester, is that  my heart hurts.

 Chester and I developed our partnership 12 years ago when he left 

a Missouri farm to live in Arkansas with me and my dairy farm family. 

His unique look--what we think was a cross of wire- haired terrier and blue healer--was so ugly, he was cute.

He had the sweetest brown eyes.

Chester lived life to the fullest.

He rode the 4-wheeler when any one would allow it.

In his younger days, he did like to nip your heels when you least expected it. This trait was not too pleasant and made a definite impression if you were a victim. 

He thought he was a cow dog--he just didn't know which end he should be moving. Most of the time, he enjoyed chasing them away from the fence.

He loved attention from any children that came to visit the farm. 

Chester was totally devoted to me. If you were looking for me on the farm, Chester was by my side.

                                           It was a lonely walk to the calf hutches this morning.
                                                         We have other farm dogs to love
                                                                               but
                                                               there will never be another
                                                                             Chester.