Blackberry Cobbler

Call me weird but I don't like to eat berries unless they are in some form of a baked dish. Strawberries are an exception though. My share of sweet blackberries were lying in the refrigerator and a one minute online search landed me at 'Food Network' site which featured this baked berry dessert recipe. It captivated my attention immediately as it is an easy breezy kind of recipe besides being made with the every day ingredients found in most of the kitchens.
 
This is not a biscuit based cobbler but the batter based one, perfect for lazy bodies like me. It is a great recipe to try when looking for ways to enjoy the summer's berry bounty. All it takes is a few minutes to mix the batter, dump the berries and stick it in the oven. In case if you don't have berries on hand, other fruits such as peaches, apples and others will work fine. This is a no fuss dessert made with minimal efforts and great results. One ends up with a beautiful cake like consistency at the bottom and slightly crispy top with fruit embedded in between. A perfect dessert to prepare on a lazy day. I had to scale down the recipe since I didn't have the required amount of berries on hand. 

Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 cup self raising flour or 1 cup all purpose flour + 1.5 tsp. baking powder + 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup + 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar (divided)
1 cup milk (Non-dairy milk can be substituted.)
1/2 stick or 1/4 cup butter, melted + extra for greasing the pan
2 cups fresh blackberries (Frozen ones can be substituted.)

Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 3 quart baking dish with butter.
* Rinse the berries and pat them dry.
* Whisk self rising flour, 1 cup sugar and milk in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter next and whisk to combine.
* Pour the batter into the baking dish and sprinkle the berries uniformly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup sugar over the berries.
* Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about an hour. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp. sugar when 10 minutes of the baking time remains.
* Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

It goes to Bakeathon  and Blogging Marathon #95 under the theme 'Meal Time Dishes' events.



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Detox Berry Shake

 

I picked 'detox diet' as the theme for this marathon more than a month ago but honestly, all I had known at that time was the random stuff I heard now and then on health shows. Diets ranging from juice based ones, apple cider vinegar to weird ones where charcoal is used. I am not an expert on the subject and had to go through several articles and posts online to get the gist of the 'detox diet' idea. I have been a vegetarian all my life and I try to eat balanced meals and stay away from junk food as much as possible. That is the only dietary plan I have been following so far in my life. I did not follow any detox plan this week too but surprisingly I realized that the detox meals can be well balanced ones without compromising on taste or flavors.

Detoxification or detox in short is nothing but a form of body cleansing. This approach is followed to get rid of the supposedly  accumulated 'toxins' from the body which may affect an individual's health in the short or long term. The general idea here being that the food we consume in the modern world is filled with contaminants such as food colors, pesticides, flavor enhancers, preservatives and such which are all nothing but unwanted chemicals. The detox diets which are special dietary plans claim to have detoxifying effects on our body and would aid in getting rid of these toxins. Fasting, dieting, avoiding specific foods and colon cleansing are some of the methods approached in detox diet plans. While the medical experts state that cleansing the body is unnecessary as our bodies are capable of doing the job perfectly. (source:wiki and others)

The recipes I picked for this week's theme rely on the idea of aiming towards the consumption of specific foods that are beneficial to body and avoiding certain ones. I am just giving a list from a vegetarian point of view. The detox plans which follow this idea generally avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, fats like butter & mayonnaise, sweeteners (like sugar, honey, maple syrup),  processed foods, caffeine, chocolate, soy products, alcohol, and such. Much emphasis is given to fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains that are non gluten (like brown rice, quinoa, millets), legumes, healthy nuts and oils. I created recipes based on what foods were allowed in the plan.

My recipe today falls under the liquid cleanse which is the simplest form of cleansing and provides the body with nutrients. Liquid cleanses usually involve consuming water, fresh (organic) fruit / vegetable juices, pureed soups, smoothies, and such. This shake can be included as part of the detox plan or can be enjoyed anytime. The berries are rich in antioxidants while mango and banana are rich in fiber. The fruits I picked were sweeter and I froze them in advance.

Ingredients: (Yield 2 servings)
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup mango cubes
1/4 cup pineapple cubes
1 small banana
2 tbsp. flax seeds
Coconut water or unsweetened almond milk as needed
(Using organic fruits would be better if following detox diet because of the pesticides.)

Method:
Blend everything to desired consistency and serve.



This is going to be a part of Blogging marathon #64 under 'detox recipes' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.

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Blackberry Cobbler

When I was looking for a blackberry cobbler recipe, I found an easy one here that had received great reviews from people who had tried it. I went ahead without a second thought and it turned out delicious. The original recipe uses an iron skillet but a 9" pie plate works fine. I wasn't sure whether it was the perfect size and so used an extra 1 cup baking dish for the below quantity but my pie plate would have been enough.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup / 1 stick unsalted butter

4 cups fresh blackberries (I used about half the quantity)

1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving

Method:
* Preheat oven to 350 deg F/ 175 deg C.
* Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof baking dish, in the oven, 5 to 7 minutes. (I just melted the butter in the microwave.)
* Meanwhile, put the blackberries in a large bowl and slightly mash them to release their juices. Sprinkle with sugar if blackberries are tart. (The blackberries I used were very sweet and I did not have to use the extra sugar.)
* In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Next add 1 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Mix until well combined and add melted butter to the flour mixture. Stir to combine.
* Pour mixture into the skillet / baking dish and pour blackberries and their juices into the center.
*  Place the skillet / baking dish in the preheated oven and bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the batter comes out clean, about 1 hour. (I baked for 1 hour.)
* Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.

This is my Day 5 entry for blogging marathon #12 . Check out here to know what my fellow marathoners have come up with during this marathon.

This goes to
1. Raven's CEDD event guesthosted by me.

2. Vardhini's Bake Fest, hosted by Pradnya this month.

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