Blackberries, Blackberries, Blackberries....oh and Ice Cream

I have picked a lot of blackberries lately. They are in abundance here in the Pacific Northwest. I laugh when I walk in the grocery stores and see the price to purchase them. I cannot fathom spending money on a fruit that grows wild right at our doorsteps. Yes, you have to be careful since many people spray them to get rid of the nuisance, but I find the right places and simply pick them for free! Yesterday I made quite a few jars of freezer jam and Tuesday night I made a yummy Blackberry Crumble with homemade super easy Ice Cream. 

You'll have to excuse the pictures with this post...the original pictures disappeared in to thin air somewhere between the card and the computer...it was weird..so these aren't the best because the crumble was a day old but oh well. You'll get the idea. 

The ice cream is the one I'm sure you've seen floating around the internet...only 3 ingredients and you don't need an ice cream maker. It has been so hot here and there is major road construction on the way home so I knew ice cream would not survive the usually short trip from the store to home and there was NO WAY I was making another trip to town later after the workers were done for the day, so this recipe made sense. It did take awhile to set up so you need to be prepared to give it 5-6 hours, but it is totally worth it. The initial prep work is quick and it is so good!

The Blackberry Crumble recipe came from Sandy at Reluctant Entertainer. I swapped out the blueberry flavored almonds for walnuts. Here's the link for her recipe, though I will post it here as well. If you haven't visited her blog, please do, I am always encouraged, inspired and come away wanting to make the 4 hour drive from my house to hers to visit and be a fly on the wall...lol. She has a recipe for the ice cream I made as well, though I grabbed it from a different site. I rarely use a cookbook anymore, but mostly find my recipes online.

Blackberry Crumble

Crust: 

6 Tbs. Melted Butter
1 c. All purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Berry Mixture:

6 c. fresh blackberries
1/4 c. sugar
2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

Instructions:

1. In a bowl combine all crust ingredients, mixing with a spoon. It will be "lumpy".

2. Combine ingredients for berry mixture and place in a greased 8x8 pan (or whatever pan you have available). 

3. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and top starts to brown. 

4. Cool for about 15 minutes. Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream.

No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 Tbs. vanilla
beans from one vanilla pod (optional)
Here's a link to other flavors 

Instructions:

1. In a bowl combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.

2. In the bowl of a mixer, combine heavy whipping cream and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

3. Fold in to sweetened condensed milk.

4. Pour into a loaf pan and place in the freezer for 5-6 hours. 


With Joy UNquenchable,