When Life Hands You Blackberries

As anyone from around these parts knows, there is no shortage of blackberries. They are non-native and invasive. There are countless signs lining the country roads advertising "Permanent Blackberry Removal!" There are even people who rent out goats to do the job. But blackberries are also edible, and while I spend a good deal of time cursing and bleeding over their removal, I cannot be completely upset at their stubborn thereness.

We harvest as many as we can from our own field each year and usually freeze them. When I was rooting around in the freezer a few months ago, I noticed that our frozen berries from last season were still there, needing to be used in some fashion before the new season was upon us. Making it into jam was obvious, but I wanted something different. Out came the canning book, and I found a recipe for mulled blackberry vinegar. Eureka!

How had I not thought of this before? I have a recipe for broccoli salad from Tante Hella that calls for cider vinegar, but she uses raspberry vinegar instead. The first time I shopped for the ingredients, I realized that raspberry vinegar is not easy to find and when you do, it's quite pricey. Making my own blackberry vinegar to replace the raspberry vinegar that was substituting for the cider vinegar seemed to be the smuggest thing to do.

 First, I had to find the smallest of The Big Guy's sauerkraut crocks. Then, I combined the cider vinegar (see? not so far off the mark, am I?) the berries and an assortment of spices like whole cloves, allspice, and cinnamon sticks.

 Then it gets smushed around a bit to extract all the berry goodness.

 Plastic wrap and a lid to keep it dark, then into the garage to stay cool and steep for about four weeks. Once a week or so, I'd go out and give it a stir and a smush.

 Oh the strain! Now the real work begins with putting the mix through cheesecloth to clarify it, then it still has to be heated and canned.

Smuggy-smug-smug.

Now, would you like that broccoli salad recipe? OK, but first, more story. When I asked Tante Hella for the recipe, she whipped out a printed-off copy from a stack of printed-off copies that she had on hand. Turns out, the original recipe came from a long-ago newspaper column that Hella had clipped, and she had been asked so many times for it, that she had printed out several copies to pass along to all requesters.

Mary's (Tante Hella's, Smug's*) Famous Broccoli Salad

12 cooked, crumbled bacon slices

5 cups chopped fresh broccoli

1/2 C. golden raisins (I use Craisins*)

1/4 C. chopped red onion

1 C. mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. cider vinegar (raspberry vinegar, wink*)

2 Tbsp. sugar (I use sweetener*)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 C. sunflower seeds or other nuts

Toss the broccoli, raisins, and onion in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, and pepper. Toss the dressing with the broccoli mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use. Toss in the bacon and seeds/nuts just before serving. (I always throw everything into a huge bowl and mix it all up.*)