There are two kinds of blackberries with many varieties.

Blackberries that grow wild on thorny bushes and are a bit hard to eat, and the thornless blackberries cultivated especially for markets and grocery stores.

The triple crown blackberry variety produces large fruits on vigorous plants with a delicious flavor and is just one of the types of thornless blackberries grown today. This is the kind you most likely purchase in the store or market.

Interesting Facts about Blackberries

• Blackberries are thought to have been around in North America, South America, Asia and Europe for over 30 million years. They do not grow native in Australia, but you can now find them there. However, you will not find a single blackberry in Antartica.
• Blackberries have been used for medicinal purposes by the Greeks and Romans, as well as for dyes.
• Early Christians associated blackberry juice with the blood of Christ and the thorny bushes with the crown of thorns.
• Blackberries also appear as ingredients for the occult, but I’d rather not think about that one.

Blackberries are a super food.

Blackberries are considered super healthy, as each little compartment is full of antioxidants, boasting brain health, oral health, high in Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese. 

Ingredients for Blackberry Cobbler

• Almond Flour
• Coconut Flour
• Eggs
• Sour Cream
• Baking Powder
• Butter
• Swerve
• Vanilla Extract
• Blackberries

How to Make Keto Blackberry Cobbler

I really like to make cobbler in a cast iron pan, but you can use a cake dish. Make sure you mix all your dry ingredients together before adding to the pan. Beat eggs well. Add melted butter, sour cream and dry ingredients. Push the blackberries into the batter after the batter has been put in the pan.

Swerve is my sweetener of choice. Read here why I use Swerve. You can choose the powder erythritol of choice.

More Blackberry Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Salad with Blackberries, Fresh Corn
• Best Sugar Free Flourless Chocolate Cake (Low-Carb, Sugar Free)
• Honey Baked Goat Cheese Salad with Blackberry Lemon Vinaigrette
• Blackberry Mint Julep Recipe
• Whiskey Buttermilk Pie with Blackberry Compote
• Blackberry Cobbler in Mason Jars

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Keto Blackberry Cobbler

Perfect, Easy Snack Cake made with fresh summer fruit.

Course Cake

Cuisine American

Keyword keto cake

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 203kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup Swerve Granulated
• 3 eggs
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup blackberries

Stabilized Whipped Cream Recipe Here

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, 180 C.
• Mix all dry ingredients together.
• Beat eggs for 3 minutes
• Stream in melted butter.
• Add vanilla. Add sour cream.
• Add dry ingredients just until mixed.
• Pour into prepared pan. I used a 12 inch cast iron pan. You can use a 9 inch cake pan.
• Push blackberries in the batter.
• Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Stabilized Whipped Cream Recipe Here

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 12 | Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g

The post Keto Blackberry Cobbler with Whipped Cream appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When I’m thinking about creating a salad, I like to follow the seasons and highlight what is fresh like this fresh corn and summer blackberry salad.

As luck would have it, I had access to the freshest picked corn from my friend’s produce stand. Burns Produce, located on Patton Road in Arrington right down from Arrington Vineyards is selling Luke Bryan’s corn. How fun is that.

As I was making this salad to take to a dinner, I knew this fresh corn had to be a part of it. I immediately thought that blackberries would be a great accompaniment along with a tangy cheese and a crisp vinaigrette.

I hit it right, as this salad disappeared fast with a fight over that last bite.

Salad is a funny thing. Sometimes people don’t think they like salad because the balance is off. I have never seen anyone not love my salads because of my keen understanding of salt, fat and acid.

The Acids

• Acids on a salad include vinegars and citrus such as lemon and lime juice.
• When adding mustard or honey, mix it first with the acid. Then add oil
• Feel free to mix your vinegars. I do this all the timeYou can also add lemon to a vinaigrette.
• Skip the cheap “so-called” balsamic. A $3.99 bottle of balsamic is not authentic and you’re better off using an inexpensive but good red wine vinegar.

The Fat

• The main fat in a salad is the oil in the vinaigrette.
• I also mix my oils. Sometimes I use half extra virgin olive oil and half avocado oil.

The Salt

While you don’t want to overdo salt in a salad, it’s very important. Sometimes the salt is in the cheese, such as ricotta salada, a briny feta or a Pecorino, so adjust accordingly. It could also be in the nuts or an addition of bacon.

Here are my tips for Making a Great Salad 

• Make sure lettuce is completely dry before you add a dressing or vinaigrette. Use a salad spinner if needed.
• Pre-mix your oil and vinegar. Using either dijon mustard or honey will help keep emulsify these two ingredients. I usually use mustard.
• Add salt and pepper to the vinaigrette and dip a piece of lettuce in. It should have a bit of a bite.
• Don’t serve salad with dressing on the side.  It must be tossed to taste balanced.
• Go easy with vinaigrette when using gentle lettuces like butter lettuces.
• Leaf lettuces do not need a lot of vinaigrette, while lettuces with a lot of of water content like romaine seem to need a lot more and also do well with creamy dressings.
• Assemble salad in advance, but put vinaigrette on right before serving. (Kale is the exception).
• Season again with salt and pepper.

Fresh Corn in a Salad

I did an instagram poll, asking people if they would eat fresh corn in a salad. To my surprise, 25% said no, yet anytime I’ve served it, everyone eats it. If the corn is super fresh, you can just cut it off the cob and put it into the salad. If that concerns you, you can cut the corn into a bowl and microwave it for a few minutes.

Best Cheese Additions

The cheese you choose depends on the salad you’re making.

When I want a briny profile, I add olives and feta cheese like this Greek salad with salmon. For some reason, these are best with a romaine lettuce that has heft.

Slivers of Pecorino work well in arugula with a light olive oil and lemon for the acid. Pecorino and romano are also necessary in kale salads like this.

I used ricotta salata (a sheep’s cheese) in this blackberry corn salad to add tang and salt against the sweet of the corn and berries. Feta or goat cheese would have worked well too.

Crumbled blue cheese in a vinaigrette is fantastic especially with steak dinner.

Crumbled blue cheese also loves certain fruits in a salad, like pears, apples and peaches.

Herbs, Veggies, Nuts

Fresh herbs can be nice addition. I used a small amount of rosemary in this winter salad. Make sure the herbs fit the salad. Basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, mint can add that little bit of extra. For example, fresh oregano in a greek salad is divine. Fresh basil in a tomato salad is amazing.

Tomatoes – Only add tomatoes if they are superb and properly ripened,  cut into bite sized pieces. A well-balanced salad should only need to be eaten with a fork, not a knife and fork. Don’t put tomatoes in until the last minute and never cold.

Cucumbers – Cut off the skins and make them bite sized.

Mushrooms – I am not a fan of raw mushrooms in a salad, but if you are, add them right before serving.

Nuts – I love adding nuts to a salad for added texture, but make sure the nuts makes sense. There are no nuts in this corn blackberry salad because they would clash with the textures. However, in my peach salad, toasted almonds make perfect sense.

More Notes on What Not to do to Make an Easy Vinaigrette

I have a few strong opinions on vinaigrettes.

Keep your vinaigrette simple. It’s a balance of fat, acid, and salt as stated above.

Don’t add in spices such as garlic powder, garlic salt, onion salt. While you think that might sound good, these can be off-putting.  The secret to a good vinaigrette is less is best; balance is key.

Don’t add garlic (unless it’s for a kale salad) and only do that gingerly. Garlic is a turnoff in a vinaigrette.

Don’t add onions to a vinaigrette or to a salad. Raw onions take over and contaminate your ingredients. You may not agree with me on this, but if you want your guests to love your salad, trust me. I admit I have an aversion to raw onion, but one of your guests is bound to feel the same. Leave the onion out. Leave celery out for the same reason. There are people who have just as strong of an aversion to celery as well.

Nuts such as toasted sliced almonds, pecans, walnuts and pistachios can certainly make many salads better.

Most Popular corn recipe

Southern fried corn

More Summer Salads from Spinach Tiger

• Honey Baked Goat Cheese Salad with Lemony Vinaigrette 
• Grilled Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Salad with Toasted Almond, Peach Vinaigrette
• Spinach Salad with Grilled Peaches
• Corn, Avocado Salad with Black Eyed Peas

• Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad
• Swiss Chard Nectarine and Toasted Pecans

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Blackberry Corn Salad with Simple Vinaigrette

Fresh corn off the cob with blackberries, ricotta salata for a summer salad.

Course Salad and Salad Dressing

Cuisine American

Keyword blackberries, corn, ricotta salad, salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 bags butter leaf lettuce
• 2 ears fresh corn
• 1 pint blackberries
• 3 ounces ricotta salata cheese can use feta
• 1/2 teaspoon salt taste and season
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper taste and season

Vinaigrette

• 2 teaspoon dijon mustard can replace with honey
• 6 tablespoons vinegar champagne or red wine
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• dash teaspoon sea salt
• dash teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Vinaigrette

• You may have extra dressing. Keep in jar outside of fridge for future salads. Only apply what you need.
• Mix mustard with vinegar in jar. Add oil and shake until well incorporated.
• Season with dash of salt and pepper.

Salad

• Cut corn off cob. You can add to salad or microwave in bowl for 3 minutes.
• Allow corn to cool.
• Add lettuce, corn, blackberries and crumbled ricotta salata to large salad bowl.
• Toss with just enough vinaigrette to wet all leaves. Taste and add more vinegar as needed.
• Season with salt and pepper.

The post Summer Blackberry Corn Salad with Easy Vinaigrette Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

SUMMER SALADS WITH FRESH CORN

• Blackberry Corn Salad – the one berry that stays fresh the longest.
• Caprese for a Party – How did I never think of this years ago.
• Corn, Avocado Salad, Tomato, Black Eyed Peas – the salad that almost feels like a meal.
• Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad – if you insist on grilling the corn, this is a fun one.

By the way my most popular post of summer for the last three years is THIS FRIED CORN RECIPE.

SUMMER SALADS WITH RAW VEGGIES– Salads that take you right through the fall.

• Broccoli Salad with NO sugar dressing.
• Purple Cauliflower Salad with walnut vinaigrette
• Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
• Red Cabbage Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
• Triple Crunch Cabbage Salad with Marcona Almonds

SUMMER SALADS FOR A CROWD WITH ADDED FRUIT

• Cole Slaw with Blue Cheese and Apple
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
• Spinach Salad with Grilled Nectarines
• Blackberry with Baked Goat Cheese Salad
• Strawberry Arugula Salad
• Swiss Chard, Nectarines, Toasted Pecans

ITALIAN SALADS (make ahead)

• Italian Potato Salad with Green Beans
• Tuscan Kale

Last by not least, enjoy these Summer Cocktails

Bonus Idea

• Bruschetta

As simple as this is, there are ways to get it right and get it wrong. When done right, it disappears fast and you’ll want to make more right away.

The post Summer Salads for a Crowd appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I’ve been making this razzleberry pie recipe for years, only I didn’t know it. How in the world did I not know what a razzleberry pie was?

Well, truth be truth there is no such thing as a razzleberry. It gets it name from a combination of raspberries and blackberries.

As time has gone on, people add other berries to the mix and I do too, because they add a little more sweetener or in the case of strawberries, pectin which helps thicken the filling.

You Can Make Razzleberry Pie Recipe with Fresh or Frozen Fruit

You can make this razzleberry pie your very own by deciding for yourself which berries you want to use, perfect when berry season overlaps. If you want to make razzleberry pie all year long, do what I like to do, and buy an extra large bag of mixed berries. I was able to find a mix of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.

If you do decide to just use raspberries and blackberries, keep in mind that as these berries bake, they lose sweetness and they aren’t that sweet to begin with. You will need to add a lot of sugar to avoid having a sour pie.

I like to make decorative pie crusts because it’s fun, but you can cover the pie with a normal topping. I think turning this razzleberry pie into a razzleberry crumb pie using this recipe would also work very well.

You might also like this recipe for my Scarlett O’Hara Raspberry Pie.



You can make this pie gluten free with this gluten free pie crust option.

What a week of cake and pie making, as we had Easter and two birthdays. If you follow me on instagram, you would have seen the cake we made for Doug that was an almost replica of one of his favorite pictures. It was a fun surprise. Be sure to follow me because the stories showcase all the recipes before they ever make it here.

More Pie Recipes from Spinach Tiger

All-Purpose Perfect Pie Crust

Gluten Free Pie Crust

Disclosure: This site contains Amazon Affiiate links which earn a small commission which aids in operation costs and does not raise any prices.

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Razzleberry Pie Recipe

Razzelberry pie, a mix of raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Razzleberry Filling Ingredients
• 6 cups of frozen or fresh mixed berries strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons instant tapioca
• I pie crust recipe
• Regular pie recipe here
• Gluten free pie crust recipehere

Instructions

• Mix together berries, sugar, lemon juice, tapioca. Allow to sit in bowl for about 30 to 60 minutes.
• Make Pie Doug.
• Refrigerate pie dough for 30 minutes.
• Take pie dough out 10 minutes before rolling out.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Divide pie dough into two sections, about 2/3 and 1/3 (for top).
• Roll out into circle larger than pie pan. Use fork to jab holes on bottom;
• Fill and top with second rolled out round. Make sure to slash top of pie to allow for steam to escape.
• You can do what I do and use cookie cutters to make fun tops. Or you can do a lattice top.
• Here is a great tool from Amazon, which is adjustable.
• Bake at 350 for 90 minutes. Check your pie at 60 minutes. If it's browning too much on top, place foil over it.

The post Razzleberry Pie Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This is a sponsored post and giveaway in partnership with Vidalia onions. All opinions and recipes are my own.

How exciting is this Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza?  Very, especially because,  thanks to the Vidalia Onion Committee, we are sponsoring a $1,000 gift card giveaway. Just imagine how handy this will come in for early holiday shopping.

Earlier this summer, I was invited to a lovely dinner at this much loved East Nashville restaurant, sponsored by the Turkey Foundation and the Vidalia Onion Committee. Chef Hal Holden-Bache prepared a gourmet meal centered around these Vidalia onions and turkey. We started with a camembert onion soup that was a dream combination and ended with a Vidalia onion ice cream sandwich that left us astonished. There wasn’t a bite left on any plate.

The History of the Vidalia Onion is Intriguing

The Vidalia onion gets it name from Vidalia, Georgia, where the onions got their surprising start. Only a limited number of counties  in Georgia can produce these sweet onions, which were grown “sweet” by accident.

When developing my recipe, there were so many ideas swimming in my head for how to make onions the star of the show. This Vidalia onion summer fruit pizza is just one of several dishes I will be featuring in the coming days, so be sure to come back to visit for Vidalia onion risotto and Vidalia Onion Savory Cheesecake. I decided to make the summer fruit pizza the highlight of this group of recipes because of the summer fruits complementing the sweetness of  Vidalia onions. Add to this a layering of salty prosciutto and sweet corn, and you have the best of the summer in one bite.

The blackberries, honey and basil garnish the pizza AFTER the summer fruit pizza comes out of the oven. The berries give the bite that extra juice and texture, meld perfectly with onions and compliment the corn and peaches. It’s a fantastic bite.

Make sure to not over top the toppings. Proscuitto is salty, so place small amounts here and there. The fresh corn adds texture and another layer of sweetness. The Vidalia onions are thinly sliced and added as the last ingredient (with a smattering of olive oil) before hitting the oven.

Make sure you put the blackberries on the pizza after it comes out of the oven and then drizzle honey.

Please come back this week to get more Vidalia onion recipes. Think risotto and savory cheesecake. The Vidalia Onion Website  has lots of great recipes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza

How to make a summer fruit pizza sizzle with vidalia onions and proscuitto, sweet corn, peaches blackberries and drizzle of honey.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 16- ounce pizza dough store bought or recipe here
• 6 slices prosciuitto thinly sliced
• 2 ears fresh corn
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese see note
• 1 large peach
• 1 -2 Vidalia onions thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 16 large blackberries
• 6 leaves fresh basil for garnish
• 1 tablespoon honey for drizzle

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (500 degrees if your oven goes that high)
• If using a store bought pizza dough, bring to room temperature for at least one hour. If the dough seems to resistant to stretching, allow to warm up even more.
• Slice peaches, leaving skin on.
• Cut corn off of the cob.
• Slice Vidalia onions thinly.
• See notes on bakeware for pizza. Divide your dough accordingly, depending on size of pizza.
• Stretch out as much as possible to get a very thin crust. If you make holes in pizza, just push dough together. Holes will fill as pizza is baking.
• When assembling ingredients, place them sporadically.
• Put prosciutto on bottom, followed by corn, peaches, cheese, onions and drizzle of olive oil. Do not put blackberries or honey until the pizza comes out of the oven.
• Bake in very hot oven 450 - 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes, checking at 8 minutes.
• Slice basil chiffonuad style, but not until you are ready to apply.
• Stack basil leaves, roll, and slice perpendicular to the roll.

Notes

You can use cast iron griddle, frying pan, pizza stone or baking sheet pan for pizza. If using sheet pan, make one large pizza. It will not reach sides completely. That's okay. If using stones, this will make two medium sized pizza or three small individual pizzas.

Mozzarella Cheese - if using fresh, make sure you get all the moisture out, especially if packed in water. You can crumble into bite sized pieces with your hands and place on paper towels.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Let’s Connect on Instagram

Vidalia Onion Sweet Corn Risotto 

The post Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

How’s your summer going? It’s hot as hot here in Nashville. When I get up in the morning, my windows are dripping with condensation from the humidity and one would think I’d have to be a little crazy to turn my oven on to 425 degrees to make lemon ginger gluten free shortcake biscuits.

Actually, it’s quite a sane choice when faced with a big bowl of blackberries that we picked ourselves from a friend’s farm. If you’re in the Nashville area, drive south to Arrington Vineyards. Drive right past them a few miles and buy some of the best tomatoes and corn (and more) in the area from Burns Produce. Follow them on facebook to see up close or read about them here.

Usually I make blackberry cobbler in little jars or in cast iron pans with pie crust. Today I’m featuring short cake biscuit blackberry cobbler and it’s gluten free. The flavors of ginger and lemon pair perfectly with the blackberries. Just be aware that blackberries are one of the most tart berries but their unique flavor still makes them one of my favorite summer fruits.

I hope you love blackberry cobbler as much as I do. See below for all the different ways I’ve made cobbler so far.

Let’s connect on instagram, where I post lots of food pictures that never make it here. I also have a gluten free Pinterest Board and a Spinach Tiger Pinterest Board.

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Gluten Free Blackberry Cobbler

Good old fashioned gluten free blackberry cobbler made with lemon ginger biscuit dough.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• shortcake lemon ginger biscuit dough here
• 3 cups blackberries can mix in blueberries and other berries
• 1/3 sugar maybe more, you have to taste
• juice of half a lemon or a lemon syrup
• 1 tablespoons instant tapioca
• Milk for brushing on top of biscuits
• raw sugar for sprinkling on biscuits

Instructions

• Mix blackberries with all ingredients except biscuit dough. Set aside.
• Make biscuit dough.
• Put blackberries mixture into a small baking pan or cast iron pan.
• Roll out biscuit dough or pat down. Cut biscuits. Place on top.
• Brush with milk. Sprinkle with raw sugar.
• Bake until golden brown about 25-35 minutes.

Blackberry Cobbler in Jars

Blackberry Pie Crust Cobbler

The post How to Make Gluten Free Blackberry Cobbler appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The blackberry mint julep is the southern drink that can be enjoyed with fresh ingredients for several months. I do confess to using frozen blackberries, as our season is right around the corner, but I did pick that mint out of a pot on my deck.

A word on fresh mint. It takes over the garden. It’s just that hearty, so do contain it to a pot, if you know what’s good for you. We learned that the hard way. But, do plant some because mint can be added to all kinds of dishes and other cocktails.

The mint julep is a classic with a remarkable history. Over 120,000 mint juleps are served at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby and probably many more than that at the home parties. This one drink gets so much attention concentrated on a short few hours. They won’t be served with blackberries and will be more traditional, but we like to play around.

I have a thing for all kinds of berries and I like them in savory foods as well as cocktails. There was the blueberry old fashioned and the strawberry martini. I’ve made many different cocktails with either blue or blackberries, but never get to posting them, probably because drinking them gets in the way.

If you’re a purist and want an authentic non-fruited version, this writer nails it and includes some interesting mint julep history.

I encourage you to play around with your recipes and make a drink that fits your mood at the moment. My mood today includes blackberries, but do use a good bourbon. There are so many to choose from.

We like Woodford Reserve, Angel’s Envy and Four Roses, but our favorite is Blanton’s which I used for this  Manhattan. Blanton’s is expensive, and probably best reserved for the non-fruited drinks.

We were recently in New Orleans at Bourbon House and I snapped a picture of the some of the 150 bourbons on hand.  It would be fun to live close by and stop in for a quick nightly bourbon tasting. I’d love to hear about your favorite bourbon.

Choose blackberry simple syrup or make the blackberry mint julep with fresh or frozen berries.

You could choose to make a blackberry simple syrup (or purchase one). I don’t think that’s necessary though, because we used frozen (defrosted) blackberries, and found them to make a perfect drink.

Often the mint julep is served with crushed ice and in a silver cup. No silver cup, but ice is easy to crush.

To make blackberry simple syrup, use 1 cup blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and boil down until you have a syrup. Take through a sieve. Cool and refrigerate to very cold before making the drink.

I’ve made this drink three times to get it right and it was the squeeze of lemon that perfected it.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Do you love mint juleps and have you ever tried a blackberry mint julep and do you have a favorite bourbon?

Let’s connect on instagram, where I often preview posts before they make it here.

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Blackberry Mint Julep Recipe

Blackberry mint julep recipe, a summer twist on a traditional mint julep combining fresh blackberries mint and julep for a twist on this classic.

Course Cocktail

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 4 ounces bourbon
• ice
• 1/3 cup frozen blackberries or fresh
• 6-10 sprigs fresh mint plus more for garnish
• juice from squeeze of lemon
• 4 sugar cubes

Instructions

• Defrost blackberries
• Put mint, lemon, blackberries in shaker.
• Muddle until blackberries are completely smashed.
• Add bourbon, ice and shake.
• Pour into two glasses filled with ice, making sure to use a sieve to prevent blackberry seeds.
• You might want to use crushed ice. I used giant ice cubes.
• Garnish with mint and a blackberry.

A Few of My Favorite Blackberry Recipes from Spinach Tiger 

Blackberry Tart

Blackberry Cupcakes

Blackberry Salad

The post Blackberry Mint Julep Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Did you know that a tiger closes his eyes when he’s happy. A tiger cannot purr; so she squints or closes her eyes in contentment.  This denotes trust and safety, and is exactly what we humans do when take a bite of food that brings us back to childhood or rushes to the pleasure center of our brain.

There are so many ways to make a cheesecake and if you’re wondering how to make a cheesecake that is classic New York, dense enough to feel like a real dessert, this is that recipe, adapted from  New York Times recipe (Craig Claiborne), and  is everything a cheesecake needs to be. It’s got body, and just the right amount of density.

This cheesecake  is classic and perfect for those special occasions when splurging is part of a celebration and you want people to love your dessert so much, they close their eyes with that first bite.

This might be a nice Father’s Day dessert because while the strawberry is girlie, I think the blackberry is quite masculine.

I’m not into those fluffy whipped versions that masquerade as cheesecake, but are mostly heavy cream, nor am I into those non-bake cheesecakes.

Pin this recipe if you’re looking for a New York style cheesecake that elicits closed eyes and smiling faces.

Serving Blackberry Cheesecake

You can pour the sauce over the whole cheesecake, or serve individually. Another great topping for this cheesecake could be this blueberry pie filling.

So tell me, are you a cheesecake fan? What’s your favorite kind?

Psstt….. I have two instagram accounts and would love to see you there.

Spinach Tiger @spinachtiger is everything from my chihuahua to all the food in my kitchen and everywhere cool in Nashville.

Nashville Urban Buzz @nashvilleurbanbuzz  is brand new and all Nashville stuff all the time.

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Blackberry Cheesecake and How to Make Blackberry Sauce

Classic New York Cheese Cake adapted from the New York Time's Recipe from Craig Claiborne

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind
• ½ cup 1 stick butter
• 1 egg yolk lightly beaten
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

For the filling

• 5 8- ounce packages cream cheese
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Blackberry Sauce

• 3 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar more if blackberries are very tart

Instructions

Make Crust

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix lemon zest into the sugar with your hands to increase fragrance. Add flour. Mix. Cut in butter, mix in egg and vanilla.
• Pat 1/3 of doug into bottom of 9-inch springform pan with sides removed. Bake 6 minutes until golden.
• Cool, attach sides to pan. Butter sides and pat the sides with remaining dough.
• Increase oven to 475.

Prepare Filling

• Use room temperature cream cheese.
• Beat cream cheese until fluffy Add vanilla and lemon rind.
• Mix together flour, sugar, salt. Blend into cream cheese mixture.
• Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time.
• Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
• Reduce oven to 200 degrees. Bake for one hour or until set.
• Turn oven off. Keep cheese cake in oven with door open.
• Cool on a rack.
• Chill before serving.
• You can pour blackberry sauce over entire top of cheesecake or on individual servings. Serve with a few whole blackberries for garnish.

blackberry sauce instructions

• put blackberries, sugar, water into small sauce pan.
• Cook over low heat until reduced and thick enough. Cool completely before serving.

The post How to Make a Cheesecake and Blackberry Sauce Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Berries are my favorite fruit, whether eaten alone or baked into pies and cobblers. I’ve recently backed some berry recipes using stevia instead of sugar.

I’m not suggesting that stevia is perfect as a sweetener, and there is a lot of controversy about it, especially, the processed stevia. However, for someone who cannot have any sugar and doesn’t want to consumer aspertame, stevia is a better choice. Here is a well-researched article discussing stevia and its safety.

In these recipes, you can substitute equal amounts of sugar, but always taste test for your own sweetness preference.

I bake with berries all year long because berry pies, tarts, cobblers are my favorite dessert, and discovered recently that frozen berries work just as well as fresh. I’ll admit that it takes a little playing around to get the amount right. Not enough and berries won’t be sweet; too much and there will be an after taste.

One way to boost the sweetness is to marinate the berries for several hours to overnight in the stevia. You have to taste them and adjust for your preference and keep in mind that berries lose sweetness when they bake. One way I got around this was to add in a few raw strawberries to the mix. They naturally sweeten things up.

Blackberries are more of a challenge, as they aren’t that sweet to start with and they usually need a lot of sugar, so I tend to add in about 25% more stevia.

I’ve only put pie crust toppers on these to keep the carbs low. This gives you a nice piece of pie in a jar for at most 150 calories. This means you can have dessert just about every night of the week!

If you don’t want to make jar recipes, you can do this. Just double the recipe. How pretty is this, and the pie crust was sensational. Some days it just turns out more perfect than other days. Use a half recipe of my perfect pie crust found here, with a video tutorial. If you want to make this healthier, try my spelt pie crust, also with a video tutorial. It’s nutty and I actually prefer it with berries.

So tell me, have you tried to bake with stevia before? Do you have dessert recipes with stevia? I’d love to hear about them.

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Healthy Blueberry Pie Jars Made with Stevia

Berry desserts made with stevia, as pies, tarts, cobblers

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 6 wide mouth half pint jars or 6 ramekins
• 1 12 ounce bag frozen berries or fresh
• handful strawberries optional
• 1/4 cup stevia in the raw
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon tapioca or cornstarch optional
• 1/4 recipe pie crust skip the sugar

Instructions

• Marinate berries for at least one hour in stevia and cinnamon.
• Roll out pie crust, cut out to your liking and refrigerate.
• Before baking add in tapioca for thickening
• You could put a bottom crust in, but I recommend not doing that. Fill berries in jars leaving one inch at least at the top.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Notes

Play around and skip the pie crust, top with yogurt or whipped cream.

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Summer is the time for sweet, juicy, tangy food and, of course, salads. While this is a very simple salad, of honey baked goat cheese, greens, arugula, and summer fruit, there are nuances that must be noted. A good salad must have a proper balance of fat, acid and salt, the ingredients must be fresh and the greens must be washed and dried properly. Get these things right and you can make a thousand good salads.

I grew up eating salad every night at every dinner, so it’s easy for me, but I realize that’s not the case for everyone. Luckily, there is a video of this salad, that I taped for the Williamson Source and that should be up the week of the 23rd. You can watch me make this very easy dressing using products from a local olive oil store very close to home, Olivia Olive Oil. If you live in the Nashville area, you must visit the store. You can taste everything, and there is a wide assortment of amazing olive oils and vinegars.

Olivia’s lemon zest olive oil and Olivia’s blackberry with red pepper vinegar come together to sing a summer song of sweet and tart and marry so well with the honey-baked goat cheese.

Spring greens mixed with arugula is a combination of fragile greens that can wilt easily and require very little dressing to taste good. Other types of greens such as romaine is full of water, and requires at least three times the amount of dressing. That’s not the reason I chose these types of greens. I chose a more delicate green because it’s more complimentary to the baked goat cheese, which tastes best when it’s set down into the salad warm, right before serving.

During the taping, Donna the host and I got into a conversation about the cook putting the dressing on the salad for the guests. I’m a firm believer of making the salad and tossing it. There’s no dressing on the side around here. The salad simply won’t taste as good, if it’s not properly tossed in the kitchen.

As I mentioned above, salad really requires balance of acid, fat and salt. It might take some practice to get this balance right, but once you do, I’ll bet you that more people will eat salad in your house. We eat salad with every single dinner. I grew up that way and for me, a meal isn’t complete without a salad.

Honey Baked Goat Cheese with Blackberry Lemon Vinaigrette

When an olive oil and a vinegar is high quality, a good vinaigrette is fairly easy to make. The blackberry red pepper vinegar is sweet and almost drinkable. That means that the ratio of vinegar to olive oil is going to be lower than a more acidic vinegar. In this case, we almost used a one to two olive oil to vinegar ratio. A 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 is more typical. Another reason I wanted more vinegar is to balance the sweetness of the berries and the goat cheese.

A fun garnish for the salad was a bit of shaved white chocolate. While not completely necessary, it’s a nice touch, as is a sprinkling of fresh mint. I used strawberries, but on the day of the taping we used raspberries along with blackberries. You could use any fruit you like, but blackberries are in season right now and a delicacy. I like to eat them in everything.

Some Tips for Making Salad and Vinaigrette

• Do not wash fruit or lettuces until ready to use. If you do, make sure they are completely dry and then wrap in paper towels before storing. Do not wash any berries before storing.
• Fragile greens need to be completely dry before applying a vinaigrette.
• A typical vinaigrette will be a 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 ratio vinegar to oil. Sweeter vinegars use ratio of 1 to 3 or 1 to 2. Always taste the dressing first. It should be tangy enough to wake you up, but not so tart that it’s hard to taste.
• You can make flavored olive oils by allowing an ingredient, lemon zest or basil, for example to sit in the oil for a few hours.
• Add Dijon mustard or honey to a vinaigrette. It will help to emulsify (come together and stay together).
• Add in a sprinkling of fresh herbs on top of the salad just before serving.
• Toss fragile greens and season before adding in toppings, especially delicate fruit such as berries. Use as little dressing as possible, because you can always add in more. Season with salt and pepper. Taste again, then decide if more dressing is needed.

This is perfect salad for a July 4th celebration. If taking it to a party, keep the goat cheese, fruit and dressing separate. Fix it at the party; otherwise it will melt. Perfect for someone who wants something sweet, yet healthy. You could consider this your dessert.

More Salads from Spinach Tiger

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Red White and Blue Honey Baked Goat Cheese Salad with Blackberry Lemon Vinaigrette

A perfect summer salad with baked goat cheese and a tangy blackberry vinaigrette.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 8 cups assorted spring greens and arugula
• 1 cup of Berries Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
• 6 slices of goat cheese
• 6 teaspoons honey
• 1 ounce white chocolate for garnish
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons blackberry vinaigrette

Blackberry Lemon Vinaigrette

• 10 tablespoons lemon olive oil can use regular olive oil see notes
• 5 tablespoons blackberry red pepper vinegar can use balsamic, see notes
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Wash and rinse greens and arugula. Use a salad spinner or paper towels to dry.
• Wash fruit, only right before using.
• Place sliced goat cheese on parchment paper. Drizzle each with up to a teaspoon of honey. You may not use all of it, just enough to cover.
• Bake goat cheese until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.
• Assemble greens, first and toss with viniagrette. Use just enough to glisten the greens. Season green with salt and pepper. Toss again.
• Arrange berries on the salad.
• Place goat cheese on salad right before serving. Season once more with freshly ground black pepper.

Blackberry Lemon Vinaigrette

• If you have Olivia lemon olive oil and blackberry red pepper vinegar, mix vinegar with mustard first and then pour oil in jar. Give a good shake. Taste. You can decide then if you want to add in more vinegar or more oil. Vinaigrette should be sweet and tangy.

Notes

You can make an alternative blackberry lemon vinaigrette as follows:
10 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup blackberries and 2 tablespoons honey preserves
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Mix blackberries with honey and blend well in food processor. Strain.
Mix mustard with vinegar and blackberry juice. Add lemon juice. Stream in olive
oil. Shake well.

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