Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom
The dry and hot weather has been good for two things: harvesting wheat and putting hay in the barn. There has been lots of progress in the fields that actually got planted to wheat last fall. My crew helped me finish on Monday and now we are hurrying to plant the double crop soybeans in those same fields. A few fields got some nice rain showers late last week and some totally missed all the rain. We could sure use a nice soaking rain for the corn, soybeans and pastures.
The boys were great help last week as they ran the grain cart to improve our harvest efficiency, helped move equipment to different fields and kept the planter with seed.
Growing up, we knew the end of wheat harvest signalled that the blackberries should be ripe. I haven't had time to go look and sadly probably won't find time, but I've seen a few friends post that they have been out picking (hopefully avoiding the chiggers that usually come with them.).
We really like this slow cooker cobbler recipe. You could put it in before going to the ball fields and have cobbler with ice cream for a yummy summer evening snack.
Stay safe, healthy and happy everyone!
CROCKPOT BLACKBERRY COBBLER
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon orange peel, optional
Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Combine eggs, milk and oil into dry ingredients just until moistened. Spread batter evenly onto bottom of a greased 5 quart slow cooker. In a saucepan, combine berries, water, orange peel and remaining sugar; bring to boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour over batter. Cover and cook on High for 2-2.5 hours or until a toothpick inserted into the batter comes out clean. Turn cooker off. Uncover and let stand 30 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Makes 6 servings.
[Nicole Small is a southeast Kansas farmer and the mother of two sons. She works every day on her and her husband's farm raising cattle and crops. Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AKansasFarmMom/ or visit her blog online at http://talesofakansasfarmmom. blogspot.com or email her with questions at akansasfarmmom@gmail. com]