I’ve been talking about blackberries so much on the blog lately because I’ve been enjoying picking them along the trail behind our office. There’s one drawback to picking blackberries, though: THORNS. The vines are covered with nasty, vicious, hooked thorns that seem intent on drawing blood in their zeal to guard the precious fruit. It’s virtually impossible to pick a fair amount of berries without getting “picked,” yourself (wear gloves and you usually wind up squashing the fruit).

Continue Reading Jenn’s Blackberrying Tips

If you want to keep bananas from ripening too quickly, seal them in plastic bag and store them in the fridge. This will turn the skin brown, but the fruit itself will remain unchanged. Recipe tip: 1 lb. bananas = 1-1/3 cup mashed.

Want to make banana bread or banana pudding, but the bananas you have are too green? To speed ripening, put the bananas in a paper bag. Adding an apple also helps. Recipe tip: 1 lb. bananas = 1-1/3 cup mashed.

With dozens of varieties to use for baking, cooking and just plain snacking, apples are a naturally sweet, tasty and healthful treat. It’s no wonder that on average, Americans consume about 19 pounds of apples a year.
Continue Reading The Amazing Apple

You don’t have to make pie dough or own a pie pan for this recipe! Super easy, though it will look like you spent hours making this “rustic” tart. Serve with whipped cream or French vanilla ice cream.
Continue Reading Easy Apple Tart

Easily capture berry flavor in a jar without cooking or canning! Freezer jam can be made in less than an hour, and you only need a few ingredients.
Continue Reading Strawberry Freezer Jam

No need to stop at burgers…adventurous grillers are taking barbecuing to the next level—dessert! But you don’t have to be an expert BBQ chef to create succulent fruit desserts on the grill. It takes just a few minutes to grill fruits, and you’ll receive rave reviews for your delicious and unexpected meal toppers.
Continue Reading Grilling Fruit – How to grill fruit on your BBQ