The Best Easiest Baked Dessert: Nectarine and Blackberry Crisp! Comforting, warm, and perfect for your backyard BBQ.
The Best & Easiest Nectarine & Blackberry Crisp, Hometown Orchards (and the worst wine ever), Olivia Rodrigo, Keith Jarret, Laura Marling, MELVV, Flawed Mangoes, Royal & the Serpent, & Thomas Newman
As Memorial Day Weekend gives way to summer, I'm thoroughly enjoying and paring down my life and loves to its essentials. My childhood home in San Jose, when we first moved in, was considered the country. The main thoroughfare gave way to a dirt road and our house was one of the few outliers in San Jose proper. The property and its surrounding hills, much like the rest of Santa Clara County, were originally fruit orchards. In our case, it had been an apricot orchard and to this day, the land is still extremely fertile, with my childhood home sustaining dozens of fruit trees.
Here are some early photos of Santa Clara County's fruit orchards.
This one is my favorite... apricot orchards, like my childhood backyard. My husband still has the ancient wooden crates from his family farm and winery. Apparently, it was the worst wine ever.
Alas, time marches on and as I grew up, our dirt road was paved, then our lone hill was developed with new constructions and over the last 20 years, what once was beautiful, hilltop scenery, is now dotted with large houses everywhere. The horse stables down the road, once the home of the 4H club, is now home to dozens of tech leaders and was once a "Western" dive bar, are now luxury condos. I still love the march of development and time, but I wistfully remember my childhood, the old "end" of San Jose, the fruit orchards, the undeveloped hills, and what was once considered "the country" of Silicon Valley. We loved the simplicity contrasted with the dichotomy of high tech that my husband (who also grew up in San Jose) and I got married in a single room chapel built in the 1800's, at the edge of this "countryside". Btw, my husband's family still has the old wooden crates with their orchard names stamped for their fruit deliveries. Amazing how time unfolds. Here's to your memories of your childhood home and the future it holds.
Because blackberries in a fruit crisp is heaven... and it's the start of winter in the Southern Hemisphere!
Blackberry Winter (McGlohon, Wilder) - Keith Jarrett #cazhareketi
Yes. Blackberries (paired with the nectarines in the fruit crisp) rule as does Laura Marling's voice and music.
Laura Marling - Blackberry Stone (Live from the Royal Festival Hall DVD)
I still love this song. It's an underrated track from last summer that still rules.
MELVV - Nectarines (feat. Royal & The Serpent) [Official Music Video]
Growing up, I would get really excited to find out an entertainer was part Filipino (Tia Carrere, Rob Schneider, Nicole Scherzinger). I love watching the next generation (so much talent!)... Hailee Steinfeld, H.E.R, and Olivia Rodrigo. We all got through last year with her "Driver's License." Here's to her album, "Sour." Ahh.. teenage angst!
Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4 U (Official Video)
Although the world knows the Bay Area as "Silicon Valley," the Valley I know is the combination of fruit orchards, great food, and my love of computers. I love Thomas Newman and I also loved his score to "Little Women." Yes, I know. It's snowing in the picture but it's winter in the Southern Hemisphere now!
Orchard House (Main Title) (Instrumental) - Thomas Newman
I hope this made you laugh, think, and maybe plan ahead to this weekend's bbq! Who doesn't love a fruit crisp? Here's to childhood memories and laughter! Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful week! Xo, Melissa
The Best Easiest Baked Dessert: Nectarine and Blackberry Crisp. Perfect for this weekend's BBQ and even more decadent for breakfast the next day! Cheers!
The Best Easiest Baked Dessert: Nectarine and Blackberry Crisp
from "Baking at Republique", by Margarita Manzke with Betty Hallock
From the Margarita Manzke:
“You can pretty much use whatever fruit you have- berries in the summer or apples in the fall. It’s an anything-under-the sun crisp… Just put the fruit in a baking dish and top it withe struesel. You can ever store the streusel in the freezer for up to one month. The fruit has to come to a bubble to cook the starch: this is what makes it thicken when it sets, preventing the crisp from being too watery. Do not pack the streusel on top. If the streusel is packed too tightly or put on too thickly, the crisp might come out soggy and raw.”
Makes 8 servings
Streusel
180g/ 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
150g/ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
165g/ 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Fruit Filling
200g/ 1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
25g/ 1/4 cup cornstarch
1.4kg/ 3lb nectarines, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
300g/ 10 1/2 oz. blackberries
15ml/ 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions:
To make the streusel: Combine the flour, sugar, butter and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix and then, using your fingertips, rub cold butter with the flour until it forms pea-size pieces. The texture should be crumbly. Put the streusel in a covered container and set aside ina cool place or freeze in a resealable bag for up to 1 month.
Preheat the over to 400 degrees.
To make the fruit filling: Mix the sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a bowl, making sure the cornstarch is dispersed evenly. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the nectarines and blackberries. Add the sugar mixture and lemon juice and toss lightly together as not to bruise the fruit.
Divide the filling into eight (240ml/ 1 cup) ramekins or other small baking dishes. (I don’t have 8 ramekins so I just used an oval baker.) Cover with a thin layer of streusel. (Freeze the leftover streusel for another use.) Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling, and the streusel is golden brown. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
#thebest&easiestnectarine&blackberrycrisp,#republique, @margaritamanzke, #hometownorchards, @oliviarodrigo, @keithjarret, @lauramarling, @MELVV, @royal&theserpent, @thomasnewman
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