For 10 ½ months a year, we are content to hate this plant, aka Rubus armeniacus, classified as a “noxious weed” by the State of Washington. Then for 6 weeks or so, we can’t get enough of its luscious berries!
The Himalayan blackberry has quite a circuitous history. A man named Luther Burbank found this in a plant catalog in India. He then introduced it to America in 1885, calling it the “Himalaya Giant”. Working backwards, researchers found that the plant originated in Armenia, then made it to Germany in 1835, spread to England, and then was transported to India by the English. Luther Burbank also brought us such interesting creations as elephant garlic, Shasta daisies, and pineapple quince.
The Himalayan (or should I say Armenian?) blackberry grown on canes up to 30 feet in length in dense thickets. Covered, as we all know, by prickers and thorns. It is hard to control due to its rampant growth and enormous root system. In addition, it sucks up most of the water around it, which means that nearby plants don’t get enough water to thrive.
However, my googling indicates there are lots of goats-for-hire companies (think Rent a Runiment) who will hire their herds out to eat those invasive plants. I will tell you that I grew up with goats, and while they won’t eat tin cans, they will eat almost everything else!
I suppose I need to get back to the luscious part of this blog. My friend Karissa gave me this recipe, and I just had to try it. Mmmmmmm…. Delicious! It’s so good that you might need some creative excuses to eat it more than once a day. It’s fabulous for breakfast over Greek yogurt, good plain for a snack, and of course, with “whup cream” (as it’s known in my house) for dessert.
The first time I made it the berries needed a little sugar, but the next time, I found an unraided patch of giant juicy berries that required no sweetener whatsoever.
Blackberry Bars
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. butter, softened
1 ¾ cup flour
1 ½ oats
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
4 cups blackberries washed with sugar added to taste
Mix sugar and butter. Stir in remaining ingredients until crumbly. Press 2/3 into bottom of 9×13 pan. Top with berries (drain juice first). Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture and press gently onto berries. Bake at 400º for 25 minutes or until light brown.
-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is sitting here typing with 8 purple fingers, 5 puncture wounds, 3 giant scratches and 1 still-embedded thorn obtained while picking berries for her teacher-neighbor’s its-your-first-day-of-school-you-must-be-too-tired-to-cook dinner she makes their family every year.
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