It's blackberry season, whether you've got a vine growing wild in the backyard, you've made it to a pick-your-own farm lately, or you've been taking advantage of one of the many farmers' markets around the county.

While my absolute favorite way to eat blackberries -- my favorite berry by far -- is to simply pop them in my mouth until my tongue is stained purple, it doesn't really make a dent in the number I pick each year.

You can freeze blackberries fairly easily by putting them on a cookie sheet, sticking the cookie sheet in the freezer, then pull the sheet out and transfer to the berries to a zip-top bag.

But what to do with them when you defrost them? Well, you could always try one of these recipes.

Chunky apple-berry sauce

7 or 8 large apples, peeled and sliced

1-2 c. blackberries

1/2 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of apples and berries)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

Toss it all together and put the slow cooker on low for 10 hours. Serve warm or cold.

Blackberry peach cobbler

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/5 c. plus 1 tsp. sugar

1 1/4 lb blackberries (about 5 cups)

2 lb. peaches, (6 medium), peeled, pitted and cut into wedges

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 c. plus 3 Tbsp. whole milk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Butter a 13x9x2 glass or ceramic baking dish.

Whisk together cornstarch and 1 1/2 c. sugar in a large bowl. Then add peaches and blackberries and toss to coat. Transfer to baking dish, bake 10-15 min.

While fruit bakes, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt in another large bowl, then blend in butter with pastry blender or fingers. Add milk and stir until dough forms.

Drop dough on hot fruit mixture in 12 mounds, then sprinkle dough with remaining sugar. Bake until golden brown, 25-35 min. Serve warm. (This is really good with vanilla ice cream.)

Berry whole wheat white chocolate drop scones

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. butter

1 c. milk

1 egg

1 c. fresh or frozen raspberries, blackberries or blueberries

1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until well blended and crumbly. In a small bowl, stir together milk and egg; add to flour mixture. Stir until almost blended, then add berries and chocolate and stir gently until combined.

Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle tops with a little sugar if you want.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Streusel:

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup sifted flour

1/3 to 1/2 cup butter

For Filling: Combine sugar and flour; pour over berries and let stand while making dough.

For Dough: Sift together flour, sugar and baking powder. Add butter and eggs. Work together lightly until it forms a dough (can use hands). Press dough against bottom and sides of 9" x 13" pan.

For Streusel: Sift sugar, flour and cinnamon in bowl. Cut in butter until size of peas (can use hands to get good texture). Pour Blackberries into dough and spoon streusel over top. Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes.

Polish Blackberry Soup

(From the Larriland Farm Web site, www.pickyourown.com)

1 pint ripe blackberries

2 small lemons, sliced very thin

1 one-inch stick cinnamon

2 cloves

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups cold water

2 cups sour cream

Put all ingredients except sour cream into a soup kettle (any heavy pan) and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes or until fruit is soft. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves. Put cooked berry mixture in blender for about 20 seconds. Cool and chill well. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Blackberry kuchen

(also from the Larriland Web site)

Dough:

2 cups sifted flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup butter, quite soft

3 large eggs

Filling:

1 quart blackberries

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 flour

How are you using seasonal produce? Send an e-mail to Shannon Baylis Sarino at sbsarino@yahoo.com and we'll feature your stories and recipes in a future column.

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