Do the Dewgarita

On the heels of my recent Dewbellini success I decided it was time to try a Dewgarita. I've kept my harvested dewberries (similar to a blackberry, dewberries grow wild here in the Texas Hill Country) in the freezer and mete out required amounts as warranted. Thusly, I whipped up another round of dewberry puree* and mixed it with tequila and my favorite margarita mixer. Just a couple of spoonfuls of the puree gave the margarita a great color and just a hint of dewberry flavor. And, yes, I used a mixer, but there is only one I will use: Freshies Fresh Lime Margarita Mix. I am a freak for making things myself but this particular margarita mix really does taste fresh, I haven't been able to make my own any better and, most importantly, there is no nuclear green glow.

*I put a handful of dewberries in a pan with water just to cover and sugar to taste. Brought to a boil then turned down the heat and let the berries stew just until the berries were soft and the liquid had thickened some. Cooled for a bit (so the top of the blender wouldn't blow off), tossed all in the blender, pressed a button (insert whirring sound) and, voila, dewberry puree.

Eggplant Chips and Dewbellinis

For the season finale of "Lost", I had my mother and sister over for dinner and confusion. My goal was to use only local ingredients, from my own little Hill Country island. For starters, I made Eggplant Chips using the organic eggplant purchased the day before at the Wimberley Farmers' Market which I paired with Dewbellinis -- bellinis made with dewberry puree from dewberries picked on my property. I had to fight back a polar bear just to get to the patches! (Or maybe that was just my big white dog wanting to play ball). Anywho, the Dewbellini was simple enough, just pour a little dewberry puree* in the bottom of a champagne glass and top with your favorite prosecco/cava/champagne/sparkline wine -- my necessary nod to non-local. Let's just agree that there was a stray bottle that washed up on the island. For my cocktails -- as my car is in the shop (cost to repair TBD), my lawnmower is in the shop (cost to repair painful), my digital camera died (cost to replace an absolute), and I just received a letter informing me that my health insurance company (the one proud to provide me affordable health care) is raising my premiums -- I used Frexeinet. The price is always right and Frexeinet has always been a great, inexpensive choice for mimosas and the like (although, no shame, I like it straight up as well).

For the chips, I used the "Crisp Eggplant Chips" recipe from Epicurious.com with the only alteration to the recipe being I used peanut oil (after having fantastic luck with peanut oil for french fries). The chips got rave reviews. We couldn't stop eating them. They really are crispy and the savory-sweet combination was addictive. My only tip is, when preparing the chips, don't let the sliced eggplant sit out too long. The natural moisture evaporates, leaving them too dried out for the coating to stick. If they do dry out, a quick, light spritz of water should solve the problem.

*I put a handful of dewberries in a pan with water just to cover on the stove. Once it began to boil, I added sugar to taste. I let the berries stew for a bit and the liquid cook off until the the concoction was thicker. Once cooled, I blended all in, surprisingly, a blender and, voila, dewberry puree.

Oh deer!

I have dewberry patches all over my property and the dewberries are starting to get ripe (more on that later). I picked late yesterday and went back this morning to pick some more and as I went to pick in the biggest patch I almost stepped on a brand new fawn! It had to have been born last night. It's about the size of my 14 pound my chihuahua mix all curled up. After quietly backing away, I ran to where my sister was working nearby (kindly) planting some plants for me and I (quietly) freaked out. She went all National Geographic and crept over and snapped a photo with her phone. I've circled where the fawn is on the attached phone photo. but it's really hard to see it -- those spots work! I need them for my thighs.