It’s a pretty safe bet that, as you sit there reading this post, Janie Hibler is elbow-deep in fresh berries. The award-winning cookbook author, who’s well known for her expertise on such Pacific Northwest fare as Dungeness crab and wild salmon, is particularly crazy about berries. She emailed me today, from her log cabin in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, about her afternoon adventure:
"picking succulent trailing wild Pacific blackberry (the
reason why the boysenberry and loganberry are so delicious—it’s part of their
gene pool), wild black raspberries, red and blue huckleberries, and
salmonberries.”
Hibler’s book, The Berry
Bible, was originally published in 2004. But this summer Amazon Encore
(Amazon.com’s publishing imprint) re-released a paperback version. It’s
available at Amazon.com for $12.21.
In addition to some 175
recipes, the book is an encyclopedia of varieties -- cloudberries, Juneberries
and the blue honeysuckle were news to me.
There’s also practical info such as how to buy, wash, dry and freeze.
But what I love most about the book is the inspiration it provides.
For me, a strawberry has
always been something to eat from a bowl with heavy cream, combine with rhubarb
in a pie, or plop on top of shortcake. But The Berry Bible got me to think outside
the plastic pint basket.
Curried Halibut with
Strawberry-Papaya Relish was a scrumptious celebration of summer (with fresh
Alaskan halibut). Hibler’s American Barbecue Sauce, with fresh blackberries,
ketchup, and pimenton (the smoked “paprika” of Spain), is luscious. And her
Upside-Down Cranberry-Pumpkin Polenta Cake belongs on every Thanksgiving table.
The halibut, pictured here, is remarkably easy to make, too. Just dust the
filet with curry powder and salt, pan-sear, and top with the salsa of diced
fruits, red onion and cilantro. The colorful entrée is served with fragrant
basmati rice and a sauce of canned coconut milk that’s warmed and slightly
thickened in the sauté pan.
And now that I have The
Berry Bible on my bookshelf, I’m out looking for other fresh berries.
Next time I come face
to face with a basket of blackberries, I definitely won’t be plunking them in a fruit salad. Not with
Hibler’s Blackberry-Port Lamb Shanks waiting for me on page 141.
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