Wednesday, October 26, 2011

It's a Mystery**


Recently, I came across some very tall fruiting shrubs on this land. They were just covered in fruit.


I would say the one in the pictures is close to 12 feet tall.


There are many of them here, most much smaller. I'm wondering if they are related to the blueberry, but my wild plant books, and an online search have not helped me with identification.


The fruits are small, about 1/4" diameter. Perhaps not so wisely, I did end up tasting them. They have a slightly sweet, somewhat "berry-ish" taste, though the flesh is quite dry and mealy. Any ideas?
                          

Last night, I made Rhonda's Impossible Quiche. This quiche has no crust, which simplifies things. I made a vegetarian version, which turned out wonderfully.  I couldn't find hers to link to, so here's my version-

Impossible Quiche

Place the following in a frying pan and cook, then put to one side.
1 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 small sweet red pepper, diced
approx. 1/4 cup mushrooms (I used some I canned)
handful of lambs quarters, chopped

In a mixing bowl, combine
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup kefir (hers called for cream)
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup grated tasty cheese (I used 2/3 Robusto & 1/3 sharp cheddar)
handful of chopped basil- use the herbs you like
salt and pepper to taste

Add the fried vegetables to the egg mixture and pour into a greased quiche dish or shallow pie pan.  Cook at 375 degrees until golden brown and set in the middle, approx. 30 mins.

**Note-  Thanks to Mrs. Mac's comment, which sent me off on another tangent, I discovered these plants are Vaccinium arboreum aka sparkleberry aka farkleberry- don't you love that name?!http://nearlynativenursery.com/PlantsDetail.cfm?ID=804

1 comment:

Mrs. Mac said...

I think those are service berries. Not too flavorful .. but edible .. but check to make sure.