Nature's bounty, episode III

The neighborhood blackberries don't usually last very long, but this year they've stuck around a bit, and they're especially plump, so I'm making up for last year, when I skipped the annual wild blackberry recipe. This isn't really a recipe, just an idea of something to eat for breakfast when you want a change.

I'd been getting the Yogurt Parfait at the Petite MarieBette outpost on Water Street when I have breakfast there on Saturday mornings with my (mostly) one-syllable-named running buddies. But one of my friends insisted that we go back to our old breakfast place for the summer so that we could sit out under the shade of the beautiful willow oaks on the Downtown Mall.

This image shared from Wikimedia Commons under CCA 2.0

Now, I love the Mall, but there's no comparison with the food or coffee at MarieBette, except that this particular friend never orders anything, so it's no skin off his nose if the rest of us have subpar fare for breakfast. Despite that small detail, everyone else went along with his suggestion, because old habits die hard, especially among us old people. (Right, Cassie?)

Anyway, I was missing the Yogurt Parfait at Petite MarieBette, so I threw this together using the wild blackberries I picked on my way out of Biscuit Run after I walked there this morning. You can substitute whatever fruit is in season for the wild blackberries, such as raspberries or cut-up strawberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, or apricots. Or if you want to be fancy, you can make a simple fruit compote and use that instead of raw fruit, like they do at Petite MarieBette.

Yogurt Parfait with wild blackberries

Yogurt Parfait with blackberry compote

Yogurt Parfait

Time: 5 minutes

You can substitute whatever fruit is in season for the wild blackberries, or make a simple fruit compote or macerated fruit (recipes below) instead of using raw fruit. Skip the honey if you use fruit compote or macerated fruit.

Plain whole-milk yogurt or Greek yogurt
Wild blackberries (see note) 
Good raw, local honey (see note)
Good granola

Get out a good-sized glass, but one that you can reach the bottom of with whatever spoon you're using. Spoon some yogurt into the bottom of the glass. Cover with a layer of fruit. Drizzle honey over the fruit—the amount of honey you use depends on how tart your fruit is. Cover with a layer of granola. Repeat the layering. Eat before the granola gets soggy and loses its crunch. Makes one serving.

Fruit Compote

Time: ~25 minutes

The recipe can be doubled and made in a medium saucepan; the cooking time will be a little longer. You can also use frozen berries; the cooking time will be a little longer. In addition to yogurt, you can serve fruit compote over ice cream, pound cake, cheesecake, pancakes, waffles, anything you like, really.

227 grams (8 ounces/~2 cups) fresh, ripe blackberries, blueberries, or hulled and sliced strawberries; or pitted and halved cherries; or pitted and diced apricots, nectarines, peaches, or plums (see note)
25 grams (2 tablespoons) sugar
a pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

    1. Place the fruit, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a lively simmer. Cook until the mixture is thickened and syrupy, up to 15 minutes depending on how juicy your fruit is. (The compote will continue to thicken some as it cools, but not a lot because the recipe is low in sugar and none of the fruit I've listed, except plums, is high in pectin.) Mash the fruit very gently with a wooden spoon occasionally during cooking, but not too much, as compote is supposed to be quite chunky.
    2. When the compote is thickened to your liking, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a jar and cool completely. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Makes ~1 cup.

Macerated Fruit

Time: 35 minutes

227 grams (8 ounces/~2 cups) fresh, ripe blackberries, blueberries, or hulled and sliced strawberries; or pitted and halved cherries; or pitted and diced apricots, nectarines, peaches, or plums
1 tablespoon (12 grams) sugar, more as needed
a squeeze (~½ teaspoon) of fresh lemon juice
a pinch of salt

In a small bowl, gently toss all of the ingredients together. Let sit and macerate, stirring once or twice, until juicy, preferably at least 30 minutes. Taste, adding more sugar if needed.