THE MIRACLE OF THE BERRIES

I CAME TO PRAISE YOUR BERRY,
      NOT TO SEIZE IT!
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There's an old phrase from Shakespeare's
"Julius Caesar" which goes something like:
"I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him."

Now in the sixties, in a far-fetched, zany
little sit-com SKIT, (but nonetheless one 
which captured me), a Roman soldier in his
"kilts" and with his short sword and all, is 
rapping on the door of a "berry-seller," and 
saying: "I'VE COME TO  PRAISE YOUR 
BERRIES, NOT TO SEIZE THEM!"

In these brief paragraphs, I want to do just 
that: "PRAISE OUR BERRIES." I know, it's
not something you'd generally think about---
as is true with thousands of other everyday 
things on this Earth that the Creator has 
provided to make our lives better.

(Berries. How could we have: berry cobblers, 
berry pies, jellies, jams, preserves, pancake
syrups, trail mix, and what all, without berries?!)

Berries. We are told that there are 5000 varieties.
Blackberries, blue, boysen, straw, cran, mul,
huckle, dew, logan, lingon, near, whorlle, bil,
bar, goose, elder, goose, hack, sheep, 
wolf, cloud, olaly, tim, nanny, currant, crow,
salmon, wine, sea grape, Oregon grape, May
apple, and on and on.....

It is obvious that berries are miracles from God!
Atheists, take note. Five thousand berries with
five thousand different looks, shapes, flavors---
didn't just happen. A considerable amount of
thought went into these.

Who would have thought to invent a berry to 
enhance turkey dinners at Thanksgiving...
like the cranberry?

About 1960 in the USA, an unusual innovation
appeared! It was the  "pancake house!" Before
that time, one could go into a cafe or restaurant
and order a "stack," and get three big pancakes
and an imitation maple syrup of some kind, with
little variation.

Then, with the advent of the "pancake house,"
came a miracle. Suddenly you could buy lite,
fluffy buttermilk pancakes...and the BIGGIE:
with al kinds of berry syrups---(tho' not five
thousand)---favorites were strawberry, blackberry,
boysenberry, blueberry, raspberry...and a few fruits
joined the act: peach, plum, apricot and others.

My mother made the best cobblers in the world,
literally. If she had gone national and started
cobbler restaurants, she could have been rich.
She made a number of different berry cobblers.
Her most famous one, I think, was blackberry.

Her cobblers were not dry---they were soupy.
Somehow the berry fillings were syrupy, floating 
with butter, filled with little dumpling chunks; and 
the crust --(her famous, mysterious biscuit dough 
recipe) on top, was thick dumpling-like chunks,
cooked to a golden, buttery brown!

What if there had been no berries on the earth?

And what about those old-fashioned breakfasts
that we experienced at Grandma's or saw pictures
of--or read about in a dozen magazines--where
breakfasts were being prepared with hot biscuits
(in the old wood stove) with all kinds of berry jellies, 
jams, and preserves...grown right there on the
farm. And dast we mention real home-churned 
butter!

Berries! YES! Another one of those wonderful 
gifts from the Creator that maybe we often
overlook.

In writing about this delicious subject, and noting 
that it is still not too late for a brunch, I'm going 
to leave you now to fix your own berry recipe---
I'm headed down to I-HOPS, over there on 
Menaul. I'm going to order two eggs, over easy;
lots of bacon, a big buttermilk pecan waffle, cut 
it into fourths, and have four different berry syrups:
strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, and blackberry!

Aren't berries wonderful!

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BY MIL
6/09/14







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