[odiesmom]

ok to start with I KNEW picking the wild blueberries today was NOT a great idea !!

A friend of mine called this morning and talked me into going with her to pick wild blueberres a few miles up the road. She had her chocolate lab missy with her and I had my black lab Lucifer along to keep missy company. We donned our rubber boots, buckets and blueberry pickers and hit the road. We found a beautiful field of berries and set off with the dogs, We had barely started picking when Missy let out one big WOOOF . I looked over and both dogs had stopped playing and were staring at a spot out in the field. Then a little baby black bear popped up and let out a cry, then another baby, then another baby...... wayyyyy off across the field I then saw mama who let out a growl and all 3 cubs went racing back to mommy.
Lets just say it scared the begeesus out of me and my friend. We were lucky we weren't between mama and babies !! Also lucky neither dog decided to chase the bears.
Next trip we need to pack her husband along with us to stand guard.Or give up our berry picking days and hit the farmers market!!

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

Well that pie you make me with those blueberries will be extra delicious because of the added OMG moment involved in the picking. Glad you and dogs are safe.

 

[odiesmom]

Well that pie you make me with those blueberries will be extra delicious because of the added OMG moment involved in the picking. Glad you and dogs are safe.

My friend is native and is drying the berries to make eskimo ice cream. Here is the recipe ..

HOW TO MAKE ESKIMO FISH ICE CREAM

by Robert Davis

bring a gun

First, drop your preconceptions. Fish ice cream is good stuff. Huge tubs of it disappear at every potlatch, and you’ll reveal yourself a true gasuk (Anglo) if you don’t spoon it down as quick as the rest.


Second, you need berries. Exactly what kind is a major controversy in the villages. I’m a cranberry man, myself. Tartness goes well with fish. But a lot of people will defend blueberry fish ice cream to the last spoonful. It’s sweeter. I guess I should also mention the few perverse souls who prefer salmon berries. But they’re like people who put anchovies on pizza—you just can’t take them seriously. Anyway, you need berries. And remember, your choice is a lifetime decision. It’s okay to eat any flavor of fish ice cream, but if you’re caught making more than one kind you’ll lose all social standing. Traitors are regarded suspiciously by all sides.

Pick your berries in late August, before the frost turns them to mush. You can find cranberries almost anywhere. They litter the moss under the spruce. Blueberries are scarce. They grow in patches, which are staked out early by the blueberry fanatics. Cranberry people like to raid these patches at night, and then bring blueberry pies to the potlatches and watch the blueberry people get stiffed-lipped. (I don’t believe in enabling, so you anchovy/salmon berry freaks have to find your own berries). Oh, when you go to pick your berries, bring a gun; bears like berries, too.

The next ingredient is fish. By general agreement, whitefish is the best. They run in September, just before the river freezes. In an afternoon or two, you can catch enough fish for ice cream and to feed your dogs through the winter. In a pinch it’s okay to use pike, but people will think you’re cheap. Never, under any circumstances, use salmon. That’s gross! Oh, and when you go fishing bring a gun; bears like fish, too.

The last two ingredients are sugar and Crisco. If you’re Midas, you can walk down to the store and buy what you need. But if you’re trying to live on a teacher’s salary, order it from a catalogue and have it mailed in. Order early though, especially in the winter—planes don’t fly when it’s fifty below. Oh, when you pick your order up at the post office bring a gun; village store owners hate people who buy their food out of catalogues.

Now, you’re ready to begin. The exact amount of fish is up to personal taste. But remember, you’ll be called stingy if you bring less than 10 gallons of ice cream to a potlatch. You’ll need at least four or five big whitefish. Cut the fish into fist size chunks, cover them with water and boil until the meat begins to separate. Take the pan off the stove and let it cool. Wrap the fish in a cloth, preferably clean, and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Drink the juice while it’s still lukewarm. Dump the squeezed fish into a big container. Then add equal measures of sugar and Crisco. Mix well. It should be the consistency of stringy putty. Mix in a gallon or two of berries and chill. Serve. Be sure to leave room for “rotten fish”—a locally produced popsicle of raw, fermented grayling or trout, frozen and dipped in seal oil

 

[HollowHeaven]

Yikes D:
No blueberries here but the blackberries getting riperiperipe. I have a few patches picked out and always stop to eat a couple already ripe ones on our walks. It's a race against time, though. I know the bears will be here soon, and surely we'll fight over these berries xD

 

[Losech]

I haven't had this happen over blueberries before, but a trailer full of chicken and a cake pan outside, yes. Lets just say I am glad the Shiba was inside the trailer, and not out, since he probably would have been squished by the bear. This bear was HUGE, and I was positive he was going to eat the Shiba. Thankfully a large herd of people, and a diesel truck alarm, sent the bear on his merry way.
The Shiba, while he was in the trailer, was barking his fool head off, then as the bear was running off, tried to give chase when I took him out of the trailer. Darn dog doesn't know when to call it quits, and I hope he's never stupid enough to go after a bear on a hike.

There are a lot of blackberry bushes around here. There are enough around our property that we don't have to go out into the woods to pick them, but I still do on occasion since everyone else strips the bushes pretty quick. I do bring the Shiba when I do that, though.

 

[odiesmom]

I haven't had this happen over blueberries before, but a trailer full of chicken and a cake pan outside, yes. Lets just say I am glad the Shiba was inside the trailer, and not out, since he probably would have been squished by the bear. This bear was HUGE, and I was positive he was going to eat the Shiba. Thankfully a large herd of people, and a diesel truck alarm, sent the bear on his merry way.
The Shiba, while he was in the trailer, was barking his fool head off, then as the bear was running off, tried to give chase when I took him out of the trailer. Darn dog doesn't know when to call it quits, and I hope he's never stupid enough to go after a bear on a hike.

There are a lot of blackberry bushes around here. There are enough around our property that we don't have to go out into the woods to pick them, but I still do on occasion since everyone else strips the bushes pretty quick. I do bring the Shiba when I do that, though.

I am originally from Oregon, outside of Portland. I remember the blackberries that grew wild EVERYWHERE ! We also picked berries for spending money when I was a kid, strawberries, black berries, rasberries ....

 

[Abbylynn]

I have planted my own thornless blackberry bushes ... and they are very very abundant this year! I have been picking ripe berries every morning this week and have enough to make a pie already ... and it is only Thursday!

I had better watch out for "Boo-Boo!" ... He may be watching!

We have a ton of wild berries in the woods here ... I leave those for the wild creatures thinking they will be less likely to steal mine! I hang shredded silk underwear that will blow with the slightest breeze to scare the birds off. It works ... though it looks a tad bit funny! Lol!

 

[Keechak]

We have a bunch of raspberry patches that grow alongside our garage, we also have one raspberry bush in the patch that produces black raspberries, maybe I should breed that plant and make millions of dollars off the rare offspring!

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

Haha! That recipe reminds me of the Rum Cake recipe where you have to keep tasting the rum to make sure its good. By the end of the recipe you're drunk. I do remember my grandfather making Snow Ice Cream. I don't know how he did it, but it was the best ice cream I ever ate. He refused to make it again because of hearing about acid rain. However I wish I had the recipe because I'm certain it could be made simply with shaved ice rather than snow.

 

[JohnnyBandit]

A nice bear roast with a blueberry glaze might be tasty

 

[odiesmom]

I saved a few of the precious blueberries to make a smoothie.... delicious ....as for the eskimo ice cream I guess its an aquired taste . One thing for sure, if you go to a native potlach make sure you ASK what you are eating before you try it !!

 

[odiesmom]

A nice bear roast with a blueberry glaze might be tasty[/

HAHA ! I am not fond of the taste of bear meat unless its made into sausage or something like that .

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

One thing for sure, if you go to a native potlach make sure you ASK what you are eating before you try it !!

My Grandma is Polish. I learned one thing from her cooking. Don't ask what you're eating, especially if you like it.