Wild Fruit

Yesterday we picked seven quarts of Saskatoons and a pint and a half of wild blueberries. We managed to do it after work and before it rained. The Saskatoons were plump and juicy, hanging from the bushes in big purple clumbs. I didn't notice the blueberries untill I had stepped on a few, they are about a third of the size of a Saskatoon and grow on bushes about eight inches above the ground. They are not fully ripe yet and it properly would be better to go blueberry picking in a few days.

When I was in the Italian deli I picked up a glass jar of double Devon cream. The only other time I have seen double Devon cream for sale is in the English shop in Steveston.

Last week I made a tart with a chocolate pastry and a filing of cream, mascarpone cheese and white chocolate, mixed together and topped with fresh raspberries. I got the recipie from Nigellas Lawsons book, How To Be a Domestic Goddess. The tart was tasty enough except I thought the pastry was a little doughy. This week I decreased the flour a bit and increased the butter by about a tablespoon. The resulting pastry was very short so I didn't bother with the egg, meant to bind it all together. Instead of rolling it out I just patted the pastry into the ungreased tart pan.

The Devon cream is thick beyond belief. There is no need to whip it. A far cry from the anemic excuse for cream we get in the average Canadian supermarket. The difference is probably the cows, our Holsteins versus their South Devons. The resulting tart almost melts in my mouth. The crust is light and chocolately, the filing rich, dense and creamy, the blueberries adding just the right amount of tartness to balance out the flavours.