It’s that time of year! When the leaves are just barely starting to change color, you know it is the best time to spend an afternoon outside picking berries! The biggest problem? Which type to pick when you have so many yummy berries to choose from!

Here at the beach, we not only have delicious blackberries, but also red and black huckleberries to enjoy. There are so many different recipes you can prepare with the berries you pick. From berry pies to cobbler, smoothies, and cocktails, the opportunities are endless. Here are the top five scrumptious berry recipes that are fun to prepare and even better to enjoy!

1. Huckleberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup milk
4 ounces huckleberries, fresh or frozen, red or black, plus extra, for serving
Whipped butter and maple syrup, as an accompaniment

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Then, stir in eggs, oil, and milk until mixed. Do not beat the mixture.
Pour 2 to 6 ounce ladles of batter on a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan. Then, add 1 ounce of huckleberries to each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Place the pancakes on a large plate. Then garnish with huckleberries, whipped butter, and hot maple syrup.

2. Huckleberry Salad

Ingredients:
2 oz mixed greens
1 oz Chantrelle mushrooms
½ oz hazlenuts
1 cup huckleberries (red or black)
½ cup olive oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup water

To make the vinaigrette salad, bring the huckleberries, sugar and water to a boil. Reduce by half. Take 1 cup of the reduced huckleberries and add raspberry vinegar and olive oil. Mix well.
For the salad, sear the Chantrelle mushrooms in 1 Tbl. olive oil until they are soft. Cover mixed greens with warm mushrooms and hazelnuts. Add 2 oz. of the warm vinaigrette dressing. Top with goat cheese. Serves one.

3. Blackberry Cocktails

Ingredients:
1 (0.75-oz.) package fresh mint sprigs
12 (1/4-inch-thick) cucumber slices
2 (6-oz.) packages fresh blackberries
3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
8 to 12 tsp. turbinado sugar*
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. gin
1 cup cold club soda
Crushed ice
Garnishes: cucumber slices, fresh blackberries, lime wedges, lemon mint sprigs

Place first 5 ingredients in a large pitcher. Gently press mint leaves, cucumbers, and blackberries against side of pitcher with a wooden spoon to release flavors. Stir in gin and club soda. Serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.
*Superfine or powdered sugar may be substituted.

4. Huckleberry Sauce for Salmon

Ingredients:
1/2 pint of huckleberries (black huckleberries work best for color contrast)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (or use a tsp or two of fresh lemon zest – this might even be better!)
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 jalapeno (seeded or not depending on your taste)
1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

Add the first 5 ingredients (through to the jalapeno) in a small saucepan and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Then add the cornstarch solution and simmer another 5-7 minutes until thickened. Serve over grilled or baked salmon that is still slightly pink and tender in the middle (we like ours grilled). This is enough for at least 4 servings – possibly more depending on how big your servings are.

5. Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

Ingredients:
Berry mixture:
4 cups blackberries, rinsed clean
1/2 cup sugar (less or more to taste, depends on how sweet the berries are and how sweet you would like your cobbler to be)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch (for thickening, can use instant tapioca instead)
Cobbler topping:
3 Tbsp sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Place berries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, and cornstarch in a 9×9 casserole dish. Stir to coat the berries evenly with the sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of sugar, the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender or fork (or even your fingers) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the egg and milk until the batter is just moistened.
Taking large spoonfuls, drop the batter mixture over the berries. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the berry mixture is bubbly and the topping is nicely browned.

Whew, this was a tough one. Earlier this summer, we asked you all to share your favorite things to do while at Seabrook. In a short time we received a lot of really good responses from both homeowners and guests! While that made it difficult to select the winner of the contest, we finally found one post that comprehensively summarized many fun things to do while on the Washington coast.

So without further ado, please join us in congratulating Dana H. for being the winner of Seabrook’s summer contest!!

Dana will receive a $50 Gift Certificate to Seabrook’s favorite dining spot, the Mill 109 Restaurant & Pub. Her response was very well written and had a very unique perspective given the fact that she lives in Arizona. Here is what she wrote:

Coming from hot Arizona, Seabrook is always a welcome relief from the dust and heat.

The top things that we have done in Seabrook and the Seabrook area are as follows:

• Relax. Seabrook is very laid back and it’s easy to just relax and kick back for a while
• Watch a movie. Most, if not all rental homes have a DVD player and after the drive from Seattle it is nice to just sit down, relax, and watch a movie to unwind.
• Cool Off. Especially for people like me coming from out of state it is nice to be somewhere it can be sunny and cool, cloudy and cool, or windy and cold. Any one of these is better than where I am coming from and an enjoyable experience. A great memory I have from Seabrook is sitting by the fire outside watching the mist “rolling through the air” from the trees. Hard to explain, just something that has to be experienced!

(more…)

With a campfire burning, stars twinkling, and a warm breeze blowing, there’s nothing better than spending an evening outside with friends and family.  Such a perfect summer evening calls for the perfect summer dessert and there is nothing so quintessentially summer as a s’more!  All it takes is a few gooey marshmallows, a delicious chocolate bar, and a scrumptious graham cracker to create this classic summer treat. Whether you’re looking for a new take on the traditional recipe or just want to stick with what you now, here are five delicious s’mores recipes!

The Classic S’more

Nothing quite like the original!

1 large marshmallow
1 chocolate candy bar (1.5 oz)
1 graham cracker

Skewer the marshmallow on a long pointy stick over an open flame until it begins to brown and melt. Break the graham cracker in half and sandwich the chocolate between the cracker and the hot marshmallow.  Allow the marshmallow to cool for a moment before eating.

Chocolate Peanut Butter S’mores

Three of the most crave-able treats combined into one!

2 large chocolate chip cookies
1 teaspoon hot fudge ice cream topping
2 large marshmallows
1 full-size peanut butter cup

Spread the bottom of one cookie with fudge topping. Then, using a long pointy stick or a long-handled fork, heat the marshmallow over an open flame until golden brown, turning occasionally. Carefully place the marshmallow and a peanut butter cup on the fudge-topped cookie.  Top with remaining cookie and serve immediately.

Ginger & Caramel S’mores

Give your s’more a kick with gingersnaps and caramel-filled chocolate!

2 large ginger snaps
1 Ghirardelli dark chocolate-caramel square
1 large marshmallow

Place a Ghirardelli dark chocolate-caramel square on one of the two ginger snaps. Next, using a long pointy stick or a long-handled fork, heat the marshmallow over an open flame until golden brown, turning occasionally. Carefully place the marshmallow on the chocolate topped ginger snap.  Top with remaining ginger snap and serve immediately.

Nutella & Raspberry S’mores

If you’re nuts about Nutella, try this European take on the American classic!

1 tablespoon Nutella
2 large marshmallows
7 ripe raspberries
1 Honey Wafer, cut into quarters

You can purchase the delicious Honey Wafers from the Honey Wafer Baking Company in Illinois (don’t worry they ship!).  Started in 1925 by Macedonian immigrants, the original recipe brought over from Europe is still used today.  Take one of the 8” wafers and cut into quarters, using two quarters per s’more.  On one quarter, spread Nutella over one side of the wafer.  Next, skewer the marshmallow on a long pointy stick over an open flame until it begins to brown and melt.  Sandwich the marshmallow  between the Nutella covered wafer and the other quarter of the wafer.  Allow the marshmallow to cool for a moment before eating.

Banana S’mores

This gooey cousin of the s’more is so deliciously messy, it takes a fork to enjoy!

1 large marshmallow
1 chocolate candy bar (1.5 oz)
1 large banana, ripened to taste
1 graham cracker
Paring knife
Long pointy stick
Long-handled tongs
12” x 12” sheet of aluminum foil

Pull away one side of a banana’s peel, slit an opening about three quarters of the way through the banana and insert small chocolate pieces and marshmallows into the cut. Re-cover the stuffed banana with the banana’s peel, wrap the entire banana (peel and all) in foil. Lay the foil packet on the hot coals of the campfire for a few minutes. Once the chocolate and marshmallows are melted, carefully remove the foil packet with tongs. Open the packet, pull off the banana peel and crumble graham cracker crumbs on top. Place it in a bowl (it’s hot!), grab a fork (its messy), and enjoy.

Starting with last week’s Beach Camp Cottage neighborhood preview, the Seabrook Blog will feature weekly updates on the fast-moving progress around Seabrook. Today, we take a quick glance at the Compass Park cottages, located South of the North Alder Cottage Court.

The four beach houses comprising this sunny Compass Park corner are an ideal mix of size, design, and location. Each Compass Park cottage is about 1,500 sq.ft. with an attached garage (a new facet of Seabrook) and natural cedar shingles. A second story walkout balcony faces South, making the front of the house one of the warmest and most desirable places to soak up the sun.

Inside, the houses welcome you through a porch to an open floor plan – this truly captures the feeling of being at the beach. Three bedrooms on the top floor circle a media/family room.

Three of the four houses have already been sold and two are currently under construction. The first homeowners are expecting to move in during the middle of March and are very excited for their beach house to be completed. And you know what? So are we!

Which part of town would you prefer, the Beach Camp Cottages or Compass Park? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure to check back next week for our oceanfront Northwest Glen neighborhood update!

Update: The 2010 Coastal Living Idea House is now called the Ultimate Beach House and has it’s own website! Head to it and find out all the details about the most exciting beach house for 2010!

www.seabrookwa.com/ultimatebeachhouse

We have some really amazing news for all of you! It seems as all the hard work invested in establishing Seabrook as a top beach destination is definitely paying off. Coastal Living, a magazine with immense reputation for being a top resource on oceanfront living, has chosen Seabrook as the exclusive location for the 2010 Coastal Living Idea House!!!

Situated in the Northwest Glen division of Seabrook, with breathtaking views of the ocean waves, the idea house will be the only one of the kind that Coastal Living Magazine will build in 2010. While there are usually two idea houses each year, the magazine’s Editor in Chief, Lindsay Bierman, was so impressed with Seabrook’s iconic majesty that he decided to give the Seabrook Idea House unmatched exclusivity this upcoming year.

This is a very exciting time for Seabrook and a simply outstanding recognition. Our town founder, Casey Roloff, shares his take on this milestone on our YouTube channel. Watch the video now and share with us your comments and thoughts!

Lew Oliver, one of the nation’s most acclaimed architects, has designed the house which should be completed in only a few months time. Keep checking back to our blog as we will be posting lot more information on this project, including pictures, timelines, and updates.