Some Boaters Catch Seafood, We Pick Blackberries – LaConner, WA

Our First Blackberry Haul of the Season Was in LaConner – 

LaConner is a quaint little town on Swinomish Channel, we often take this route when on our way to or from Anacortes/Puget Sound. The channel is well-protected and scenic but, has a wicked current. Not a local boater, but the village of LaConner has the best shopping for boaters visiting the town dock. Unfortunately, we’re not doing too much shopping this year, but we have been window shopping and sometimes get take-out orders from local restaurants. We love to walk around LaConner, up the hills, and into the neighborhood to get a better perspective on the town and channel below. This year we scored big time by finding a huge patch of blackberries.

When we left Anacortes, we were on a mission to find and pick some wild blackberries, figuring they should be ripe about this time. During our entire time in the San Juan Islands, we did not see many blackberry bushes, except maybe on Lopez Island. But when we were there, they were still pale yellow.

The first morning we woke up, Jim went into town to get some pastries. Calico Cupboard had some amazing pecan rolls. Along the way, he spotted a park full of blackberry bushes, ripe for the taking. Armed with containers in our backpacks and protective attire, we hit the park and spent maybe 45 minutes picking berries.

Just like shrimping or crabbing, there is something very satisfying about procuring your own blackberries. They are so fresh and unadulterated in the wild, not to mention plentiful and free. Back on our boat, I’ll make pies, jam, and pastries. An extra special treat as we always have to monitor our dwindling supplies when we are away from civilization for long periods of time.

So first we eat the berries fresh by the handful. Then maybe over pancakes. A few days later I’ll bake a couple of small pies, followed by making preserves out of the remaining berries. I’ll use that to fill the inside of the pastry dough for future use. (I read online that wild blackberries have more natural pectin in them – perfect to thicken the preserves.)