Blackberry Cobbler

After moving to Oklahoma in 2002, I discovered an abundance of wild blackberries growing on our farm. Channeling my best Martha Stewart, I decided I had to pick these berries myself and prepare the perfect blackberry cobbler for my family. (This is also where I learned about the abundance of chiggers in Oklahoma, something we call red bugs in Georgia. They apparently love to feast on unsuspecting berry pickers.) After talking a couple of my girlfriends into going blackberry picking with me, I had an ample supply of beautiful blackberries. When I called my mom, the goddess of all things culinary, to ask for Grandma Paulk's blackberry cobbler recipe, I got the familiar reply: "Well, actually there is no real recipe." Ahhh! My notes from that day go something like this: Berries in water, Sugar, Bring to a boil, Flour, Shortening, Milk. You get the picture. The cobbler actually came out great, and I was proud of my handpicked berries, but truth be told, it was the first and last time I picked the berries wild. Store-bought berries at your local grocery or farmer's market are usually plumper and sweeter than wild berries. If you use wild berries, you will probably need to add more sugar. The last time I made this, I didn't have time to make homemade pastry, so I tried store-bought refrigerated roll-out pastry shells and cut them into strips. It worked great!