Blackberry Syrup

I am flattered. I received an email today from Jeff's mom, Jane. I sent her a jar of my homemade blackberry syrup after Jeff swore she'd love it, and he was right. She wrote to say how much she enjoyed it and requested the recipe. So, I thought I'd post it here. It's really quite easy, and a good way to use the abundance of blackberries we have here in the summer. We pick them and freeze them (blueberries, too), and have them to enjoy the rest of the year. After watching my grandmother make blackberry jelly my entire childhood, I knew I'd never be interested in going to that much time, trouble, and mess to do the jelly thing- squeezing the juice through the cheesecloth... No thank you! So I was glad to discover (actually adapt) this recipe, because, other than cobbler, I really haven't known what to do with all those blackberries that Emily loves to pick...

Blackberry Syrup
Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch. Stir in 2 cups blackberries and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir until mixture boils. Cook one minute longer or until syrup reaches desired consistency.

I just toss them in fresh or frozen, just cook a little longer from frozen. I love them on waffles, because the bits of blackberry pulp and the seeds get caught in all the little waffle crevices. Pretty yummy!