Little bites of sunshine

Lying in bed last night, I nibbled these incredible gifts of nature. With each bite, I proclaimed a new sensation: "This tastes like sunshine!" "This tastes like exploration!" "This tastes like fireflies at dusk!"

Alex picked me these incredible black caps when he was home last weekend. I was on the phone with him as he waded waist-deep through berry bushes behind his family's barn, tugging handfuls of delicious purple fruits from their vines. That night, his mom made a black-cap pie with vanilla custard and the next morning, a coffee cake with layers of berries, cheesecake and spiced crumb topping. I sneaked a bite of the top layers, and it was truly divine.

Something about the odor of honey and the lingering lazy sunshine in these berries makes them the most flavorful and the most sensual of all berries. Although red raspberries are a close second for me, they lack the zesty bite of the wild black caps (and the nostalgia of a mid-summer discovery along an enchanted meadow path). Thank you for these little bites of heaven!

As for recipes, I'm afraid to say I just eat them plain, because they really should be savored on their own, or sprinkled atop good vanilla ice cream. I hope you're lucky enough to live near a patch of these babies, or to have someone who will brave the prickers and bring you a cupful from hundreds of miles away!