Inspired by a recent post by Real Local Cooking, I decided to use my stash of blackberries and strawberries to make a fruit crisp. I had a good amount of strawberries that needed to be eaten immediately or composted. We love cobblers, but I like the idea of having oatmeal with my fruit–specially crispy oats. I found a recipe that called for way too much sugar and adapted it a bit. We had it for dessert last night and it was wonderful! The topping was very crispy and almost like granola. I used 6 cups of fruit–you can use any variety you want, I think, and adapt it based on what you have that is fresh and handy. The original recipe is Triple Berry Crisp from Allrecipes.com, but here is my adapted version:

Berry Crisp

• 1 quart ripe strawberries (about 4 c.)
• 1 full pint of blackberries (about 2 c.)
• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 c. rolled oats
• 1 1/4 c. organic, dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 c. organic butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash fruit, drain and cut large fruit (strawberries) in half. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, combine wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Put butter in a bowl and microwave to melt.
5. Pour butter over flour mixture and combine until crumbly. Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13″ pan (I actually used a ceramic, deep dish pie pan).
6. Cover with berries.
7. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the berries.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until fruit is bubbly and top is golden brown and crispy.

Enjoy those summer berries!