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• Quick Facts: Blackberries

  Quick Facts: Blackberries

  • The blackberry can be traced back 2,500 years.²

     

  • The blackberry’s name is derived from the word brambel, meaning “prickly.”⁴

     

  • The ancient Greeks considered blackberries a remedy for gout.⁴

     

  • Blackberry leaves may still be used in England as a burn remedy in a method that once was accompanied by a spoken charm.⁴

     

  • In olden days, blackberries were supposed to give protection against all evil runes, as long as the berries were gathered during the right phase of the moon.⁴

     

  • Hair dye can be made by boiling blackberry leaves in strong lye. This dye can give hair a soft black color.⁴

     

• Recipe: Grilled Zucchini with Blackberry Compote

  Recipe: Grilled Zucchini with Blackberry Compote

  From Spa Chef Steve Sicinski and Executive Chef Steven Bernstein, Mii amo, a destination spa at Enchantment, Sedona, Arizona

  12 zucchini

  Ingredients for stuffing:

  1 cup red quinoa

  1 cup yellow quinoa

  2 cups water

  1 onion, finely diced

  2 carrots, finely diced

  2 celery stalks, finely diced

  2 apples, finely diced

  2⁄3 cup dried cherries, chopped

  2⁄3 cup toasted pecans, chopped

  1⁄3 cup dark maple syrup

  1⁄2 teaspoon cumin

  1 teaspoon minced garlic

  Pinch of nutmeg

  Pinch of salt

  Pinch of pepper

  Ingredients for compote:

  1 white onion, thinly sliced

  1⁄4 cup raw sugar

  2 pints blackberries

  1⁄3 cup balsamic vinegar

  Pinch of salt

  Pinch of pepper

  Preparation for stuffing:

  1. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent.

  2. Add red and yellow quinoa and water, and cook covered until water is absorbed. Allow to cool.

  3. Sauté carrots and celery until soft, then combine with quinoa mixture. Allow to cool.

  4. Mix in apples, cherries, nuts, spices, salt, pepper and dark maple syrup.

  Preparation for compote:

  5. Sauté onion until caramelized.

  6. Coat blackberries with sugar and add to the onions. Cook over medium heat until berries begin to break down, approximately seven minutes.

  7. Add vinegar and reduce for two minutes, then season with salt and pepper.

  8. Blend until smooth, and adjust consistency by adding water if needed. The compote should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

  Preparation for zucchini:

  9. Thinly slice lengthwise and grill zucchini, then allow to cool.

  10. Once cool, arrange the pieces lengthwise vertically on a piece of plastic wrap, allowing zucchini slices to overlap slightly. This should create a uniform rectangle of grilled zucchini slices using approximately 10–12 slices.

  11. Place filling in a horizontal fashion, about two inches from the edge of the roll closest to you, an inch from either end. Starting from the edge closest to you, begin to roll the zucchini around the filling being sure to not roll the plastic wrap inside. When done wrapping, tightly twist ends of plastic wrap and tie it to ensure roll keeps its shape. Slice into two-inch pieces and remove plastic wrap.

  12. Arrange three pieces of zucchini around the edges of the plate, and spoon compote onto the zucchini and the plate.

  Makes 8–10 servings, 200 calories, 8 grams of fat

   

• Treatment How-to: Blackberry Mist Body Treatment

  Treatment How-to: Blackberry Mist Body Treatment

  From The Farmhouse Spa at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee 60 minutes

  

  This stress-relieving treatment combines the benefits of exfoliation, a skin-soothing body wrap and hydrotherapy.

  Treatment duration:

  Treatment cost: $185

  Equipment:

  Vichy shower with Scots hose

  Two bowls

  Hot cabi

  Spatula

  Supplies:

  Cinnamon or vanilla essential oil

  Body polish

  Two large bottles of water

  Lightweight body moisturizer

  Herbal body mask

  Massage oil

  Blackberry fragrance

  Room setup:

  Place a flat sheet open lengthwise across the treatment table. Place a bath towel on top of flat sheet, and have several bath towels, hand towels, washcloths, a wool blanket, a thermal blanket and a flat sheet available.

  Product preparation:

  Place body polish in bowl and put in a hot cabi warmer. Place two large bottles of water in a cabi warmer as well. Fill a second bowl halfway with lightweight body moisturizer, combine with one scoop of herbal body mask and also place this in a cabi warmer.

  Step 1: Before the treatment begins, describe it to the client and perform a health consultation. Remember, clients who experience uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, are pregnant or have had recent surgery should not have this treatment.

  Step 2: After guiding client to the treatment room, ask her to lie face down on the treatment table on top of the sheet and under the towel, and step out of the room to allow for privacy.

  Step 3: Ask the client to choose a scent of cinnamon or vanilla, and perform several inhalations with the chosen essential oil on your hands.

  Step 4: Perform an exfoliation to the back of the body with body polish from the hot cabi and chosen essential oil. Ask the client to turn over, and exfoliate the front of her body.

  Step 5: Apply the herbal body mask to the front of the body, starting with décolleté, right arm, left arm, left leg and right leg, using a sweeping motion to apply the mask to the back of the legs so the client does not have to turn over. Next, help her to sit up, and apply the mask to her back. Help the client lie back down and apply a warm washcloth over her eyes.

  Step 6. Lightly wrap both sides of the sheet the client is lying on top of around the client, one side at a time, then place a wool blanket and a thermal blanket over her. She should remain wrapped and relaxing for 10–15 minutes. During this time, wrap each foot with a warmed, moist towel, perform a gentle scalp massage and then massage the feet for five minutes with massage oil.

  Step 7: Unwrap the client by removing both blankets, and tell her you will be warming the water and will test the temperature on her leg. Unwrap the sheet, and raise the towel to drape the client’s legs. Use the Scots hose, and test the temperature on her left shin and adjust accordingly. Then, beginning with the left foot, use the water to remove the body mask from the front of the client’s body. When you get to her arms and décolleté, turn down the pressure of the water to a gentle stream, with which you can use your hand to loosen the mask on the client’s chest. Use the same procedure to rinse the mask from the client’s abdomen, if applicable.

  Step 8: Turn off the water, and hold the wet towel up so the client can turn over onto her stomach. Re-drape so the legs and back are exposed, but the buttocks are covered with the bath towel. Begin at the right foot and move up the leg and back, making small circles to drain the lymphatic system.

  Step 9: Transition into turning on the Vichy shower by simultaneously using the Scots hose and turning on Vichy jets, beginning at the feet. After all seven jets have been turned on, use the Scots hose to gently wet the client’s hair. Adjust the pressure of the hose to a direct, strong pressure and direct the water underneath the client, beginning at the lower leg and moving to the abdomen and back down, then moving to the other side of the body.

  Step 10: Turn off the Scots hose and conduct an aqua massage with the Vichy jets for 15 minutes, then turn off jets one at a time.

  Step 11: Place a dry towel on top of the client, towel dry her hair and help her sit up on the table before moving to a chair for one minute. During this time, dry the table and reset the linens while the client enjoys a glass of water.

  Step 12: Ask client to lie back down, on her back, on the table.

  Step 13: Mix the blackberry fragrance with massage oil, and apply this to the body using effleurage strokes, including sweeping strokes under the leg to apply the oil to the glutes and hamstrings. Help the client to sit up, and apply the oil to her back.

  Step 14: Place a robe across client’s shoulders, slippers on the floor by the table, and a glass of water near the client, and allow her to leave the room when ready.