With two days in San Francisco under our belts, Jeniqua and I set off on Saturday morning to wend our way, via Caltrain, bus, and private vee-hick-el, to her current place of residence in the mountains. For the sake of Jeniqua’s (and the owner’s) privacy, I shan’t give exact coordinates, but suffice it to say that I’ve spent the past week on a mountain farm in the Monterey/Big Sur/Carmel Valley area, and
it
was
breath-taking
idyllic
real
above-clouds
warm-earth
sweet
fresh
breath-taking.
When we arrived, I discovered I’d be sleeping in my own private attic-loft, and my heart fell in an instant for this room that made me feel like I was Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Oh, how I adore the words that flew from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s pen, and oh, how I dreamed as a kid of living her life (minus the malaria and periods of near-starvation and farming struggles, but plus an extra-strength Almanzo, if you please).
As I stepped into the attic I felt my heart leap again in my chest, for the farm’s owner and Jeniqua’s friend, Lloyd, had placed not only a fresh bouquet of flowers by my bed, but a little box of chocolate covered cacao nibs on my pillow too.
Thank you, Lloyd. You are magical and made me feel truly welcome.
(I also appreciated honing my mountain goat skills by climbing up and down the near-vertical steps to the attic, particularly at 3am with a head-torch strapped to my head.
Yes, a head-torch. Sometimes I’m so glamorous I can’t even stand it.)
One of the most wonderful parts of my farm visit was the abundance of fresh fruit always readily available, including fruit I’ve never had the chance to try before.
Like huckleberries.
Sweet, tart, tangy, juicy, delicious huckleberries, which I spent two hours sorting and picking over one afternoon, neck burning in the sun as I swatted bugs away from my (mine, all mine!) bounty.
Once the sour green huckleberries and twigs had been removed from the ripe glowing berries, Jeniqua and I called in Lloyd and the WWOOFers with the promise of frosty sweet huckleberry smoothies.
Listen ye well: our smoothies were magnificent. Into one batch went huckleberries, burstingly-ripe yellow plums, almond milk, vanilla, and ice. Into another went peaches, huckleberries, agave, ice, and almond coconut milk.
All sweet, all locally picked or foraged, all refreshing, all perfect.
Fresh Huckleberry Plum Smoothie
Serves 1 (ingredients are estimated; adjust to taste, and add sweetener if needed)
- 1/2 cup fresh huckleberries
- 2-3 ridiculously ripe and sweet little plums
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup ice
- Blend all to a gloriously thick magenta creation.
- Drink in the sun with friends, happy.
Question Time: Have you had huckleberries before? What did you do with them?
Ooh, I finally have something for Ricki’s Wellness Weekend and Healthy Vegan Friday again!
No, I’ve not had huckleberries before, nor have I slept in a cute attic-loft thing, and I am deeply jealous!
Oh that little attic room, I swoon!
I loved all the different berries we tried in the us … One of my favourites, mainly for the way the word trips off the tongue was olallieberry. I believe I’ve tried huckleberry too …
Love your attic. Reminds me of a similar place we stayed in … As in your dad and I … By the side of the Shenandoah River. Magic.
You are having great experiences.
I, too, love the word “olallieberry”, but have not yet had the chance to try them! I loved the two types of berries that David gave me from his farm, though I’m still not entirely sure what they were. I think one was the Che Berry?
Now you’ve put that “Shenandoah” song in my head! I don’t think Amber will approve of me singing that one out loud incessantly
Oh Hannah, I am in love with that room. And with the fact that you got to play at Laura Ingalls Wilder, and that you ate huckleberries
I think you may have stepped into a children’s book. Stay and enjoy it for a while!
Teehee, I’ve already been gone from there for almost a week! My postings are going to have no correlation to where I actually am for a while, I think. It’s more fun this way.
Oooh, I think you’re overseas by now too! Wheee!
We are in Madrid (yay!), and to my immense amusement, our bed is in a loft arrangement not dissimilar to the one in this post
xo
Haha, that’s gold!
And here I was thinking a Huckleberry was a boy from Mississippi! What a lovely time you must be having. The smoothie looks i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e!
So if I go to Mississippi, I should call every man I meet “Huckleberry”? I could do that.
Ooh I really want to try huckleberries! So are you now saying vee-hick-el all the time?
And ah-loooooo-min-uhm!
All your travelling and you still manage to put up a recipe for us- you’re the best! I am so intrigued by the huckleberries!
This location is just adorable- I feel like it’s my favourite so far!
Teehee, I was rather happy to have a chance to play in a kitchen and make something I could post here! I should have two more recipes coming up at some point.
It was, indeed, very idyllic.
I thought Huckleberry was Mrs Finn’s boy
Seriously that is very exciting to sleep in a loft and make huckleberry and plum smoothies (and have almond coconut milk for it). Plum is a favourite in smoothies here but they are from a shop because we don’t have ripe bursting sweet plums in our yard here 
Mark Twain did create an interesting Huck(leberry).
I want that smoothie! Huckleberries (or similar) are of my favoutite berries?
I want all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder lifestyle too, minus the locusts and the sister-gone-blind. And minus the endless references to Pa, who knows best. And I believe also there was an instance or two of children who should be seen and not heard. Minus that.
PLUS PLUS PLUS a lovely loft, and beautiful huckleberries, and smoothies, and WWOOFers and landscapes and scenery and hot summer sunshine:)
You would adore, adore, adore this place, Emma! I indeed thought of you often whilst there, particularly as we walked up the mountain to watch the sunset.
I felt too mean saying the part about the sister. It wasn’t Mary’s fault!
That cute little bedroom, the scenery – you actually have stepped away from the normal jostling world – and loving it obviously
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Back in the jostling world again now, and loving it just as much!
What a lovely room!! I’ve always wanted to have an attic room!
Never in my life! But wild ‘more’ from our garden – blackberries? gooseberries? Which are a feast!
Enjoy enjoy enjoy these mountain highs and lovely people!
Blackberries blackberries blackerries! What I wouldn’t give for fresh blackberries and raspberries in my backyard!
Okay Hannah please don’t laugh at me but I had no idea huckleberry was actually a fruit. I have only heard of Huckleberry Hound before this hehehe… How do you go from Vegas to this? LOL. I could stay here for a whole week…! Provided alcohol is provided hahaha
Huckleberry Hound? I’ve never heard of that before; I’ll have to google it! I knew of Huckleberry Finn
Oh, there was alcohol. Definitely. Do you like gin?
I haven’t tried huckleberries before but recently a blogger friend of mine in Canada went out and picked huckleberries and made a huckleberry pie and raved, raved, raved about it. I really want to try these. They do look like blueberries or blackcurrants. Would they be a bit like blackcurrants in flavour? That vertical staircase is yes, vertical. I wanted to be Laura when I was growing up and I wanted to be strong and mighty and give the general store’s daughter a piece of my mind – you know, the one with the ringlets xx
I don’t find them at all like blackcurrants in flavour; more like a tangier blueberry. But I’ve never had fresh blackcurrants, only blackcurrant cordial, so who knows? They are an absolute terror to pick and sort, though. Hours and hours and hours of work between us all!
Nellie! Nellie got her comeuppance, really. Did she end up with Almanzo, despite all her efforts? No she did not. Hurrah for the best girl winning the man!
Oh, I have wanted an attic room ever since reading Milly Molly Mandy as a child … although given my open stair/ladder phobia I may have had trouble with this particular one.
(P.S. Adding Carmel Valley to my ‘wish list’)
OH MY GOSH MILLY MOLLY MANDY!!
My favourite was the one where she find a coin and asks everyone how to spend it and then manages to do EVERY SINGLE ADVISED THING because life is wonderful. And the cheeks! The little round cheeks of everyone in her family! Oh, and also the one where she goes to stay with the old lady! AND ALL OF THEM!
and here I was worried that you wouldn’t know who Milly Molly Mandy was … should have known better
Well, at least you’ll know never to again doubt my book knowledge.
Ohh that’s such a nice room
I’ve never had huckleberries ~ YUM! soooooo super jealous that you get to try all these things we don’t get here ~
Ah well, you’ll simply have to book yourself a trip overseas too
Huckleberry love! I so long to try a huckleberry. I see so many recipes for huckleberry cake and other such treats. Can I say huckleberry more? Yes. This huckleberry smoothie looks amazing. Want. Huckleberries.
Heidi xo
You’ll have at least one more chance to throw the word “huckleberry” around willy-nilly in a comment here, my dear. As long as I get around to writing the post, that is. Too many stories!
Whoo hoo! I’m honored that someone who was staying in an attic like that (and wore a head-torch!!) would submit to Wellness Weekend!! The smoothie is the least of the charms in this post. . . but grateful to have it. And glad you are having such an amazing journey!
Well you are a bundle of shining charm and wonderment, aren’t you? Thank you Ricki, darling! BUG HUGS! xo
P.S. Thank you for mentioning the head-torch. It made me giggle every time I strapped it on to brave the night-time bathroom adventure.
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I’m way behind on reading your adventures. Headlamps and huckleberries! Sounds fun. Headlamps are never glamorous, but huckleberries look interesting. Very similar to the blueberries that I just had on my cereal. That second shot looks like the scenery from all those MASH episodes I’ve had to endure over time.
Actually, I felt like an awesome explorer with my little headlamp and my vertical stairs. Or perhaps like someone from MASH? Never actually seen that show, though.
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