Here's the thing about U-pick farms: Actually picking the stuff kinda sucks. But then you get home and realize you just got 5 pounds of raspberries for 10 dollars and 45 minutes of your time. Sweet.
I went to the U-pick yesterday for blueberries and raspberries. Picking blueberries is the worst, because they're small and it takes for-damn-ever to fill up the big buckets. It took me about an hour and a quarter to pick 6 pounds of blueberries. Then onto the raspberry patch to fill yet another bucket. The raspberries, in particular, make me marvel at the economy of the U-pick. I don't remember the last time I bought raspberries at the supermarket, but I seem to recall that a dinky plastic container holding about 20 berries cost about five dollars. At that price, every berry should be coated in gold and kept in a jewel box. I can't even eat them without feeling guilty about every berry. You might as well just eat nickels.
But when you have five pounds of raspberries, you can get crazy. You can have a big bowl of raspberries and cream (which we did, last night), you can have a generous number of raspberries on your Cheerios (which we did, this morning), you can give in to the temptation to dive headfirst into the bucket of raspberries and wallow in it like a hog (which I have not done) (yet).
And the blueberries? Well, they're the raspberries' understudy, waiting patiently until the raspberries are close to the end for their turn in the spotlight. But I have plans for those blueberries. Plans involving lots of sugar and a lemon cake topping, perhaps.
However, I could use a few suggestions for the berry extravaganza. So tell me: What would you do with this many raspberries and blueberries?
11 comments:
Blueberries and raspberries...yum!
I have been picking raspberries and making jam.
I do have a very delicious raspberry coffeecake recipe if you are interested.
Speaking as a woman who currently has a bowl of blueberries that she bought on impulse and is now forcing herself to eat because she'll BE DAMNED if she wastes food (even though she doesn't really like blueberries all that much and wonders why the fuck she cannot remember that about herself), I'm afraid that I cannot help you.
Raspberries and cream, however...mmmmmm. I will help you by eating a double-serving of that.
I'm going blackberry picking tonight at my friend's father's ranch and I CAN'T WAIT!
Love, love, love me some blackberry cobbler!
Mayberry Magpie
P.S. This might sound gross to some, but I love to eat any kind of berry mixed with cottage cheese. It's kind of a low-sugar, low-fat parfait.
Pie, pie, pie. And freezing for pie in winter.
I know all pies from your household will be rendered tragically inedible by MiL's beautiful (ack) lard. But still. I vote for pie.
Can't help you too much with the raspberries, other than suggesting jam. They're so perishable that when I have a glut of them we just pig out with raspberries and ice cream or just eat them straight up.
But blueberries, blueberries conjure up more ideas. Two suggestions. One, a blueberry syrup idea from Nigella Lawson. You take about a heaping cup of blueberries and cover them in a saucepan with about a third of a cup of real maple syrup, or more if you wish. Stick on low or medium-low heat (low if your stove is really powerful, med-low if it's not) and let cook, stirring occasionally, until it gets all glistening and the berries break down. That's it, just the two ingredients. Excellent over pancakes, waffles or french toast and amazing over ice cream.
Now, I also have some blueberry recipes posted online:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?chef=20371&ls=d&categ=351
Of those, without hesitation I would say the blueberry pancakes are the best. I make them for dinner sometimes.
Hope that helps a wee bit!
--Lennie
My mom and I tried taking my eldest niece and nephew to pick berries last week (which I'd tell you about on my blog if I could get on it right now to update it, but I can't get to it for some reason, damn it); according to the website, we were going to pick some raspberries. However, when we got there, there was nothing to pick. The raspberries were gone, and the blueberries weren't ready. Very sad. I bought some raspberries in the grocery store a couple of days later that were on sale for $2.00 (for a tiny package), and I don't think I even got one; my niece and my sister got to them first. Damn them, too.
Lucky you! Although I wouldn't really know what to do with a glut of raspberries. Unfortunate, since my raspberry bush is starting to ripen!!! They do seem a bit invasive, don't they.
Blueberries are easy. I freeze all of them (husband hates blueberry jam) and throw them into steel-cut oats with some almond extract and pecans for breakfast. Yum yum.
Freeze them and enjoy blueberry cobbler all year long!
I would make pie. A fabulous mixed berry (or maybe single berry, multiple pies) pie. And then I would hoard it and only share once I was ill with berry pie gluttony.
The Constant C and Finnyknit have it exactly right! I put one or two cups of raspberries with four cups of rhubarb for a delicious, if seedy, pie. Our subarctic canes are just starting to form berries, but we have an ample supply of frozen raspberries from last year.
Domestic blueberries are quite large compared to our wild blueberries. We have scoops with tines for raking the blueberries off the bushes, but the U-Pick place might frown on that. As with raspberries (but even moreso), blueberries belong in pies. A real blueberry pie full of juicy berries is so much better than the gelatinous mass found in commercial pies.
I grew up on a defunct raspberry farm and got used to having literally hundreds of pounds of raspberries every season. Imagine my shock when I found out how much other were paying for them...
I recommend jams, syrups, jellies, and compotes. For the blueberries, they freeze GREAT. Awesome for a cold, sweet after dinner treat. I also like to can blueberry pie/cobbler filling for last minute easy desserts.
I will have you know that I am incredibly jealous of your berry picking frenzy.
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