Friday, July 29, 2011

Raspberries


After Fi gave me a tiny tasty raspberry I decided we needed to find more of them. There's suppose to be a thicket of them near the house but with all the brush I wasn't sure exactly where it was.

Then yesterday morning we saw a deer in the front yard, feet from the front porch. It was huge and when Fi yelled for me to come look out our big living room window it shivered and then moved slightly quicker towards the right side of our yard. I found myself wondering why it was headed that way.

That's how I found the thickest of the raspberries.



The weeds are thigh high and while I've been told this state has no poisonous snakes I found myself in boots sweeping the brush aside before stepping. Old habits. Once I got brave and stepped into a really tall area of grass I was rewarded by tiny red berries as far as the eye could see. I also found clearly defined paths through the brush with shorter grass. Deer paths.

As I bent to pick tiny so-rip-some-would-fall-into-my-hand-as-I-picked raspberries it began to rain. The rain was cool and soft more like the mist off a waterfall than heavy drops before a storm. The rain made it hard for the mosquitoes to bite me which was a very welcome relief. I was wandering and picking when I heard an owl give a startled hoo hoo hoo hoo. I think I disturbed him.

But I was rewarded with over a cup of raspberries in a very short time. Now what to do with them?

Fi doesn't like seeds, G is dairy free (a la the title of this blog) and D is pre-diabetic. My instinct is to do something rich and chocolaty but that knocks two of my three family members out. Bah.



I'm open to raspberry suggestions. If I can't figure it out I'll just have to eat this bunch (as terrible as that would be) and then plan to do something with the next bunch I pick. Even if it's just freezing them.

4 comments:

Angela Belk Standridge said...

I made a thickened sweet cream for some blackberries for Eric the other day using Soy Milk (he's lactose intolerant) and Splenda (because I'm diabetic). It's got quite a bit of oil in it to thicken, so it's definitely not fat-free, but it's made in a blender and easy. We were pleased... I'll send you the recipe if you'd like!

Unknown said...

Angela ~ yes please!!!

Angela Belk Standridge said...

*1/4 cup soymilk
*2 -4 tablespoons artificial sweetener
*1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can technically omit if using vanilla soy, but we preferred additional vanilla)
*1 teaspoon cornstarch
*1/2 cup oil

1) In a blender or with an immersion blender, blend together the milk, sweetener, vanilla, and cornstarch.
2) Slowly drizzle in the oil while the blender is running. (I had to turn blender to incorporate more air bubbles)
3) Blend until smooth and creamy. (This took several minutes)
4 Chill for 1 hour before using.

Unknown said...

Thanks Angela! I'll totally give that a try. Nom nom nom.