Today I got some lovely raspberries (1 qt), blueberries, (1qt. or so) and I have a cup or so of sour pie cherries as well.
I also have a couple of pre-rolled Pillsbury pie crusts.
I was thinking it would be fun to make little tartlets, or maybe a coffeecake of some sort. I’m not necessarily looking to make a pie, but pie-like suggestions are welcome. I’ve been through my cookbooks and saw a recipe for blueberry buckle that sounded yummy, but I thought it would be fun to consult the Dope to see what sort of delicious ideas y’all might have for me.
My granddad made this every year with berries from his garden: summer pudding. Very English and very good (and let’s face it, we need all the help we can get at looking good at the moment). It’s a weird recipe but hope you can see beyond that: it works.
I like to make a nice fruit dish of strawberries, blueberries, slivered almonds all covered with a bit of either amaretto or amaretto coffee syrup (for the non-alcoholic). I think this would still work well with the berry combination you have.
Mix together, let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours (at least) and serve. Yummy!
There’s nothing better than fresh raspberries, whole or macerated gently in sugar and a dash of water, over ice cream or cheesecake. In the summer, not that anyone cares any more, I used to make a fresh blueberry pie:
one baked pie shell
3 C. fresh blueberries (put 2 cups aside)
2-1/2 TB. cornstarch
2/3 C. water
3/4 C. sugar
2 TB. fresh lemon juice and 1 TB. grated rind
2 TB. butter
1 scant tsp. of cinnamon
Mix 1 C. of berries with sugar, cornstarch, and water, making sure there are no lumps, bring to a boil, and simmer, stirring, until thick (this happens fast). Add lemon juice and rind, cinnamon, and butter and stir. Let it cool and add 2 C. fresh berries. Pour into the baked pie shell, top with whipped cream. Don’t leave out the lemon and cinnamon!
Now. I have a quart of seedy wild black raspberries in the freezer, and I never know what to do with them, other than mixing in with other kinds of berries. I may attempt some kind of freezer jam.
Berry Vodka (I usually make cherry vodka after cherry picking season)
3 bottles vodka, 6 cups sugar, and as many berries as you can spare, mashed up and all put in a large sealable plastic container. Crack some of the cherry stones, crush and add in a muslin bag for a slight almond-y edge. Leave for a few months, agitating regularly. and drain the vodka from the berries (which are now ready to be boiled down to sauce) and bottle. It should have taken colour and flavour from the berries, and sticky sweetness from the sugar.
It is AMAZINGLY good. I heard Lynne talk through this recipe on The Splendid Table, and she emphasized that you can use any type of fruit. I’ve tried it with blueberries, apples, raspberries, strawberries and pears (in various combinations). All delicious.
Isn’t it a bit late in Indy for the raspberries to be black raspberries? If they’re red ones, chuck 'em. Red raspberries taste like bedbugs smell (according to my great grandfather, who probably had occasion to smell bedbugs)!
