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Posts Tagged ‘raspberries’

Friday Photo

Posted in Friday Photo, tagged , , on June 26, 2015| 4 Comments »

It’s kind of a ‘before’ and ‘after’ today…….

Red and yellow raspberries in a basket

Raspberries – June 28, 2012

_MG_4124

Raspberries today – 26th June 2015

See how far behind they are???  Climate change?

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Raspberry Clafoutis

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on July 23, 2013| 7 Comments »

If you come visit us right now you’d better like raspberries!!!

A basket of fresh raspberries

Fresh Raspberries

This spell of hot and dry weather seems to have really suited them.  Not my strawberries though – we’ve had a really poor crop of them…

So I’m devising all sorts of ways to use up raspberries.  We’ve made jam.  We’ve frozen some for the winter.  They’ve been had for breakfast.  They’ve been included in chocolate cake (more about that later!).

This is one of the ways I used them.  You can in fact use any fruit at all – whatever fruit you like.

This is probably not strictly a ‘clafoutis’ as it does have a pastry base.  I’ve made it before without the pastry base – but we’ve decided we prefer a pastry base.

It is entirely up to you whether to include a pastry base or not.

Raspberry Clafoutis

Raspberry Clafoutis

Recipe:

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 oz granulated sugar
  • 3 oz spelt flour
  • 9 fl oz milk
  • c 1 lb of fruit in season – strawberries, raspberries, cherries – or a mix!

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 deg. C.

Line a flan tart with the pastry – mine is about 10 inch diameter

Whisk your eggs and sugar together until creamy, add the flour and milk.

Line the pastry (or tart case) with your preferred fruit.   Pour the mixture into the dish.  Bake in the oven for about 40 – 45 minutes – it should be set in the middle.

This is delicious served warm, but equally nice the next day served cold.  I served it with home-made icecream

Enjoy.

🙂

 

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Summer Berry jam

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on July 18, 2012| 2 Comments »

Here in Redwood I’ve been experimenting on your behalf.  I know you’ll be disappointed that I won’t be sending you on a jar of this jam…. but trust me it is so easy to make.

We are having such a weird summer – it is really a non-summer!

This has affected our fruit plants so so much.

Our strawberries are only starting to come on now (mid-July) when we usually would have them at the beginning of June! We’ve had a super bumper crop of raspberries and gooseberries.  However, the currents, both black and red, have not been so good.

I’ve been known to pick 12 lbs of fruit off of one red current bush, but this year we just had a few pounds.

This summer berry jam I made last year to use up fruit that was in the freezer…. and of course I didn’t write down the recipe! Doh!

Raspberries, blackcurrents and smallest strawberries

So we’ve had a couple of testing experiments in the kitchen over the past week.  This is the result!

Jar of summer berry jam on black slate

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb redcurrents
  • 1/2 lb raspberries
  • 1/4 lb blackcurrents
  • 1/4 lb strawberries (we have the tiniest, almost like wild strawberries, at the moment)
  • 2 lbs sugar

Method:

Warm sugar in oven.

Top, tail and wash fruit as necessary.  Place in large heavy based pan and heat gently until fruits start to release juices.

Add in warmed sugar, stirring continuously until completely dissolved.  Bring to boil and boil rapidly for 10 mins.

Take a spoonful and test for ‘setness’.

Pour carefully into sterilised, warm jars.  This amount makes approx. 4 to 5 jars.

The resulting jam is a bitter/sweet mix…. I am enjoying it on toast in the morning.

Enjoy! 🙂

 

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Friday Foto

Posted in Friday Photo, tagged , , on October 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Last taste of summer…. still getting some raspberries from our bushes, served with home-made yoghurt and pancakes! Yummy breakfast!

Pancake with yoghurt and raspberries

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Salad Days

Posted in All things food, Garden, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2011| 2 Comments »

It has been a good day in the garden.  I’ve managed to get lots done.  That always gives such a sense of satisfaction!

New ‘carpet’ has been laid on the pathway in the polytunnel.  New home been found for the surplus asparagus.  Lots of weeding done both inside and out.

And there is no better way to end the day in the garden than by going harvesting!

strawberries, borage flowers, rocket and chives

Dinner in this house this evening is home-made beef burgers, salad and maybe some fresh fruit for dessert – or that might wait for breakfast!

However, what did strike me (once again) while I was gathering the salad leaves was how quickly they were wilting.  From the time I gathered the leaves, photographed them and made the salad was less than half an hour – but you could see the leaves starting to wilt a bit already.

Now that poses another question – what goes onto salad leaves in shops to keep them fresh for so long?  I am not sure I want to hear the answer.  One thing I know when I pick scallions from the garden, if I don’t use them that evening, they go to the pigs next day….. they are just a sorry, limp specimen!

Courgettes, salad leaves, raspberries, strawberries, borage flowers, rocket, chives, scallions

Do you have any thoughts?

 

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Summertime and the living is

Posted in All things food, Home, tagged , , , on July 13, 2010| 4 Comments »

meant to be easy!

Not so the past few weeks here.  It has been hectic!

And in between work, etc. I have been harvesting vegetables and fruit and trying to find time and inspiration as to what to do with them!

We have had a mammoth amount of redcurrants this year, so I made some  pots of jelly.  I then discovered The Daily Spud’s recipe for lemon drizzle cake with redcurrants – it is delicious!  Made it again last night, this time with a mix of currants and raspberries….. truly, truly, scrumptious!

Lemon Cake

Then we had all the blackcurrants…. so we’ve made Blackcurrant Schnapps and Blackcurrant Juice, so far – and there are still 3 more bushes to harvest.

Blackcurrant

And then there were raspberries!  Now I don’t mind how many raspberries we get. They are my favourite fruit of all!

I may have mentioned before that a neighbour gave us a load of raspberry canes at the end of Spring.  I put them into the ground and wasn’t sure if they would take. But take they did and we have even had some fruit off them!  Including some yellow raspberries!

Raspberries

And all of the above does not include the gooseberries!

So any suggestions on what to do with all this fruit welcome?

There’s only such much jam needed in the house!

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