Wild raspberries from our own bushes!
It’s berry season with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries at their height right now! But before we get to that, I must apologize for our lack of posts over the past month. We’ve been a little distracted with a whirlwind move. So outside of that our top priority was keeping our loyal meal delivery clients’ refrigerators filled with fresh and healthy prepared meals and creating fun and unique in-home chef experiences for our dinner party and catering clients. What’s this have to do with berries? As we were settling in, we made a delicious discovery on our new (old) farmhouse property that inspired this blog - wild raspberry bushes - lots of them!
Since we’re getting them by the bowlful every day, they’re making their way into all of our meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course dessert! Here’s some inspiration to enjoy fresh berries all ways all day.
Breakfast Parfait - Truly fresh, ripe berries don’t need any help. I enjoy them simply in the morning with plain yogurt and granola and am partial to the creamy goodness of Seven Stars Farm Organic Original Plain yogurt with nutrient rich Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain granola.
Salads - Fresh berries are great in salads and pair well with dark leafy greens, antioxidant rich almonds and cheeses like feta and goat and lean proteins like grilled chicken or flank steak. If you’re into making jams or preserves try stirring a spoonful or two into balsamic vinaigrette for an extra burst of berry flavor. Elevate your everyday chicken salad by stirring in a handful of berries and chopped nuts.
Pan Sauce - Enhance grilled meat, chicken or fish with a quick berry pan sauce. Simply saute 1/2 cup chopped shallots with a clove of chopped garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add in 1/4 tsp fresh chopped rosemary or thyme, stirring until fragrant. Stir in 1 cup of berries, 1/4 cup of water and 1 TBSP of wine or balsamic vinegar. Bring to a simmer lightly mashing the berries with the back of a fork. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Cake! - One bite of my newfound raspberries inspired me to immediately bake an olive oil cake topped with a mixture of the raspberries and some local ripe peaches tossed with amaretto. You could do this with your favorite pound cake or shortcake too or even use it as a topping for ice cream. Better yet, top the cake with ice cream and the raspberry-peach combo for the ultimate summer treat!