Monday, July 6, 2009

Berry-picking Adventures

It's raspberry season! On Saturday morning, I went walking along the C&O Canal Towpath starting in Georgetown and heading upriver. The first thing I noticed were a TON of still-green blackberries, and I wondered if I'd come too early for berry season. But further up the river I started to see raspberry bushes everywhere I looked along the sides of the path. Jackpot! Growing up in New England, berry picking was part of childhood. Playing outside in the woods, we know how to spot blueberries, blackberries, currants, raspberries... besides a bunch of other wild edibles! Do kids have this knowledge anymore I wonder?

Just about an hour later, we escaped with a full pint of berries and only a few scratches. (Yes, berry plants have thorns.) Later on at home, we rinsed them and put them in a small baking dish with a teaspoon each of sugar and flour, then covered the top with a crumb topping. I don't have a recipe for crumb topping, because I always just use whatever I have around. Last time it was Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal (seriously!) and this time it was Archway Windmill Cookies. Just grind up the item with butter in a food processor and crumble all over the top of the berries, pop in the oven at 300 degrees, and serve with vanilla ice cream. Now it's really summer!

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