A Raspberry Morning. . .

My sister is my berry-picking buddy. Yesterday, she took me to the raspberry fields, but we didn’t pick. We bought.

Super-nutritious black-capped raspberries and sweet red raspberries. Organic, of course.

I like the sweet and crazy garden path that was lazily corralled by a little white fence, all askew. It is charming for its pretty wildness and lack of perfection.

I bought some eggs, too, because I miss the free-range eggs with the bright-orange yolks I used to buy from my friend, Jill. I bought a carton of Trader Joe’s organic “free-range” eggs recently, and the yolks were so pale I wondered if there was any nutrition in them at all! So, seeing this color made me happy:

Then home to freeze berries for winter. And to make sugared raspberries. I learned about sugared raspberries from the great southern cook, Edna Lewis. Puree however many raspberries you like, and stir in enough organic white sugar so that you are mixing ½ berry puree and ½ sugar. Yes, that seems sugary for a non-sugar-eater like me (it’s less sugary than most traditional jam recipes). But this is a special treat—one I make every berry season. And you should, too.

Stir the berries and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved, then pour into jars. It is runny like syrup, but thickens just slightly in the refrigerator. The berry sauce lasts in the fridge for up to a year! A year. But mine has never come close to lasting that long even though I am miserly with it. I always think I’ll save a jar til Christmas and pull it out to eat with waffles. No matter how long it’s in the refrigerator, the berries maintain their bright, fresh, summery taste.

Everyday French toast (made with those great eggs and Ezekial Sesame sprouted grain bread). Sugared raspberries spooned on top of the maple syrup. A spoonful is enough to make this delicious.

Here’s what the lazy woman who loves good food does with her raspberries:

~Makes those sugared raspberries. They can be used as jam on biscuits or toast. To top waffles or pancakes (by itself or mixed with maple syrup). Drizzled on yogurt or ice cream (I love it on chocolate Coconut Bliss). I’m sure there are an endless number of delicious ways to use this berry sauce.

~Makes easy, no-cook freezer jam using Ball Fruit Jell Freezer Jam Pectin (only 1 ½ c. sugar for 4 c. berries). Freezer jam is raw, and it tastes as good when you thaw it as when you make it fresh. It’s like you’ve just gone to the berry patch in mid-winter!

~Freezes most of them for smoothies or mid-winter jam-making.

~Makes Frozen Raspberry Yogurt substituting raspberries for the strawberries in the wonderful Berry Bible’s recipe for Frozen Strawberry Yogurt. (I make the strawberry kind, too.) This is delicious, but it is a bit seedy when using raspberries (that doesn’t bother me, but if it bothers you, you must at least try it with frozen strawberries because this is really delicious and easy to make). Pulse 16 oz. frozen berries in a food processor a few times. Then run the processor and finely chop the fruit, scraping bowl as necessary. Add ½ c. yogurt and 1/3 c. confectioners’ sugar and process til creamy and smooth. (Add more sugar if you want it sweeter.) Serve immediately. I used to make this for an easy dessert or treat and stick a Keebler’s thin mint cookie in the top.