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Happy summertime! I hope you’re enjoying it as much as we are––fresh fruit by the carload and reasonably priced. One of my very favorites is the other red berry––raspberries. This small, soft-textured berry is among the most flavorful and aroma-packed of all berries. Some plants bear fruit only in the summer while others also bare fruits in the summer and in the early fall, thus being a biennial fruitbearing plant. So, when first round of berries have been picked, watch for them to show up again in a few weeks.

When frozen, berries are to be used in baking, fold them into the batter frozen. This will stop them from breaking apart when stirring. You can also toss them with a bit of flour to coat them and they won’t sink to the bottom of the pan when they’re baking. Also, to freeze them for jam making later in the year, wash gently and dry between paper toweling to get as much moisture off as possible. Then put them on a jelly roll pan or a cake pan and freeze. Bag them, date them and you’re all set for making jam or jelly for gift giving at Christmas time.

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Let’s do recipes beginning with . . .

RASPBERRY-OAT MUFFINS

1/2 c. old-fashioned oats

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 egg

3/4 c. skim or 1% milk

1/4 c. canola or vegetable oil

1/2 pint (1 c.) fresh raspberries

In a large skillet, over medium-low heat, toast oats until lightly browned, stirring constantly; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine next four ingredients.

In small bowl, beat next three ingredients until blended; stir in to flour mixture just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently fold oats and berries into batter.

Spoon into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden. Let sit in pan 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool. Makes 12 muffins.

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This is a fruity vinegar that is often called for in dressings for both fruit and lettuce salads. Makes a great gift.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR

3 pints fresh raspberries

1 qt. apple cider vinegar

Put berries in a half-gallon heat-proof jar or container.

In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar just to a boil. Pour over berries carefully without disturbing them. Put jar in a quiet, dark room (like a closet or a cupboard) for 2-3 days.

Using a fine-meshed strainer or double thickness of cheesecloth, put it over a large bowl; carefully pour the mixture through it. You should not have any sediment. If you do, strain it again.

Store vinegar in the original vinegar bottle, or bottle it in small decorative bottles to use as a gift. Makes about a quart.

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And, here is a recipe for you using the red vinegar.

RASPBERRY FRUIT

DRESSING

1 c. raspberry jam

1/4 c. catsup

1/4 c. raspberry vinegar

1 c. canola or vegetable oil

Mix first three ingredients in a deep bowl. Slowly add oil and whisk until blended. Store in jar with tight-fitting lid and keep refrigerated.

It is very good drizzled over fresh melons. Makes about 2-1/2 c.

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Bud and I spent a few days on the North Shore recently and while visiting a very nice gift shop (it was his idea), I was paging through a Finnish/Swedish cookbook. He asked if it had good sounding recipes, to which I nodded my head, yes. Just like that it became a gift for me––what a guy! I found a lot of good sounding recipes to try and this is one of them. It’s an easy, make-ahead dessert that is yummy.

FORGOTTEN RASPBERRY TORTE

6 egg whites

1-1/2 c. sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cream of tartar

1 t. vanilla

1-1/2 c. fresh raspberries mixed with 1/4 c. sugar or 1-10 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed

1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped

Beat egg whites until foamy; add salt, vanilla and cream of tartar and beat until it peaks. Add sugar (1 T. at a time) beating until very stiff.

Turn into a buttered 9x9 pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Turn oven off after you put it in (don’t forget) and leave in oven all night with oven off.

In morning, take meringue out of the oven and spread whipped cream over top.

Put in fridge for about five hours.

Spoon raspberries (thawed or fresh) over top when you serve each piece. Makes six larger or nine smaller servings.

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This pie needs to be refrigerated for a couple hours so plan ahead.

FRESH RASPBERRY PIE

one 9-inch baked pie shell or you can use a graham cracker crust

2 T. cornstarch

scant 1 c. water

1/8 t. nutmeg (optional)

1/2 t. lemon flavoring or 1 t. lemon juice

3-4 c. fresh raspberries

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg; add water and lemon.

Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil; boil one minute. Cool mixture.

Put berries into baked pie shell; pour cooled mixture over berries; refrigerate 3-4 hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping.

NOTE: If you wish, add a drop or two of red food coloring to the glaze before pouring over berries. Serves 6-8.

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Thought for the day: One should learn to disagree without being disagreeable.

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