Sunday, July 7, 2013

Raspberry Picking



My friend Kate and I drove out to Monroe on Friday to do some raspberry picking at Bolles Organic Farm, and boy I gotta say, it sure is nice to get out of the city from time to time. On our way in we passed by a gorgeous rolling river that we had to stop and check out. It was a little chilly for a swim or else we would have jumped right in!

Upon our arrival at the farm, we were met with gorgeous tree lined hills, rolling green plains, herds of cows, and fields of corn, kale, and of course, raspberries. The raspberry fields at Bolles Organic Farm ran for just about four long rows, but were full or gorgeous berries ripe for the picking! Kate, being more of a seasoned pro at this kind of thing, came well prepared with rubber boots and a nice straw hat, where I showed up with a gingham skirt and ballet flats. Since we've had a dry couple of weeks I ended up faring just fine, save for a few scratches up and down my legs.

Once we got out in the fields, our gathering instincts took over and we just picked and picked and picked! While we were picking we came across some pretty, striped snails and some little birds hiding out in the bushes, and of course lots of gorgeous berries. At a certain point we started to realize that we both had more raspberries than we knew what to do with and decided to call it a day. We both took home about five pounds of berries! 

On the drive home we discussed recipe ideas, savored the aroma of a car full of raspberries, and got to feeling really sleepy from our hard day's work. Once I got home, I put my flat of raspberries in the fridge and pretty much fell asleep on the couch right after dinner.

Pro-tip! If you aren't planning on using all of your raspberries immediately, combine 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water, swirl the raspberries around, then drain them and dry them off. The vinegar will kill off any mold spores on the berries, which will help them stay in great condition for a few days longer. This gives you ample time to come up with some great recipes. 

I'll be sharing some great recipes using raspberries over the course of the next few weeks so stay tuned!

Til next time!

-Becca

18 comments:

  1. My goodness! This looks like so much fun! The landscape is breathtaking and your raspberry picking outfit is perfect.

    -Jessica
    www.thischarmingwanderer.com

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    1. Thanks Jessica! Isn't the setting gorgeous? I love living in Washington!

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  2. These look yummy! Fruit picking is so much fun, I loved picking strawberries when I was little. I'd love to see what you decide to make with them xx

    www.jessthetics.wordpress.com

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    1. Thank you! My mom and I were recently talking about the time we went strawberry picking when I was 3 and had so much fun we picked almost 30lbs of strawberries!

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  3. Beautiful photos - that last shot is positively mouth-watering!

    Standing by for recipes...!!

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    1. Thanks, Joy! I definitely ate a big handful after looking at that shot!

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  4. Gorgeous pictures! This looks like such a fun thing to do over summer!

    www.room-334.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Elana! Definitely a fun summer activity!

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  5. oh that looks like so much fun! I love chances to get out of the city.

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  6. Becca! I did end up making chocolate mousse that night (Julia Child's recipe, no cream just chocolate eggs, sugar and some rum). Let it set up and made a quick raspberry sauce the next day to add to the ramekins of mousse with fresh berries mounded on top. P:

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    1. Kate, that sounds awesome! I bet it was delicious!

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  7. Mmm! I love raspberries! I'm looking forward to seeing some of your recipies. :)

    Shannon
    That Daring Darling

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    1. Thanks, Shannon! I posted a raspberry brownie recipe today, yum!

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  8. This looks like such an amazing outing! I have always wanted to go berry picking (of some sort) hehe. Thank you for following and commenting on my blog! Following you back <3 Alex

    tobebeautifulingodseyes.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Alex! It's super fun, so I would definitely recommend it. And of course, it's lovely! Thanks for checking mine out, too!

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