Monday, July 14, 2014

Raspberry Picking at Harvold Berry Farm

On Saturday, my dear friend Ivy and I loaded up her car and drove out to Harvold Berry Farm in Carnation to pick raspberries. Saturday was the hottest day we've had all year in Seattle and it was already about 80 degrees by the time we got to the fields at 10am. We drank in the sweet smell of the berries and picked and picked until our containers were full and heavy and we had sweat rolling down our backs. And faces. And legs. And everywhere. Ugh, it was hot! When all was said and done, we picked about 8 lbs each- 16 lbs between the two of us! And yes, I stupidly wore white, but managed to make it through the day without getting even a small spot of raspberry juice on it. Success!

While we picked raspberries,  Ivy and I chatted about how much we each dreamed of having some farmland someday, and realized how good of a picking team we were! Ivy is a good 9" shorter than I am, so she took all the berries at the bottom of the bushes and I grabbed all the ones from the top. Teamwork!

After throwing our berries in the cooler, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the beach for a much needed swim in Lake Washington. It was actually my first swim of the year, and could not have been more wonderful. By that point it was well into the 90s and the cool water was such a relief from the heat. Every time I got cold in the water, I reminded myself that it might be the only time I would be cool all day, so I tried to enjoy every moment!

It was a pretty perfect summer day and I can't wait to keep stuffing my face with berries. I hope to figure out some kind of dreamy no-bake recipe to make with my raspberries, because lord knows I'm not about to turn on my oven in this kind of heat. If I figure one out, I'll be sure to share it later this week!

Do you have any favorite raspberry recipes?

XOXO
Becca
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16 comments:

  1. what a dream! (and also, 80 degrees sounds amazing... that's a great day here.. haha!) These berries are so beautiful, I would love to spenda day picking sometime! I LOVE raspberries! One of my favorites is an easy cobbler recipe that is on my blog (recipe tab), but it definitely involves baking. Another is using a raspberry jam as a filling for French Toast! :) One of my dearest friends loves to use them to garnish tiramisu.... I think my favorite recently is the combination of raspberry and peach. It makes such a lovely dessert. The same cobbler with both fruits or a pie is just divine! So glad you had such a lovely day! :) XO -Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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    1. Yum- I'll have to check those out! I ended up coming up with a pretty awesome no-bake recipe. I'll share it later this week!

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  2. I love fresh berries so much I would probably just end up eating the entire thing before making anything! I was just home in Eugene and ate an entire flat of mixed berries by myself in a couple days. I'm 8" shorter than my bestie so we would make a good berry picking team too :) Good job not getting berries on that cute dress!

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    1. Ooooh nice. My next summer berry picking stop will be blueberries. I am EXCITED. Thanks, lady!

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  3. i don't even know if berry/fruit picking is a thing that can be done in austin, but i feel like i need to look it up now because you're so cute doing it! do you have to pay to pick? i can't wait to find out what you do with all the raspberries (though i also just support you eating them like popcorn)!

    xo nicole
    writeslikeagirlblog.com

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    1. I hope it is, because it's wonderful! You don't have to pay an entrance fee or anything, but you pay by the pound for what you end up picking. The glorious thing about u-pick is that it's super cheap- these raspberries were $2.50/pound. Considering you can buy a 4oz box at the store for $4 it's quite a steal!

      I made something very tasty yesterday that I'll be sharing later this week. The rest, I fear, will be eaten by the handful!

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  4. I decide to read a few blogs while I hungrily wait for my husband to meet me for lunch.... and everyone's blogging about DELICIOUSNESS! Ahh!

    This looks so fun though - there is a pick-your-own berry patch near me that my aunt used to take me to. We'd pick berries all day and then bake bake bake when we go home. I'm thinking a trip is in order soon!

    -Kelly @ KellyDelValle.net/blog

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    1. Get yourself over there ASAP! Haha! If it hadn't been about 95 degrees in my apartment all weekend, I would have done some serious baking or canning, but instead I opted for a good no-bake recipe. I might make some fruit leather or something soon, too!

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  5. I think you can make raspberry puree (look for raspberry coulis recipes) and drizzle it over pancakes, ice cream, fruit salad, whatever you like. Ya'll two are such cuties picking fruit in dresses.

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    1. Ooooh yum! I put most of my remaining raspberries in the freezer yesterday, but I'll have to see if I can try it with the frozen ones!

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  6. This looks like such a lot of fun! I definitely need to get my other half to take me berry picking before the season is over ^_^ My favourite thing to do with raspberries is make smoothies or blend with some vanilla ice cream and milk to make a raspberry milkshake! So delicious and zero baking!

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    1. Oh good call! I put a lot of the berries in the freezer yesterday, but they would still totally work for a milkshake. Smoothies, too, for sure.

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  7. Ooh, I want to go berry picking now! My husband and I went picking last year and made some delicious jams (from that canning cookbook that I bought because of you), but I so want to make more than just jam!
    Saturday was way too hot for me. Sigh.
    xo
    Kristina
    www.eccentricowl.com

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    1. You should totally do it. I bet Asa would have a blast eating all those berries. I wish it hadn't been too hot to make jam this weekend. If you go try to plan around a cool day so you can jam it up!

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  8. What a beautiful way to spend the day. I have raspberries on my porridge in the morning when they are in season, so yummy!!!!!!

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