Jumbo Wild Raspberries

Not a great photo, but it does show the size of the wild berries that I have been waxing on about in the past few posts.

It Just Keeps on Getting Better

And of course put the wild raspberries on your breakfast cereal, french toast and pancakes.

Do yourself and your family a favor by using whole grain cereals and grains. Make pancakes w/1 c whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tblsp sugar(or honey or real maple syrup) 1 tsp baking powder, 1 cup milk( skim), 1 egg , 1 tblsp oil. They taste similar to buckwheat cakes, have substance, depth of flavor, nutritional value, and a great nutty taste.

Eat the cakes w/ real butter, and real maple syrup , top w/ berries. It's all about balancing taste and nutrition. I guarantee you that once you eat whole wheat pancakes you will not go back to the empty flavor and calories of white pancakes. If you are eating mostly good stuff, it is ok to eat the butter and syrup.

A Toast to the Wild Berry

Gotta love summer - fresh caught fish pan fried and finished off w/ white wine, parsley,tarragon and butter - the French way. Wild raspberries for dessert, alone, or w/ vanilla yoghurt, or cream, or ice cream. Or as my favorite - the galette - an open faced rustic tart or pie.

When you eat them alone, they are not alone - they are in company with their own sweet/tart nuance of flavor, aroma, and their history of rain, sun,extremes of heat and near frost, the birds and the bees and bears, too. A passing fox, deer, a coyote, grouse, wild turkeys and more. And finally me. Lucky me.

I raise my glass.

Berry Patch Blues

Attacked by mosquitos in the wild raspberry patch this morning. I got one stuck in my throat like a tiny fishbone and couldn't stop coughing.

My young mama lab - currently nursing 7 little ones - came with me - and competed with me for the low growing berries. She picks faster than I can. She also likes cantaloupe and watermelon, including the rind.

Marinade for venison:
1 c red wine
3/4 c soy sauce
1 c vegetable oil
1/3 c lemon juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp black pepper
2 lg bay leaf
4 cloves garlic
4 sprigs parsley( 2 tsp dried)

Use a food processor or jar w/ a lid to make an emulsion. Marinade roast ( 2 or 3 lb) for a day or more in the fridge of course.

Wild Raspberries and Venison Stew

A profusion of ripe wild raspberries in my patch. I thought last yr was great - this year's crop may be better, and it's only the beginning of the blooming. You've got to pick mid day to diminish the impact of mosquitos, and preferably in the sun w/ a breeze.

Venison stew and the raspberries for dinner last night with a Pinot Noir. A perfect marriage or should I say menage a trois. I added the wine to the stew, as well as brandy, bay leaves, Herbs de Provence, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, plus an au jus base for meat( beef) flavor. And plenty of garlic, of course. ( I will post the marinade recipe for the venison, tomorrow).

Ask your favorite restaurant if you can buy a bag of au jus base from them because a good restaurant will have a better quality base then you can get in a store. I was always glad to sell stuff like that to customers when I had the restaurant.If you are a good regular customer, they will be glad to do it for you - that extends to, for example, prime rib, whole beef tenderloins( filet mignon), Alaskan King Crab, etc... . Probably would have to be an independent restaurant.

Midsommarsdag on Upper Lake St Croix

Midsommarsdag at Tim and Beth's on Upper Lake St Croix Lake in NW Wisconsin was a Memorable Feast and more. It included of course many traditional Scandinavian foods like Swedish meatballs, gravlax - wild caught salmon quickly marinated in salt, brown sugar, dill, black pepper, elderberry juice and cider vinegar, as well as salt( important) - ready to eat in 20 minutes. Exceptional and melt in your mouth.

Cold Swedish meatballs were served w/ lingonberry sauce, but my preference was to eat them w/ a slice of pickled beets; the lingonberry sauce with the cold boiled red potatoes. A personal favorite.

Cloud like rice pudding and almond cookies;a layered strawberry and whipped cream cake that was pure heaven.

We drank Swedish ales, Aquavit, and danced around the "stang" ( pole garlanded w/ birch leaves and daisies) as we sang songs of loss and regret for the homeland in the native tongue., accompanied by Tim and Beth on the guitar and violin.

We played "Kub," a Swedish cross version of horseshoes and Bocce Ball and it is better than either. Sport, drama, strategy and you can win if you are 9 or 90.

All part of an ancient fertility rite and celebration of summer that continues to this day in Scandinavia and certain locations in America. It was great.

Once in a Blue Moon

Reality trumps Canadian Fishing Trip fantasy in this entry because I just returned from cousin Tim and Beth's on Upper St Croix Lake in NW Wisconsin - the headwaters of the St Croix River and of the mighty Brule, which flows N into Lake Superior. Two major rivers flowing opposite directions from the same lake and the lake does not get empty in the middle.

Located at Solon Springs, Wisconsin, which is also the home of an eccentric shop/cafe/ named Once In A Blue Moon - antiquities, collectibles,edibles , owned and hosted by a gracious, charming worldly woman from elsewhere. Her good friend owns Far Niente winery in Napa Valley, which produces arguably the best one or two Cabernet Sauvignon's in America . The '06 goes for about a hundred bucks a bottle. Tim and I had a glass a piece, gratis. What a treat. Plus free tomato basil soup and food for the kids(3) from the casual buffet that she had set up for Father's Day. It had required reservations, which we didn't have so she let us eat free from what was left of the buffet. Great spinach quiche. We were generous in the tip bucket.

You've got to check the place out. You will leave truly incredulous.