So I am the most awkward person ever.
Let’s start from some funny/horrible things that happened recently.
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berries
Jumbleberry Crumble
Do you know what you do when you work 40+ hours of over time in a month?
You neglect your blog and you buy new shoes.
What’s the point in making loads of OT if you aren’t going to enjoy it? Am I right!?!
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Mixed Berry Rustic Pie
While we were in Maine last weekend, Price made blueberry pancakes for breakfast one day. Of course they were Maine blueberries. On a whim we gave Autumn some. I say ‘on a whim’ because she is not a breakfast person baby. Her morning bottle is eaten in 2 parts and it’s the smallest bottle of the day. So I didn’t think she would be interested in it.
Well, I was wrong. Really wrong. She gobbled it up. And then we made more and saved them for lunch for her and she ate them up too. (Just to clarify there was no syrup involved!)
We had occasionally given her berries prior to this but this has definitely awakened something in her because since then she eaten a lot of blueberries and had some
So I can see that she is going to L-O-V-E this Mixed Berry Rustic Pie when she is older.
There are 4 different kinds of berries in this pie- blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. It’s loaded up with berry goodness. When Price had his slice (for breakfast- better lighting!) he said it was ‘berry good’. ba-dum-tss!
Because there is not much too it I would really urge you to make homemade crust for it as it adds to much good texture and flavor. Plus, I think it would just look better with its handmade edges vs its factory cut circle-y edge. I am a big fan of store-bought crust, but I think this one needs a handmade one.
As well, I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to putting in cornstarch to thicken the filling. I think it’s sooo much worse to have a soupy pie than one that is a bit too thick. It affects the bottom of the crust and how you get the slice out of the plate. So if you think you’ve used enough, add some more!
Other than that… this recipe is a piece of cake! 🙂
Mixed Berry Rustic Pie
Makes a 9″ Pie
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1/8-1/4 cup ice water
For the Filling
- 1 pint blueberries
- 6 oz raspberries
- 6 oz blackberries
- 12 oz strawberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons cornstarch (depending how juicy the fruit is)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Process
For the Crust
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. Cut the cold butter into very small pieces, put back into the refrigerator to keep extra cold.
- Using a food processor/pastry cutter, or your hands, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture crumbly and looks like sand.
- Slowly add in the water until the mixture holds together.
- Pat and form into a loose ball. If the mixture is too warm at this point then put it back into the refrigerator for a few.
- Flour work surface and roll out crust two inches larger than pie pan. Place crust in the pie pan.
To make the Pie:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in large bowl.
- Add berries to pie crust. Then fold edges of crust over filling, creasing as needed.
- Bake at 30-40 minutes or until filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
- Serve warm with ice cream!
Inspired from Tidy Mom
Thirsty Thursday: Red, White, and Blue Sangria
I can’t wait for Memorial Day.
Summer is my favorite time of year and Memorial Day weekend is the unoffical kickoff to summer. It’s going to be gloomy in Boston this weekend but I don’t care! We are grilling no matter what!!! I just love this weekend and what it represents so I was excited when Amanda picked Memorial Day for our Thirsty Thursday theme this week.
I know everyone thinks of flags for the Fourth of July but I think of the Red, White, and Blue just as much now. So that is why I made a Red, White, and Blue Sangria. Sure, sure the pineapple is actually yellow but let’s play along and say it represents the white. It’s a great summery drink to enjoy now or for the Fourth of July 🙂
Amanda made Sarasota Lemonade. It’s perfectly refreshing and a great drink to cool off with while taking in some sun this summer! Sounds so good that I might have to sneak some to the beach… shh don’t tell!! 🙂
Red, White, and Blue Sangria
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 bottle dry white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc
- 1/2 cup triple sec
- 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 1/2 cups hulled and sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 pineapple chunks
- 2 cups Sprite
Process
- Combine all of the ingredients, except the Sprite, in a large punch bowl or pitcher and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
- Serve well-chilled with a good scoop of fruit floating in each drink.
Inspired by Recipe Girl
Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars- SRC
I made these Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars for Memorial Day weekend. We munched on these while we watched the Coke 600 NASCAR race. It made the race even better. How can you not love a sweet treat and hot guys!?! ha 🙂
Well, these were a fantastic pick for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. Huge hit. It made the house smell great while baking so that we agonized waiting the hour for them to cool before cutting. I’m just so glad that this month I had Avril’s blog Baking and Creating with Avril and we picked these bars.
The bars are super simple to make and are bursting with fresh berry flavor. I used strawberries and blueberries but feel free to add some raspberries in there as well. We loved that so much at we felt that the white chocolate is not even needed. It’s great but if you don’t have it on hand (I don’t normally), don’t stress out. These will kick butt with the buttery crust, fresh fruit and crumbly topping.
I found it a bit easier to gently cut the bars when they were still warm so that it made cutting through them when they cooled easier. Like scoring something before you cut it- that’s my 7 yrs of maki. As well, made for thing a bit easier when cutting through the chocolate so it wouldn’t make a mess breaking the drizzle up.
I swear you won’t be able to eat just one of these. So fantastic!
Fresh Berry White Chocolate Streusel Bars
Makes 24 bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup COLD butter, cut into small pieces
- 8 ounces strawberry jam
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 cups fresh berries (chop or slice strawberries if you use them)
- 3 ounces white chocolate chips
Process
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside at 15×10 jellyroll pan (rimmed baking sheet.
- In a large bowl whisk together oats, flour, both sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in COLD butter that has been cut into small pieces. Combine the butter into the dry ingredients either with your hands or a pastry cutter until butter is well incorporated as little crumbles. Remove 1 cup of the mixture, set aside. Evenly press the remaining mixture into a jellyroll pan.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to the touch, but not browned.
- Warm the jam in microwave for 30 seconds. Add in lemon zest to combine. Spread the warm jam over the crust.
- Evenly sprinkle the berries over the jam layer and then sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until topping is a light brown. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour before cutting. Once cut pour the melted chocolate over the bars in the pan.
Slightly Adapted from: Baking and Creative with Avril
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Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts
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Thirsty Thursday: Raspberry Honey Bellini
What are your New Year’s plans? We are planning on enjoying a dinner out and Boston’s First Night Activities. We typically stay in to relax and enjoy some fondue or sushi but are hoping to go if the weather holds up. I’m hoping we can get some tacos at The Rattlesnake or some dim sum in Chinatown. Plus, looking forward to checking out the ice sculptures along Boylston and the fireworks on Boston Harbor.
Discoll’s reached out to me so I could have some fun using their berries to create something to celebrate the holidays. They have the freshest berries that are enjoyable on their own or incorporated into recipes. I knew immediately that I wanted to use their raspberries since they are always so fresh. Plus after we once went raspberry picking I’ve had great appreciation for just how hard it is to pick and transport raspberries as they are just so very delicate. So I started to brainstorm how to use their raspberries in a fun celebration drink to ring the new year, or just drink at any time.
A bellini is a cocktail of Italian heritage that was created by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. The hue reminded him of a piece of artwork from Giovanni Bellini, which is how it got the name Bellini. While a classic bellini uses Persecco and peach puree, I decided that swapping out the peach for raspberry. Then I added some honey to sweeten up the raspberries and the dry Persecco. Refreshing to sip on to ring in the new year or to enjoy the day while making a great homemade brunch.
What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Staying in or going out?
Raspberry Honey Bellini
Makes 6 cocktails
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh raspberries, 12 raspberries reserved
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 bottle (750-ml) chilled Prosecco
Process
- To make the puree: blend the washed raspberries with the honey. Strain the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds.
- To make the cocktail: pour 2 tablespoons of the raspberries puree into the champagne flute then fill with Prosecco. Float 2 raspberries in the glass prior to serving.
Very Berry Sangria
Price and I recently had a party at our place for my birthday. It was centered around a Mexican theme so I’ll be posting a few recipes from that that works well for a fiesta or just a great gathering. Enjoy!
I love sangria so much because it works well year round and with so many different add in’s. You can do citrus, stone fruit, or berries, or an combination in between. I really prefer wine sangria but I have been enjoying red sangria more and more. Most of all I love to serve sangria when people are over. It works well for a crowd since you start with inexpensive wine, add fun fruit to it and it really transforms into a great drink.
This red sangria is packed with fruity flavor. All of the different types of berries add so much sweet, bright flavor. Each of the 4 different types of berries provides a different flavor to the sangria. Then when you add the tequila you get a bit of a kick to it in the end. The seltzer adds a nice bubble to the the whole thing to finish it off.
Very Berry Sangria
Serves 12-16 people
Ingredients
- 4 bottles of red wine
- 1 pound of strawberries
- 1 dry pint of blueberries
- 1 dry pint of blackberries
- 1 dry pint of raspberries
- 1/4 cup agave, depending on the wine
- 3 cups of tequila
- 1 liter of seltzer, or ginger-ale
Process
- Divide the 4 bottles of wine into 2-3 pitchers, depending on the size of pitcher. Fill the pitcher about half way full.
- Wash all the fruit. Discard an bruised fruit.
- Slice the strawberries.
- Add all the fruit to the wine, divide evenly.
- Add the agave and tequila. Gently mix the wine to incorporate.
- Let chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Right before serving add the seltzer to the pitchers.