Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Homemaking Tip--Raspberry Bucket

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Our raspberries are ripe. We have the bushes that you mow to the ground in the fall after they've finished producing. The good news is you don't have to thin or cane raspberry bushes, you don't have unsightly branches all winter, and you have late berries. The bad news is you have late berries.

Here is a picture of Grandpa Payne and Ty picking raspberries two summers ago. By tying an ice cream bucket to your waist with a piece of twine or an old tie, you have both hands free to pick. It's a good little tip my neighbor taught me.

And just for good measure. Here's our favorite raspberry pie recipe:

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4 cups fresh berries
1 cup sugar
1 (1.5 oz.) package tapioca pudding
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp butter
Dash of salt
Unbaked, double-crust pie shell

Mix 2 cups of berries with sugar, pudding, cornstarch, butter and salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Gently stir in remaining berries and pour into unbaked pie shell. Add the top crust, making sure you vent it with a few slits. If desired, wash the top pie crust with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 40-45 minutes until berry juice bubbles out the slits in the top crust and the crust is golden brown. Let cool and juices will solidify.

17 comments:

Tiffany Fackrell said...

although, I hated picking the rasberries (secretly liked to pick the one with the uglies tie around it though) my favorite berry I think are raspberries. I miss my grandma's patch!

michelle said...

Oh, the joy of having prolific raspberry bushes! Someday... I love them so. And I will remember your tip for future reference.

I have a raspberry pie recipe with a crumbly, press-in crust that doubles as a crumb topping. Just in case you don't feel like making a crust.

Deidra said...

That's how we do it at my mom's house. Although we usually pop out the handle of the ice cream bucket and loop it through our belt loops... if you're wearing bottoms with belt loops. Good summer morning memories!

Unknown said...

YUMMMMMM!

Mike and Lisa said...

I just got done picking 2 big bucketfuls of raspberries at my mother in laws house this last weekend, and she told me the same tip of tying a bucket around my waist. I'll have to try your recipe, I was running out of ideas of what to do with all of them!

Kathy’s Korner said...

Raspberries are my FAVORITE. That pie makes my mouth water! I think it is neat that you can mow your raspberries down. BUT it is too bad they are late. I have a one hour tolarence for picking berries, it is a built in timer and it sounds ALARM exactly at the 1 hour mark. My patch is a single person 1 hour patch, however I would welcome a companion to make that a 1/2 hour patch. Hope springs eternal...Glenn may help next year when he is retired!

Alisa said...

Oh yum. I would love to have raspberries. I wonder how they would grow here in Oklahoma.
I had a friend just ask which neighbor you were after seeing your name in my comments. I told her I wish you were my real life neighbor!

Jill said...

I love raspberries!

Marie said...

Oh raspberries. My favourite of just about everything. One of the very first things I did when we bought this house was get some bushes growing. They don't yeild much now, but someday. Ahhh, the promise of someday.

Lynn said...

I enjoy your posts, Jane. I rarely comment but I enjoy them. Just wanted you to know.

Becky said...

I love the ice cream bucket/tie tip :) I've never had raspberry pie or seen a raspberry bush...am I weird?

Becky said...

P.S. Amen to Alisa's comment about having you as a neighbor!

Barb said...

I thought we were the only family in the world to make raspberry pie!

Our recipe:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

1 c sugar
1/3 c flour
pinch salt

3 c raspberries

mix wet ingredients, then mix in dry ingredients, then fold in raspberries. pour into a single crust pie shell and bake 400 x 30-45 min till nearly set.

then add crumble topping:

1/2 c br sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c pecans
1/2 c butter

and bake 15 more minutes

Whidget said...

OH MY GOODNESS that pie looks so good. I CAN'T WAIT to move to Oregon--I can have raspberry bushes there, right!? :-) I am so jealous. That pie looks divine! I love raspberries!!

Bridget

The Bead Lady said...

Jane,
Julie gave me the link to your blog. I love reading it. I also adore your son Ty, he is such a joy to have in our home. He will be spending some time with us this weekend and I was wondering, is this pie a favorite of his? I think I could actually pull this off. I am no "Julie" in the kitchen but I enjoy baking desserts. When he called today I asked him if he would like me to fix anything special and he answered "food". Such an easy request...I can accomodate that!! Anyway, thought I would drop you a note. Have a great Labor Day weekend.
Whitney Green

melanie said...

I love raspberries too. I picked tons last year and not any this year. All or nothing I guess. I have a good recipe for peach/raspberry jam. Maybe I should make some.

Monkeys ARDently In Sinc said...

Hey, thanx for the tip! We're planning on picking berries at Brenda Heaton's, and that will come in VERY handy!