I am always in Michigan around the same time each summer- late July or early August- which just so happens to be right in the middle of raspberry season up north.
Raspberries happen to be my favorite fruit, but unfortunately for me they are often the most expensive of the conventional grocery store berries. So when I am in Michigan I make a point to take one afternoon or morning and spend it at the farm, picking several quarts of delicious raspberries.
The farm that we visit, Kiteley's, grows red, purple, and black varieties of raspberries. My favorites are the black and the red; we usually skip the purple.
We picked red first and had pretty good luck finding some gorgeous berries, although they were a bit scattered.
The black were easier to pick, since the berries grow in little clusters, but the thorns are a bit trickier to navigate on the black raspberry bushes.
In total we ended up with two quarts of red raspberries and one quart of black raspberries- enough for making several desserts and/or breakfasts.
The morning after visiting the farm I made some pancakes using a mix my grandma had on hand. I decided to throw in some raspberries, which made for an excellent breakfast.
The pancakes were bursting with berries and didn't need any syrup. A sprinkle of powdered sugar combined with the juicy berries was a perfect complement to the pancakes.
We also managed to make a pie and raspberry shortcakes with the berries we had left, but now they are all gone. I guess that means another trip to the farm!
Margaret
