Raspberry Rapture

I can’t get enough of raspberries lately. In case you don’t frequent the produce section of your local market, raspberries aren’t cheap. The hefty price for these luscious berries incites in me a longing to return to the home of my youth where they grow prolifically under an azure Idaho sky.

Sherie, my mom’s next door neighbor, has raspberry bushes behind her house and these neighbors have granted us free reign over their crop. When my babies were still babies, we would wait all spring and pretty far into the summer (it’s Idaho, remember) for those berries to ripen. In our anticipation we would inevitably convince ourselves that pink was purple enough and pop a  sour raspberry into our mouths before walking away with puckered faces and broken hearts.

One year raspberry bushes popped up on the other side of Sherie’s house, nearly choking out the flora that was already planted there. No one planted these bushes, but they thrived amazingly on the north (shaded) side of the house. The only thing we could figure is that some cute little birdies perfectly aimed their raspberry seeded poop into this flower bed.

Whatever the case, these berries were mightily abundant at Sherie’s house and it was magical to take my two sweet little girls by the hand and accompany them to the raspberry bushes. We would take big bowls over with an intent to fill them, but inevitably more would go in my kid’s mouths than in the bowls. They were too little and cute to reprimand so I would just smile and cross my fingers that they didn’t give themselves diarrhea. The berries that did make it back to grandma’s house were made into jam, ice cream, and/or pancakes.

Idaho is positively gorgeous in the summer and I’m missing it terribly right now. We’ll be there next month, but until then I’ll be fantasizing about sitting on the porch at grandma’s house, watching the sun descend (I don’t know what it is about the atmosphere there, but I’ve never seen anything to rival a southeast Idaho sunset), surrounded by family with a bowl of fresh raspberries in my lap.

Today I’m sharing two (lucky you!) raspberry recipes with you. They’re both perfect for summer. Raspberry Coconut Quinoa and a raspberry salad dressing. I eat this quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) every day for breakfast. Quinoa, in case you haven’t heard, is the new oatmeal. And the new rice. And the new ____ (fill in the blank with whatever grain-like food you’d like) It’s an ancient food that was recently rediscovered and that is surprisingly high in protein, has all kinds of nutrients, and cooks up fast. You can read more about it here.

Raspberry Coconut Quinoa

This can be served hot or cold and modified to taste. Consider using pomegranate seeds, blueberries, peaches, bananas, etc. Serves 1.

1/3 cup quinoa
1/3 cup milk or milk substitute
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 tablespoon flaxseed, ground
1 tablespoon (or to taste) honey, agave, or sugar
¼ cup fine shredded coconut (I use the non-sweetened kind)
handful of chopped, toasted almonds
handful rinsed raspberries

Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve (otherwise it tastes bitter), then place in a medium saucepan with milk, water, and cinnamon. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 min. At this point the quinoa should have a slight crunch when you bite it. Remove from heat and drain any remaining liquid if you want. Stir in the flaxseed, honey and coconut. Mix well and then top with raspberries and toasted almonds. Oh, and you can never go wrong with a big splash of half & half on top.