Sauvie's Island Berry Picking

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One of my all time favorite summer activities is taking day trips to Sauvie's Island. Sauvie's is only about 20 minutes from my house in NW Portland, but it has a completely different feel. There are tons of farms, produce stands, flower fields, and beaches, and it is a definite hot spot for Portland locals looking to get out of town on hot summer days.

Although I do love the beach at Sauvie's, my very favorite thing to do there is visit Kruger's Farm, home to my favorite u-pick and farm market store. I go there often in the summer to try to get whatever is in season, be that berries, vegetables, flowers or peaches. I love it all! On this trip the haul was mostly raspberries, along with some other fresh goodies that we picked up in the well-stocked market.

I always make multiple batches of jam in the summer, so I knew I would be using lots of the raspberries for fresh raspberry jam. The evening we went was also the season finale of Game of Thrones, and we needed a good dessert for the finale party, so we also made a peach raspberry crumble. Everything turned out amazingly! Head over to Kruger's Farm, pick some berries, and make yourself some summer raspberry treats. 

Raspberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups mashed raspberries (you will need 4-5 cups fresh raspberries)
  • 5 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 box Sure Jell Quick Pectin
  • 3/4 cups water
  • Jars for storing 

Instructions:

  1. Mash the berries, making sure to not over-mash. The mixture should still be chunky.
  2. Stir in sugar, 1 cup at a time, making sure it gets well incorporated into the berries.
  3. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
  4. In a small saucepan, mix water and pectin. Bring to a boil over high heat. Keep the mixture boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  5. Stir the pectin mixture into the berry mixture, mixing until all of the sugar is completely dissolved.
  6. Transfer the jam into your containers. 
  7. Allow jam to rest for 24 hours, then store in the refrigerator for up to one month, or the freezer for up to one year. 

Recipe adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch.

Raspberry Peach Crumble 

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 3 large peaches, sliced thinly

  • 2 cups fresh raspberries 

  • 2 tbs cornstarch

  • Juice from 1 lemon

  • 3 tbs sugar 

  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

Ingredients for the topping:

  • 1 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour 
  • 1 stick butter, softened and cubed 
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease an 8x8 pan.
  2. Combine all of the fruit filling ingredients in a large bowl, making sure it is equally mixed, but the berries aren't getting overly smashed.
  3. Pour the berry mixture into the greased pan. 
  4. Combine all of the topping ingredients in another large bowl. Use your hands and make it fun! It will take some kneading to get the butter incorporated, but you will soon achieve the lumpy, sticky texture.
  5. Cover the berry mixture with the topping. You will get a great, thick coating on top.
  6. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbling.
  7. Cool, and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe adapted from Reasons to Skip the Housework. 

Rapberry Pineapple Whips 

Finally, we had some leftover mix from these Dole Whip popsicles that didn't fit in our popsicle molds, so we blended it up with some fresh strawberries for a yummy smoothie drink!