Keeping my Promise

I promised Ian that I would try to keep up with our raspberry patch while he was away on business this week.  That has turned out to be easier said than done because, unfortunately for me, the boys have decided that they are over raspberry picking.  They were interested at the start of the harvest a few weeks ago but now they would rather do just about anything else.

As such, my suggestion this morning that we go on a raspberry treasure hunt (I tried) was met with adamant disinterest (putting it mildly).  I quickly shifted to Plan B: tire the boys out so that I can go pick raspberries while they are sleeping.  And so it began...

We started with morning swim class at the community pool, followed by a road trip across town to pick up honey jars for this weekend's honey harvest.

We then stopped off at a play structure to burn some energy before heading home to make Queen Anne's Lace jelly.

With all the wild flowers in bloom right now we picked the Queen Anne's Lace flowers and steeped them to make a strong tea.

We then added lemon juice, pectin and sugar and processed.

Recipe: Queen Anne's Lace Jelly

25 fresh, large Queen Anne's Lace flower heads
4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar
2 packages powdered pectin

1. Fill sink with cold water. Submerge flower heads to remove any insects. Drain.

2. Place flower heads in a large pot and cover with boiling water.  Cover and let steep for several hours to make a strong "tea".

3. Strain the cooled tea and discard the flowers.

4. Heat tea over medium high heat.  Add lemon juice, sugar and pectin.  Stir to dissolve and bring to a boil.  Boil hard for 1 minute.  Reduce heat to medium, stirring frequently.  Cook for 10 minutes until thickened.

5. Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

The jelly set right up and the little bit I tasted out the pot was divine.  I cannot wait to see what my CSA families think of this!

During the jelly making the boys had naps, though sadly they were not concurrent.  Then we all went for a swim (and ice cream) at Ms. Margo and Mr. Jim's house next door.

The swim did Alistair in.  He demanded breast and bed pretty much as soon as we walked in the door.  After a dinner of vegetarian tacos, Liam and Seamus were happy to put on their jammies too.  A few books later, they also turned in for the night and I was finally able to scamper outside to the raspberry patch.

It was a long time getting there but I must say there is something quite soothing about an evening spent in the raspberry patch listening to the coos, baas and hee haws of my barnyard family.

Dusk at the raspberry patch.

The farm animals could not figure out why the food lady was taking so long to bring their dinner and put them to bed.  They made their protests known - loudly.

Finally, after just over an hour of picking, I had collected 6 lbs 4 oz of raspberries.

I think the take home message is clear: unless we plan a foray into the u-pick business, we do not need a second raspberry patch.   Furthermore, I will be very glad when Gael Glen's resident raspberry picker returns home; keeping up with this raspberry patch on my own is wearing me down!