MO Berry Picking

A few weeks ago when we did the "Ozark run", we returned with a huge bag of freshly picked Arkansas blueberries. Those were already picked by people in the field. Today we picked our first black raspberries of the season. Practice run for hitting the blackberry bushes. First you put on jeans, and long sleeved shirts, then hats, then spray head to toe with Deet, grab a bucket and go. Our patch was luckily at the edge of our woods, so we didn't have to go very far, and also luckily it had just rained during the night, so we didn't get overwhelmed by ticks or chiggers. Or maybe they just didn't like our sprayed bodies. So we got about 2 cups in this round. Have to return in about 2 days. I guess we could go up there tomorrow morning for a breakfast bowl of berries, but it's just too much effort to prepare, so the little woods critters can enjoy the ones that turn today. After picking, I wandered down to our garden and cut a bunch of rhubarb, and after chopping and de-stringing it, got about 4 cups worth. So of course I had to make a raspberry rhubarb crisp out of all this wonderful fruit. Perfect for tomorrow's church ice cream social!

Recipe for Raspberry-Rhubarb Crisp

2 cups fresh raspberries (wash and rinse well, sprinkle about 1/8 cup of sugar over the berries and let set in a bowl)
4 cups diced rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Drain raspberries, reserving juice. Add enough water to this juice to make 1 and 1/2 cup liquid. In a large pyrex mixing bowl, mix together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the liquid. Microwave on high, stirring frequently, until it comes to a boil. At this point, I use a wire whip. Continue to boil 1-2 minutes, still stirring every 30 seconds, until thickened. Now add the berries and rhubarb to this mixture and set aside.

In another bowl, mix together:
1 and 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup melted butter

Set aside 1/4 cup of this mixture for the topping.
Press remaining mixture into a PAM sprayed 13X9 inch pyrex baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven 8-10 minutes until set. Remove from oven, spread fruit mixture over the flour mixture, sprinkle the topping over all (I threw in a couple of tablespoons of chopped pecans for texture in the topping), and put back into the oven, baking for 35-40 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender. By the time this is finished your whole house will smell wonderful! Cool the crisp and serve with ice cream. I got this recipe from Taste of Home, my favorite cooking magazine, but adapted a bit.

Now you can go berry picking in your woods, or grocery store or farmer's market.