Valley Bounty: Raspberries

In the presidential election of 1840, William Henry Harrison’s Whig party supposedly accused Democrat Martin van Buren of, among other things, “wallowing lasciviously in raspberries,” which was meant to make him seem aloof and out of touch with regular people. That sounds quaintly absurd today, not only because its nastiness pales in comparison to today’s political mud-slinging, but because the idea of raspberries being some highfalutin indulgence for the well-to-do is hard to reconcile with the abundance of delicious raspberries on display at local farmers’ markets and farm stands.

If you’re looking for something fun to do with your berry harvest, try throwing together a raspberry clafoutis (kluh-FOO-tee), which is (1) fun to say, (2) easy, and (3) delicious. Simply combine a ½ cup of flour, a ¼ cup of sugar, 3 eggs, 3 tbsp melted butter, a ¼ cup milk, and the zest of a lemon in a greased 9-inch baking dish, then sprinkle in some raspberries and bake at 350°F for about half an hour, until everything is set. This is a simple dessert to throw together with ingredients on-hand, and it lets the raspberries really shine. Serve at room temp with a little vanilla ice cream on a hot day.

Valley Bounty is written by Brian Snell of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture)