Choke Berry Pie?.........

   Ok, probably not everyone has heard of choke berries. So just a little fill in: choke berries can very much so resemble blueberries in looks, but unlike blueberries, they're not sweet. They have quite a bitter taste and most peoples' first reaction after biting into one, is to spit it out as quick as possible.

    Now we've had a choke berry bush at our house for quite a few years now and we would always just use them to trick friends into eating these awful tasting berries thinking they were blueberries. =)

But recently I was surprised to discover that you can make jelly out of these berries and even pies. Well one of my brothers, being adventurous, requested that I make a pie for him with choke berries. Then me, always ready to try something new and maybe even crazy sounding jumped at the idea of trying choke berry pie.........can't be to bad right?......
    Well, the pie had a little bite to it with the first bite and the taste had a slight resemblance to some cough syrups, but still wasn't bad. Then add a dollop of whipped cream on top and the pie was quite enjoyable. No one found it so bad as to not have another bite. In fact they almost couldn't resist trying another bite of this interesting pie. =) So, if you have adventurous taste buds and would like to try something new and fun, here's the recipe! =)

                                                                 Choke Berry Pie

                                                                1 9" baked pie shell
                                              2 cups choke berry juice (instructions following)
                                                         3 level tablespoons cornstarch
                                                                      1 cup sugar
                                                                    small pinch salt
                                                          1/2 teaspoon almond extract

                                          Cook juice, cornstarch, sugar, salt and extract in a pan
                                          over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Cool.
                                           Pour into pie shell and chill several hours until well set.
                                                 Serve with whipped cream or cream topping.

                                Choke berry juice:
                              Put berries in large saucepan over high heat and begin to smash berries.
                              The pits are hard and hard to break, but still be careful not to break them.
                                                Simmer over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes
                                           (smaller amounts of berries will take much less time.)
                                              Pour berries into a cheese cloth and drain the juice.

                                          (It can take quite a few berries to get 2 cups of juice.)

                                          
                                       

Lunch Experiments #1

   Another thing I like to do, but don't get to as much as I'd like, is being able to try out new, simple recipes by making nice lunches for my mom and even sister and maybe brother from time to time.So far it's been fun and the recipes (or even my own made up things) have been a hit and I'll for sure make them again sometime. So here's #1 of the lunch experiments! =)

                                                          
                                                              Waldorf Tuna Salad

                                 2 cans (6 oz. each) light water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
                                       1 large red apple, chopped
                                        1/3 cup chopped celery
                                        1/3 cup raisins
                                         1/3 cup chopped dates
                                        1/4 cup chopped walnuts
                                         1/2 cup plain yogurt
                                         1/4 cup mayonnaise
                                         4 lettuce leaves
                                         1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

                                                                   
                      In a large bowl, combine the tuna, apple, celery, raisins, dates and walnuts.             

                   Combine yogurt and mayonnaise; add to tuna mixture and toss to coat.                           
Serve on lettuce-lined plates; sprinkle with the cheese. Yield: 4 servings 

Raspberry Ribbon Pie

  I love raspberries! They're pretty much my favorite berry. So I was so delighted when I got some raspberry plants of my own and they started producing berries! =) I still don't get very many yet from the plants, but what I do get I try to have fun with. So here is my first recipe I've made using fresh raspberries.

                         

                                                             Raspberry Ribbon Pie

                                              

                                            1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (about 29 wafers)

                                                              1/4 cup butter, melted

                                                          1 pkg. (3 oz.) raspberry gelatin

                                                               1 cup boiling water

                                                                   1/4 cup sugar

                                                            1 cup fresh raspberries

                                                               1 Tbsp. lemon juice 

                                                   1 pkg. (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened

                                                             1/3 cup powdered sugar

                                                                    1 tsp. vanilla

                                                                      Dash salt

                                                        1 cup heavy whipping cream

                              In a small bowl, combine the wafer crumbs and butter; press

                            into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. pie plate.

                                Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

                                In a bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add the sugar,

                        raspberries and lemon juice. Refrigerate until partially  set, about 

                          1-1/2 hours. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered 

                        sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and salt. In another mixing bowl, 

                             beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream 

                                cheese mixture. Spread 3/4 cup over bottom of crust.

                           Spread 3/4 cup raspberry mixture over the top; repeat layers.

                               Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight before serving. 

                                                       Refrigerate leftovers.                                                                                                                               Yield: 8 servings 

Starting the recipes!

  Blackberry season came and our blackberries have been producing more than ever! So along with freezing lots of berries, I've grabbed some fresh ones to try out a new recipe. This recipe first sounded interesting to me when I saw it in my Taste of Home magazine; 'Blackberry Cheese Pie'. Made me think of a pie with cheddar cheese in it. Which doesn't sound good. But when I made it, it had cream cheese in it (the cheese part) and was more like a softer cheesecake pie and was a total hit! We all loved it!

                                                                                

                                                                   Blackberry Cheese Pie

                                                          Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
                                                     2 pkg. (3 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
                                                                  1/3 cup powdered sugar
                                                        1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
                                                                           3/4 cup sugar
                                                                       1/4 cup cornstarch
                                                                1 cup pineapple-orange juice
                                                             2 cups fresh blackberries, divided
                                                                   Whipped topping, optional
                              
                                         Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges.
                                      Line pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil.
                              Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer.
                                                                 Cool on a wire wrack.
                                  In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar.
                           Fold in whipped cream. Transfer to pastry shell. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
                       In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in juice until smooth.
                        Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.                                                 
                                           Mash 1/2 cup blackberries; stir into juice mixture.
                                                  Cool for 10 minutes, stirring several times.
                             Fold in remaining blackberries. Spoon over cream cheese mixture.
                                                  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours                                                       Garnish with whipped topping if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.  
                                                                  Yield: 6-8 servings

A Way to Start Out

The thrill of mixing ingredients together and creating something yummy cannot be beaten. So because my many adventures of trying recipes and new things in the kitchen, I've created this sight to share some of my discoveries and exciting finds. I like to cook and bake anything from the most simple mix-it and eat-it, no cooking required dishes to the more elaborate and adventurous recipes. Including dishes from other countries. So either sit back and read or grab your cooking utensils and join me in creating something fun with food!