The bittersweet end of berry season

 As I pulled away from the bakery this evening, a couple of girls from my son Charles' class were in the garden gigging and laughing, then I saw them spy the red raspberries still clinging to life. They picked and ate and kept on laughing. This scene made me so happy. I love berry season, when mother nature puts out her finest gems for us. Here in Homer, the best patches are wild and discovery of one gives you license to forgo most common courtesies to protect your source. We have a tiny patch of raspberries that have seeded themselves around the bakery, there isn't enough to make stuff to sell, but there are plenty for Katy and Nonah to pick and eat and giggle over.

One of the local russian farmers brought us potatoes and carrots last week and his wife handed me this cup of highbush cranberries. They are tart and very seedy, I think they will make an amazing sauce for the delta grown pork chops my husband brought home. 

Blueberries have been over for a little bit now, but while they were happening we enjoyed them every way we could. And while they were a hit on these cheesecake squares, they were also very popular on granola, too! These lovelies were delivered to us by Tree Things in our last delivery of the season.

Earlier in the week I scored some well priced, big, beautiful raspberries. Set on top of cheesecake tarts and brushed with a little malbec glaze, they are the perfect parting shot.