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Berries

Huckleberries
Fall 2018

The huckleberry

In the shadowy spaces and the sunny clearings of high Northwest forests, the huckleberry waits for an eager human or bear in the late summer. Imbued with an intense sweet-sour flavor, this coveted wild treat might peek out from its glossy leaves in a jealously-protected secret location, but it will be sought and often found.

Seekers of the huckleberry—whether they are Native Americans, more recent residents of the area, or the berry-loving grizzly and black bears—hunt incessantly for the deep purple to red fruit. Even if they aren’t pickers, any Northwesterner or visitor would still find it hard to miss the huckleberry jams, shakes, pies, … » More …

Fall 2018

Recipes: Huckleberries

Huckleberries work in many ways that really showcase the Northwest iconic wild berry in dishes. Check out a couple of recipes below from the Wild Huckleberry website. You can find more recipes at the Marx Foods website.

 

Pan-Seared Salmon with Huckleberry Sauce

 

4 salmon fillets2 tablespoons olive oilSalt and pepper1/3 cup of water1 cup fresh huckleberries1 tablespoon of sugar1 lemon, juiced¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped

 

Heat skillet over high heat.  Add olive oil.  Salt and pepper both sides of salmon fillets.  When pan is hot add fillets, skin side down.  Sear for approximately 4 minutes per side.  … » More …

Concord grapes—primarily a Vitus labrusca (fox grape) cultivar. Courtesy NGWI
Summer 2013

Juice Grapes

I should point out right up front that I haven’t tried unfermented grape juice in a long, long time. In fact, the last time I had it may have been as a teenager during communion at our teetotaling church, where grape juice was our “wine.”

So it’s intriguing now decades later how familiar the taste is as I sip a glass of Concord grape juice, most likely grown—in spite of the Massachusetts address on the bottle—in the Yakima Valley.

Familiar, and also quite delicious. Full-bodied, not too sweet, with a pleasing astringency and a distinctly Concord flavor that Craig Bardwell ’84 refers to as “foxy.” … » More …

Fall 2012

Summer Blues

In 1944, when Glenn Aldrich was 12, he helped his father carry blueberry plants into an old sheep pasture next to their home. The family then planted the first commercial blueberries in Lewis County and some of the first in the state.

Maybe it was fate, says Aldrich ’58, ’62, but somehow his father had found the perfect crop for the soft acid soils along the Cowlitz River. The berries flourished there in Mossyrock, a pretty pocket of the valley.

Sixty-eight years later those berry bushes tower over Aldrich. In the intervening years, he has added some 20 more acres, spent time in the Air … » More …

Summer 2012

Recipes: Raspberries

Raspberries can add a tartness and zing to any number of dishes. Try out these recipes from the Washington Red Raspberry Commission, and visit their website for more recipes, health and nutrition information, and storage and cooking tips.

Read about raspberries in the Summer 2012 In Season.

 

Raspberry Frozen Custard

Makes about 1 quart or 8 to 10 servings

Call it frozen custard, call it gelato—by any name this smooth and intensely flavored frozen dessert is fantastic. You can freeze the custard in an old-fashioned ice cream maker using ice and salt, but it’s … » More …