Winds Floods and Raspberry Applesauce

The weather is not being kind to us, or to many people in the United States.

In the Northeast United States, our trials are due to excessive rain and wind. Wednesday night was bad. More rain followed.   Sunday night we had even more rain, flash flood warnings and, a bit after 10 pm, a state of emergency was declared overnight.

I wish we could send that rain to the West Coast.  We've had more than enough for now.

 Here's a couple of pictures to show some of what's happening here.  These first two pictures are the aftermath of our Wednesday wind and rain storm.

Over the weekend, I posted a picture of a tree with red wood.  I was able to get closer to the tree on Sunday after I posted.  I don't think the actual wood is red, but what you are seeing is the layer between the bark and wood.

An uprooted tree shows the power of Nature.

But enough of this (and no, I wasn't going out in the middle of the night to photograph flash floods.  It's time to go raspberry picking and then make some raspberry applesauce.

Red raspberries are not a big U-Pick crop where I live in the Southern Tier of New York, unlike apples and blueberries.  The season is short - very short - because raspberries are fragile, and will mold right up if the weather is rainy.  And, oh yes, did I mention the thorns?  You've got to be careful.  Every rose, it is said, has its thorn, and the same is true for the delicious red raspberry.  Ouch.

But you can't beat fresh raspberries.

Now, about the rain and mold.

That is exactly what happened this year. The picking season is only a week or so old, and it may almost be over (per the farmer I talked to). 

Saturday, spouse and I, along with possibly every other person who enjoys raspberry picking in this area, descended on the same U Pick farm to gather raspberries while we had a break in our rainy weather.

We picked about three pounds, and immediately froze them.  We were afraid they would mold up even overnight in the fridge.

Back in 2016, I posted some raspberry recipes.  Today, I want to revisit raspberry applesauce.  It's basically apples cooked and then mixed with sieved raspberries.  Some years (like last year) we don't get the chance to pick raspberries so we weren't going to wait until apple season in the fall.  We had four large Gala apples in the fridge, so decided, since it was raining on Sunday, to spend some time making the apples. 

The ingredients are simple - raspberries (frozen are fine), cooking or all purpose apples, sugar.  We didn't weigh the apples or measure the raspberries, so the ratio of apples to raspberries is up to you.

 Defrost and heat the raspberries.  (Don't add any water).

While you are doing this, peel, core and chunk up your apples.  Put the apples in a separate saucepan and add some water, just (for these four apples) 1/4 cup.  Don't worry if any peel is left on.   Cook on low heat 20-30 minutes.  While the apples cook, take raspberries off the heat and let them cool some.

Mash up the apples with a potato masher. 

Now comes the hardest part.  Unless you want your applesauce full of raspberry seeds, you will have to strain the raspberries.

This is how spouse does it.  Add the seedless raspberry puree to the applesauce.

Keep chunky or smooth.  Spouse used a portable hand held blender to puree the mixture.  Then, taste and add sugar to taste.  

You are done!

If you can't use it right away, you will want to freeze.  Spouse freezes this in quart freezer bags so they can lie flat.  Don't forget to label with name of the food and the date prepared.

And, oh, the farmer we talked to as he weighed our purchase?  It's a gamble, he said. (This U Pick operation actually concentrates on apples.  They are famous for their raspberry applesauce and I suspect that's why they grow the raspberries.)  They've been growing raspberries for over 10 years now.  They used to grow strawberries, but gave up last year.  Sweet cherries were also something they gave up - cherries do well along the Finger Lakes, but not where we live.

He shrugged when we asked him if they would have more picking dates.  Not before midweek, he said, if at all.  But it's all part of farming, he continued.

Thank heavens for our farmers and their perseverance through winds, floods and more.