Category Archives: Recipes

Halloween berry recipe The internet is full of recipes for edible fake blood for Halloween.  Here is an example.  Fake blood  Most involve some type of thickener like corn starch, a dye – like berry juice, berry jam, or food coloring.  Some use blackberries and some use strawberries.  It does seem like most red berries might not be dark enough on their own.  A mix with a small amount of blueberry juice, may just work.  The end result can be used as blood for costumes and decorations for cake.

Summer may be over, but you can still enjoy a nice cold shrub.  Old fashioned drinks of all kinds are making a come-back, and a shrub is one that should be better known.  A shrub, also known as a drinkable vinegar, is a tart and sugary beverage made with berries and herbs.  This recipe has two parts–first make a sweet berry vinegar, then make a berry shrub: 4 qt. raspberries or strawberries, cleaned but not washed 2 qt. cider vinegar Add the vinegar to the berries (a gallon jar works well) and allow to stand for 24 hours.  Strain and measure the resulting liquid.  Add 1.5 lb sugar for each quart of liquid, and boil gently for 30 minutes.  Skim and allow to cool.  Pour into sterilized bottles and cap for future use in beverages. To prepare Berry Shrub, put 3 tablespoons of the vinegar into an iced tea glass, fill with ice, and add water or club soda.  Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve with a straw. Alaska Northwest Books. 1982. Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook. Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co, Seattle, WA.

For after a long day of berry picking in the fall and you just need to sit back and relax while enjoying your labors.

Wild Berry Mojito

8 to 12 fresh mint leaves

3 to 4 fresh blackberries

3 to 4 fresh blueberries

3 to 4 fresh red raspberries

1/8 cup lime juice

2 to 4 tsp. of sugar

1-12 oz. glass of crushed ice

2 oz. light rum

1/4 cup soda water

1 fresh mint sprig (for garnish)

Directions:

Carefully press mint leaves into the bottom of the glass with the back of a wooden spoon to release their oils (do not tear leaves).

Mix mint, crushed wild berries, lime juice and sugar in a 12-ounce glass.

Fill glass with crushed ice.

Stir well until the ice is reduced by 1/3 and then top with more crushed ice, stirring until the glass begins to frost on the outside.

Pour in soda water and rum, stir again. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

Recipe provided by Stacy McGuigan of Everyday Celebrations,www.ecpartyconcierge.com. Stacy is CEO of Everyday Celebrations, a local event planning business.

I found this gem on Amazon through a used book seller. It is an older book (original date of publication is 1982, but it was reprinted in 1990). It has a nice variety of color photos of Alaska berries and then the rest of the book is a cookbook that goes beyond the traditional use of berries as a dessert. They have meat dishes with berries, beverages, baked goods, and of course desserts. It has sections at the end about drying and freezing berries. There is no author listed on this book, but it is published by Alaska Northwest Publishing.

Inspired by whoever posted the wine recipe last week, here is a mead recipe.  Being a homebrewer, this recipe excited me.  I would try and use some local fireweed honey, and adjust berry proportions according to what I had picked.  It’s quite a large amount of berries, and may take me quite awhile to save that much… but it makes a lot of mead with a high alcohol content.  Having friends chip in with the berries and sharing the mead co-op style is the way to go 😉  First link is a recipe, the second is a video on the mead. The recipe. 

Link to a video

I made fireweed preserves with the vast amount of plants in front and around my cabin this summer. The process is quite easy, and can sustain your jam needs through the summer, depending on how much you wildcraft. 😉

I personally only take what I need. I believe in the ethics of wildcrafting, in which  you harvest one or two discovered patches and leave the rest to others to discover and forage.

You simply boil the flowers for about 2 hours, strain them and let it sit for about 5 hours once you mix in the sugar, and pectin if you like. I opt out on the pectin and add a little rhubarb to thicken it up.

I find this recipe very tasty and highly recommend it.

Happy foraging!

Here is a recipe for a delicious Finnish Blueberry Pie! It is our traditional dessert. Easy to make!

Ingredients: Batter:

• 200 grams of soft butter
• 250 grams of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 390 grams of plain flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder

Filling:

• 300 grams of blueberries
• 250 grams of sour cream
• 40 grams of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
• 1 egg

First mix the butter and sugar together, you want to get a fluffy mixture. Then add the eggs. Add flour mixed with baking powder. Place the batter on a round cake pan (about 10 inches wide), also up to the sides.

Place the blueberries on top of the cake batter. Mix sour cream, sugar, egg and vanilla sugar, and spread the filling on top of the blueberries. Bake the pie for an hour in 350 degree oven.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

And one more traditional Russian recipe, kisel. Can be done using pretty much any kind of berries: Russian Berry Recipe