Martin's Hillside Orchard

Explore the Orchard

Edith’s More-Please Raspberry Pie

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You’ll need about 1 quart (4 cups) of raspberries for this pie.

Recipe adapted from the French Strawberry Glace Pie in the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book from the late 1950s.

We made our pies in 3″ diameter pans. Maybe we’ll call them raspberry tarts. They are soo cute!!!

Crust

1 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup margarine

4 oz cream cheese

Filling

1 quart raspberries

1 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Edith’s secret: Use a graham cracker crust instead of the baked pie shell in the original recipe. We simplified even more and used a store-bought graham cracker crust.

  • Home-made Crust:
  • Mix crumbs and sugar. Blend melted margarine into mixture. Press into pie pan on the bottom and the sides. I do not bake this crust. I use margarine because it makes the crust softer. Cool in the refrigerator.
  • Soften 4 oz. of cream cheese. Spread on the bottom part of the pie shell. Return to the refrigerator.
  • Filling:
  • Wash and drain 1 quart of raspberries.
  • Simmer together about three minutes (1 cup of the raspberries and 2/3 water.
  • Blend and add to boiling mixture.(1 cup sugar, 3 tbsp. cornstarch and 1/3 cup water).
  • Bring to a boil stirring constantly and boil 1 minute. Let it cool down.
  • Put 2 ½ cups raspberries in the pie on top of cream cheese. (These raspberries you are using for the pie must be drained thoroughly. I put mine on a cookie sheet covered with paper towels. Water left in the little cup shape of the raspberries will make the crust soggy).
  • Pour the somewhat cooled cooked mixture on top of the fresh berries. Cool completely.

Serve with whipped cream and a few raspberries on the top.

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

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This recipe makes a lot of cake. Share with a neighbor and help them enjoy the taste of fall.

The recipe calls for Gala apples but we found Melrose, Pink Lady, and Jonathans are a great choices as well. The little bit of tartness they lend provides a nice balance to the sweet praline frosting.

And, lest we forget, the praline frosting is fantastic!

Cake isn’t just for dessert. Great in the morning with your coffee – zap in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up the caramel icing.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus

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For someone who never liked squash growing up, I’ve got to say I like everything about this recipe from Trisha’s Southern Kitchen on Food Network.  The roasted squash was so tasty that it was hard to stop snacking.

And, the roasted squash seeds are super easy and super flavorful. I’d like to have a cup or two of these handy year-round to top salads and savory dishes.

What I found challenging — I always find it a little difficult to peel an uncooked squash. Maybe it’s because my knife work isn’t super skilled. Feels like I am in the danger zone. Cutting it into bite-sized pieces probably reduces the roasting time, but I might try to just halve the squash the next time around and roast it in that form, then remove it from the peel afterward with a spoon. Pretty sure I can’t inflict any damage to my person with a spoon 😉

As far as flavor, though, we definitely give this recipe thumbs-up all around

Apple Pie Muffins

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This recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins. I had one of those tins that makes the extra large variety, which turned into 6 super-duper sized muffins. Worked well. Just had to bake them 10-15 minutes longer than the regular-size muffins.

Pretty tasty. Enjoy at breakfast with yogurt OR – Drizzle with store bought caramel sauce for yummy dessert. Or, drizzle with caramel and have for breakfast as well.  You can’t go wrong with caramel. Might be obsessed with caramel

 

Keep Those Apples Happy

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You spend all that time picking the perfect apple, your favorite variety, etc, you want them to keep for awhile, right?

Here’s the secret:  Simply store your apples in  your refrigerator in those plastic picking bags with a damp paper towel.  Without that damp paper towel, the fridge will just dry them out.

Follow these steps and if the apples are in good shape when you put them in the fridge, they can last for months.  It’s not magic, but almost.  We recall last February we made an Apple crostata with the last of our Jonathans.  What a treat!