Archive for December, 2011

Fruit Identification

Here’s some fruit I spotted today while walking along the riverbank.  They’re very pretty, but I don’t know what they are.  Can you help?

These orange beauties were on a shrub about 5-7 ft high.

These black berries were on a tall shrub about 8-10 ft high.  They have 2-3 seeds in each berry – not a single pit like a chokecherry.

Update, Dec 21, 2011: I believe this shrub may be “Buckthorn Rhamnus Cathartica”.  While it is pretty in winter time and may provide birds with nourishment, it won’t be a fruit harvested by Fruit Share – since it’s poisonous.  It is also on Manitoba’s invasive species hit list -http://www.invasivespeciesmanitoba.com/site/uploads/pdf/btbche04.pdf .  

What do you think they are?

 

Saskatoon Biscuits

Here’s a classic prairie fruit that Fruit Share didn’t get a chance to pick this summer – saskatoons.

I remember heading down to the Souris Valley Riverbend close to our farm to pick buckets of these beauties every summer.   At the time, it was just another chore we had to do – I never would have suspected that one day I’d be nostalgic about those days.  Just goes to show, you never know what’s going to strike a chord.

Today, I’m writing about saskatoons and testing recipes.  This morning we started with hot saskatoon biscuits.  They were as tasty as I had hoped!

Grape Jelly

What does purple taste like?  Like grape jelly, of course.

Check out the latest blog post at www.veggiedelight.ca for a truly delicious taste of purple.

Grape jelly with and without pectin.