Seneca Lake: U-Pick Raspberries

In late August, I had another opportunity to go up to Seneca Lake for the day (and yes, passed that cute honey stand again). But this visit, I got to do something I had been waiting to do all summer: pick raspberries. I have been known to shell out big bucks for raspberries from the farmers market. So when I passed a small field with a sign saying "U-Pick -- $3 a quart" how could I resist? Little did I know that it had not been a banner year for this particular field. What berries there were were tiny. The farmers, who came out into the late afternoon sun to pick alongside me (they sell most of their berries at auction) said the weather had been terrible. It took me, and my two helpers (thanks mom and dad!) about 20 minutes to fill the quart-size container with little berries, dodging BIG bees the whole time. After some post-picking cleaning, I still had a nice quantity of raspberries to use in my morning oatmeal, top a scoop of frozen yogurt and just eat plain. Here's hoping for better weather and a better crop next year (I'll be back).

Peach Upsidedown Cake (inspired by Alton Brown)

I baked these in a 6-count, 6 oz. jumbo muffin pan but you can also use ramekins. And no, the berries pictured below are not the ones I picked in New York, but are their California cousins.

Ingredients 5 T. Butter 1/4 C. Brown sugar 3 Peaches, peeled and chopped 1 oz. Crystallized ginger, chopped as finely as you can 3/4 C. Flour 1 1/2 t Baking powder 1/4 t. Baking soda Dash of salt Dash of cinnamon 1/3 C. Sugar ¼ C. Plain yogurt ½ C. Milk 1/2 T. Vanilla Method Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the muffin pan or ramekins with non-stick spray. Add a small pat (approximately 1/2 T.) of butter to each tin and cover with about a 1/2 T. of brown sugar, 1/6 of the peaches and a sprinkling of the crystallized ginger. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a smaller bowl, melt the remaining butter and combine with the sugar, yogurt, milk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just incorporated. Pour the batter over the peach ginger mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly and then invert and serve.