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I happen to have 3 edible berry bushes in my yard, raspberry, redcurrant and elderberry.

The raspberries are always ripe and ready to go around this time of year, and I always end up getting a couple of quarts of them. I pick them twice a day as they ripen (because I don’t use pesticides, I have to get em before the birds, ants, Japanese beetles and slugs do), wash them and freeze them.

When there are no more left to pick, I put them on top of deserts mostly - like cake and icecream. I’m not good enough to make jelly or anything fancy out of them.

The raspberry bush sprang forth from nature all by itself, right next to my currant bush (planted by a previous owner). A bird must have stopped by for a snack one summer and left a little present. Hence, raspberry bush.

The currants almost never get picked because they can only really be used in jellies and baked goods. Again, I am no chef.

The elderberries tend to be very bitter and not useful for much. The results of a wild elderberry seed dropped by an unwitting bird. The bush/tree, however, is quite useful to us as a privacy screen and shade tree - it grows directly behind my back porch.

Juice of half a lime
1 packet splenda
4 leaves mint (kentucky is best)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
8oz soda water

Make like a mojito. YAY. Alcohol Free! I make them when I have extra limes laying around that I don’t want to waste.

Here you go, my famous “Salsa Fresca” recipe. This isn’t for all of you, though, its for me so I can friggin remember it later.

Ingredients:

• 4 Ripe Slicing Tomatoes (You can substitute 6 Roma tomatoes, if you fancy)
• 1/4 Red Onion
• 8 Cilantro Sprigs
• 3 FRESH Garlic Cloves
• Juice of 1 FRESH Lime
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• Tabasco to Taste

Procedure:

• Rough chop the onion, garlic and cilantro. Be sure to get the lower stems off the cilantro.
• Throw them into a food processor and pulse until they are fine bits.
• Rough chop the tomatoes. Scoop out the seeds and pulp-stuph.
• Put tomatoes, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and tabasco on top of the other ingredients.
• Pulse 3-5 short bursts, until mix is nicely chopped, but not pureed.
• Throw in to bowl and serve with favorite chips. YAY.