Razzmataz

Somerville, Mass - Apparently, the rainy summer delayed the berry season in New England. I read about it in this Boston Globe article, and then I witnessed it first hand, when the raspberries that grow along the side of the pink house burst forth into berry-dom. There were a few berries earlier in the summer, but not enought to get excited about. Indeed, I had sort of given up on them. Now this.

Funny thing about these raspberries... they used to belong to our next-door neighbors. But when new neighbors moved in, they tore everything out of the yard. Everything. The blooming lilac in the front was razed "to let more light in"; the gorgeous garden in the back was completely pulled up "because the dog will dig it up." I have no idea why the raspberry bushes were cut down to nothing - probably because the new neighbors had no idea what they were.
Fortunately for me, a few delinquent branches had started to sprout up on our side of the fence. So we let them spread. There was not much to show for it last summer, but this year - come September - these branches were laden with tart juicy razzmataz.

I had so many berries I decided to put the ice cream maker to work again. The recipe I used came straight from a website called Nibbledish, so I won't reprint it here. But I urge you to try it.
Best. Ice cream. Ever. (Shown here with a scoop of choco-choco-chip, but quite delectable all by itself too.)

I did have the idea that I should share some of the ice cream with my neighbors; but it was gone before I had the chance.