Berry Crisp

The absolute best part of fall is that it is time for berries. I have been remiss this fall for several reasons, but today was my day off work as well as one of the most gorgeous days we've had all summer. Hopefully it's not our last! So, when a friend asked if I wanted to do something, berrying was the obvious answer! So excited that I couldn't wait for her to arrive, I checked out my backyard and found a whole bunch of bunchberries which I gathered. There were crowberries and low bush cranberry, but the former were rather wimpy and the latter not quite ripe. Bunchberries it was. After my friend arrived, we headed out to Arctic Valley in search of blueberries. We didn't find many, the more accesible bushes having already been picked over (and with my friend some eight months pregnant, hiking a mountain or two was out of the question), but the crowberries and cranberries were beautiful!

Now, you don't need to go pick your own berries to make a crisp, but it does taste better. Use any berries you'd like for this recipe. I had a lot of tart berries, so if you go with a sweeter mix you might want to reduce the sugar.

Ingredients
2 c berries
2 t sugar
1/2 c oats
1/4 c brown sugar
2 t chai spice blend
1 t sugar
pinch salt
3 T cold butter

Preheat oven to 375. Toss the berries in the 2 t of sugar. Set aside. In a bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, chai spice, salt, and remaining sugar. Mix, then cut the butter in to form a crumb topping. Grease four small ramekins. Spoon berries into the ramekins, then top with the crumb mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until topping is browned.