Raspberry

A Valentine's toast calls for something more than your everyday drink. Here's a suggestion: Invest in a bottle of Chambord, a black-raspberry liqueur known as the "liqueur royale" of France. Chambord is made from hand-picked black raspberries infused with cognac. Spices and other fruit - blackberry, currant and red raspberry - are added after the primary infusion. The result is a sweet, deep-purple liqueur that can be sipped alone with dessert, especially with a Valentine's Day favorite like dark chocolate.

I can't imagine how a cupcake could be the least bit healthy. Especially if it actually tastes good. But television talk show host Dr. Oz seems to think so. He likes this recipe for vanilla cupcakes with a raspberry filling and rich chocoloate topping. He borrowed it from Vincent Buzzetta, The Cake Artist INC. The cupcakes are made with coconut palm sugar, a sweetener that doesn't cause the same blood sugar spikes as regular sugar, Dr. Oz says on his website.  Coconut palm is the same amount of calories, but  itprovides a slow energy release - which can curb your appetite and help you lose weight.

Summer's fruit, raspberries and blackberries, are a healthful food choice. Not only are they low in fat and cholesterol and high in vitamin C, but a half-cup serving of raw berries has about the same fiber content as 3/4 cup of brown rice. Each raspberry or blackberry is a delicate cluster of 75 to 125 juicy drupelets, the individual fleshy lobes holding each seed of the berry. The color of raspberries should be medium to bright red; blackberries should be shiny and black. - Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission

Our latest healthy recipe comes from WebMD . It's for those of you trying to improve your diet, but that can't curb that sweet tooth. WebMD says you can serve this cake with raspberries and a dollop of Cool Whip. If you have a healthy recipe you'd like to share send it to: andrea.walker@baltsun.com . Ingredients:   3/4 cup less-sugar raspberry preserves 1 cup whole-wheat flour 1 cup unbleached white flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup Splenda 3/4 cup baking cocoa 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup less-fat margarine (with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon)

1997 Zingaro Zinfandel, Mendocino County ($14). Hold on to your hats -- this is one exceptional zinfandel at a very attractive price. It's a wonderful example of a Mendocino-style zin -- lots of spiciness, intense black raspberry fruit and maybe even a touch of mesquite. If you're used to the blockbuster Sonoma style of zinfandel, you'll find this wine surprisingly elegant. It's also complex, intensely flavorful and a wonderful companion to serve with a gourmet-style pizza or a thick steak.

1999 Beaulieu Vineyard Zinfandel, Napa Valley ($14.29). This medium- to full-bodied wine is an elegant Napa-style zinfandel, not a Sonoma-style blockbuster. It offers plenty of vibrant, intense black raspberry fruit with hints of chocolate and blueberry and a creamy, smooth texture. It should go wonderfully with pizza, pasta and most red meats.

The Jean Descombes estate regularly produces one of Duboeuf's finest Beaujolais wines. With its black cherry and raspberry flavors, it achieves a completeness and layered complexity that is rare in Beaujolais. This wine, coming in an excellent year for the region, is the quintessence of its genre.Pub Date: 12/01/96

1999 La Crema Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast ($21). This superb California pinot noir displays excellent fruit in a style that is close to that of Burgundy. Full-bodied, complex and rounded, it bursts with intense black cherry and raspberry flavors, seasoned with light oak and herbal nuances. The finish is long and satisfying. This would be an excellent match this summer with grilled tuna or roast chicken but also has the stuffing to go with prime rib.

1996 Georges Duboeuf Fleurie "Domaine des Quatre Vents" ($12).A tremendous burst of fruit comes rushing at you when you first sip this exceptional Beaujolais. It then broadens out, caressing the palate with concentrated black cherry and black raspberry flavors. The finish is both refreshing and long-lasting. Drink it over the next year to enjoy its freshness. It should be superb with roast chicken or grilled tuna steak.Pub Date: 11/23/98@

1997 Georges Duboeuf Julienas ($12).This was my favorite of three 1997 Flower Label Beaujolais wines produced by Georges Duboeuf. That's a little surprising because Julienas is usually not as highly regarded as Morgon and Fleurie -- two of the other top-10 subregions within Beaujolais. The Julienas seems a little raw now, but it offers excellent balance, TTC acidity and liveliness along with generous black raspberry fruit. It's a perfect summertime sipping red.Pub Date: 7/01/98@

My third-year raspberry canes wilted and died last year, and they're starting to wilt again. I've never gotten raspberries. Is this hopeless? There is a simple nontoxic solution. Raspberry cane borers puncture canes and insert eggs about 6 inches from the ends. When eggs hatch, the larvae tunnels down to the base of the cane, causing tips to wilt. Canes weaken and usually die before bearing fruit. To stop the borer, prune off the wilted tips several inches below the visible puncture marks.

As summer wanes and fall is still a promise, we make our annual exploratory trip to check on what we like to think of as our secret blackberry patch. (Actually it's not that secret, since we have permission from the landowner to pick.) We inspect every outcropping of canes, pinching the knobby fruit and nibbling an occasional berry to gauge ripeness. Lucky for blackberry lovers, this succulent and prolific fruit can be found throughout North America. Blackberries aren't ready for picking until late summer or autumn, depending to a great degree on region.

From: Southeastern Australia Price: $10 Serve with: Roast poultry, grilled red meat In a very strong line of 2005 red and 2006 white Rosemount releases, this blend of red Rhone Valley varietals stood out. It displays vibrant, upfront, take-no-prisoners fruit and a bracing acidity. It's full-bodied in a kind of Beaujolais-on-steroids kind of way. But somehow the flavors of herbs, cherry, raspberry and blackberry come together in a way that feigns sweetness without really being sweet.

When it comes to culinary luxury, nothing compares to raspberries. Fabulous in flavor, chock-full of antioxidants and incredibly versatile, they're great tossed fresh on salads, dropped into champagne, made into ice cream, sauced on chicken, baked into streusel muffins and more. These botanical jewels become jam in no time flat with nothing more than sugar and a saucepan, and they freeze beautifully. Unfortunately, except for black raspberries (called blackcaps) they're appallingly bad travelers - they wilt, they crush, they grow moldy overnight.

ARLINGTON, VA. -- To be born black in Okolona, Miss., in 1935 was to have two strikes against you and a fastball coming at your head. Unless, that is, you are William Raspberry, the syndicated columnist who has announced his retirement from column writing after 40 years, but not retirement from life after 70 years. Mr. Raspberry tells me his greatest inspirations were his parents. "They loved each other and all of us," he said of himself and his siblings, "and they instilled in us a love of learning and a sense that we could do it."

WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOLLY BALL, decking the halls is only the beginning. The fundraiser for the Hospice of Baltimore and Gilchrest Center for Hospice Care is known for its "only the best" atmosphere. "Pat Modell [the honorary co-chair with husband Art] makes sure this is over the top. The best band. The best food. Mink coats for the auction, for crying out loud!" exclaimed IBM vice president P.J. Mitchell. Unfortunately, Pat was feeling under the weather. So, son David Modell and wife Michel stood in for his parents, greeting guests alongside gala chairs Connie and Bill Pitcher.

ARLINGTON, VA. -- To be born black in Okolona, Miss., in 1935 was to have two strikes against you and a fastball coming at your head. Unless, that is, you are William Raspberry, the syndicated columnist who has announced his retirement from column writing after 40 years, but not retirement from life after 70 years. Mr. Raspberry tells me his greatest inspirations were his parents. "They loved each other and all of us," he said of himself and his siblings, "and they instilled in us a love of learning and a sense that we could do it."

Peggy Taliaferro from Cockeysville was hoping to find a recipe for the wonderful-tasting raspberry tart that her neighbor shared with her. The tart had been given to her neighbor by a friend from Germany and had a distinctly European look and flavor. Steffi Neumann of Baltimore sent in a recipe for a raspberry tart that she had brought with her when she moved to this country from Germany several years ago. The tart was one that her mother originally had made that she modified some. The crust is rich, buttery and cookielike and the filling is creamy and not too sweet, somewhat like a cheesecake.

Trying to avoid the heat by not cooking this summer? Icebox Desserts (Harvard Common Press, 2005, $17.95) gives you recipes that require little time over the stove and absolutely no baking. Written by Lauren Chattman, with photography by Duane Winfield, Icebox Desserts features 100 recipes for cakes, pies, parfaits, mousses, puddings and other homemade desserts that can be made in minutes and set to chill while you complete the rest of your day's to-do list. Not only can these desserts be prepared in advance, they are fairly easy to whip up and require simple ingredients such as chocolate, cookies and cookie crumbs, eggs, fruit, ice cream and heavy cream.