Near the end of last summer we discovered Ray’s Produce stand located on the corner of OR99W and Highway 240 at the west end of Newberg. Ray’s has a tremendous variety of fresh fruits and vegetables with some of the best prices in town. We typically go to the grocery store and on our way home stop at Ray’s to buy all the produce we need for the week.

In addition to fruits and vegetables, Ray’s often has a selection of seasonal items like flower baskets in the spring and pumpkins during the fall.

The open air market is always busy! And the variety of fruits and vegetables is unmatched!

Melons, pineapple, yucca, jicama, papaya, acorn squash, butternut squash, potatoes…

Tomatoes, avocado, garlic, onions…

White rice, peruano, pinto beans, black beans, tamarindo, chile japanese, chile de arbol, chile guajillo, chile negro, chile california, chile ancho…

Salvia, egg plant, cherry tomatoes, ginger root, rhubarb, organic wheat grass, beets, brussel sprouts, green beans, sugar snow peas, sugar snap peas, green onions, spinach, carrots cucumber, broccoli…

And of course, blueberries and raspberries!

The raspberries looked so good that I impulsively bought a half flat and then quickly realized that I had to do something with them. When I got home I looked through my recipe folder and decided to make my Mom’s Jell-o Raspberry Pie!

Jell-o Raspberry Pie

This recipe came from my Mom who I believe found it in the newspaper several years ago. While I made this recipe with raspberries, you can also make it with peaches and peach jell-o, blueberries and blueberry jell-o, or strawberries and strawberry jell-o. Use your imagination!

The Crust

1 cup flour

1 stick salted butter

½ cup powdered sugar

Soften butter and then mix together all ingredients.

Cut butter into flour and powdered sugar with a fork.

Once everything is well mixed, press mixture into pie plate.

Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned and then let cool to room temperature.

The Filling

1 quart fresh raspberries

1 ½ cup water

1 ½ cup sugar

4 tbsp corn starch

1 package raspberry jell-o (3 oz.)

After pie shell has baked and cooled, put the fresh raspberries into the pie shell.

Mix together sugar, corn starch, and ½ cup water.

Boil the remaining 1 cup of water and add in jell-o mixture until completely dissolved.

Add the sugar and corn starch mixture to the jell-o mixture and stir together and let cool.

Once cool, pour mixture over raspberries in the pie shell and chill for several hours until jell-o mixture sets up.

Then it’s time to enjoy!

These raspberries were perfect! They were slightly tart and paired wonderfully with sweet jell-o. Getting raspberries on the firm side is important for this dessert. Raspberries tend to deteriorate pretty fast, and it may take you a few days to eat the whole pie so be sure to get firm ones.

Once the pie is put together, throw it into the refrigerator for a few hours until the jell-o sets up. This pie is beautiful just to look at, and it’s guaranteed to get “oohs and ahhs” at any summer picnic!

This is one of The Renaissance Man’s favorite summer desserts! Unlike most heavy desserts, this pie is a light and refreshing treat at the end of any meal. To be honest, it’s hard to just have one slice and I’ve caught myself several times going back for a “super thin slice” off the edge. I hope some of you get a chance to try this recipe out!