Strawberries

This morning I picked up my first flat of '09 Oregon strawberries. These are to the flavorless whitish-pink balls they sell in supermarkets as Chave is to Yellow Tail. They’re red, through and through, juicy, sweet, and so delicate. The hull pulls out with a tug, and vigorous washing turns them into jam. The looks like Hoods, but it seems a little early.

I’m thinking about making a strawberry-rhubarb crisp… If I don’t eat them all first.


If they were Hoods, they’d be white around the hull. Still and all, I got really tired of those crunchy balls of pink cotton candy from California so I was happy to pick up a pint of local berries last Saturday. Berry fun is just starting.

I think they’re a hodgepodge of multiple varieties based on shape and flavor, but yeah-- probably no Hoods.

And they’re half gone.

Send some strawberry rhubarb crisp down here…I love the stuff.

Been eating strawberries for the last 3 weeks and loving it. We are entering that magical time of year for fruit/produce. Pretty soon heirloom tomato season will be here…ah caprese salad! Heirloom tomato risotto, etc.

Sliced with some aged Balsamic vinegar. That’s how I like them. If you don’t have quality aged Balsamic, then try boiling some down with a little bit of sugar to make a syrup. Wonderful.
Fresh, ripe strawberries in a green salad is good as well.

Strawberry season has been going on for a few weeks here in Maryland. I went to a local farm with my wife, little girl and mother-in-law this morning and came home with 25 lbs of red, ripe strawberries. The car smelled like them by the time we got home. We will be having strawberries for every meal for a while. I am also planning to make some jam – some plain for the normal humans in my family and some with habanero for me. In a few weeks, blueberries will be here too!

25 lbs… wow. I made a big batch of strawberry freezer jam a few days ago. I can’t wait to get some raspberries!

I have to get my hands on some good balsamic vinegar before strawberry season ends.

Cork. They sell it in bulk.

Those look really good! Nice color too… I like them in my yogurt in the morning with some honey, yum. My favorite cake is strawberry shortcake!!!

Yeah, tell me about it. Once my four-year-old daughter gets engaged in something, she wants to do it forever. She would have picked 50 lbs if it had been up to her (did I mention we also picked 10 lbs of spinach?). I suspect some of the strawberries will end up in the freezer, but it will be fun trying to use them all while they are fresh.