I really, really held out a long time for local, organic strawberries this year. The strawberry season, much like everything else this year, is about 2-3 weeks behind schedule. I knew what berries I wanted and that they were worth waiting for so I resisted the ones at the farmers market (surprisingly, the ones at the farmers market were all sprayed) and the grocery store. The reason for my selectiveness: the strawberries from Sam Kedem's are like none other. This was my third year going to the same farm because if you've found the best strawberries, you don't need to go anywhere else!
Jamie and I were early birds! We were in the field the moment it opened (actually a few minutes earlier, because nobody stopped us and we were raring to go!).
Our timing was pretty good. There were not too many green berries and plenty of red ones. Since we got such an early start, we were able to head out as the farm was getting really busy and the sun was getting really intense.
Buying produce from the farm store and watching some chickens rounds out the experience and makes it well worth the 45 minute drive. Who am I kidding? I would make the drive just for the berries!
In past years, I have traditionally baked something with my strawberries. As I have mentioned, this year I have limitations on my diet (no wheat flour, very limited sugar), so I opted for preserving by drying and freezing and I plan to eat them out of hand like a maniac this week.
I am not too sad about the lack of a baked good this year (well, yes I am) because dried strawberries are divine when rehydrated in a batch of winter oatmeal. These berries are super flavorful to begin with, so dehydrating and rehydrating them results in an intense toasty strawberry flavor.
Hooray for strawberry season!
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