This will come as no surprise to my long-time blog followers, but I just love fresh strawberries. There is nothing quite as delicious as a fresh strawberry right off the vine. A bite of strawberry is like a bite of summer sunshine.
We had a free day and visited a you-pick strawberry field. Little Buddy has matured a lot since last year and could actually do a decent job picking strawberries. Sure he picked a few of the green ones (which we added to our basket and paid for), but generally speaking, he could tell the difference between the ripe strawberries and the unripe ones.
The farm also had pre-picked strawberries that only cost a few more dollars per gallon than picking your own. Mr. Handsome started out by trying to convince me that we should only bring home strawberries that we had picked ourselves. He said it was cheating to buy strawberries from a you-pick farm. I decided that instead of debating, I would let the hot summer sun make my argument for me. It worked, and after a couple hours in the heat, Mr. Handsome declared that “rules are meant to be broken” and happily agreed to supplement our hand-picked strawberry supply with some pre-picked berries. My plan had worked.
On the way home, we stopped at a quaint little Amish restaurant and enjoyed some delicious Amish desserts. Mr. Handsome adored the pastry, and we all loved the chocolate milk.
The real treat, however, was the homemade, pectin-free strawberry jam (link below). The process of making it is long but completely worth it.
Link to Strawberry Jelly Recipe
Has anyone else had a chance to pick strawberries this year?
Please people – follow a more scientifically developed recipe from a canning jar company (e.g. see Ball’s website recipes) or on a pectin packet. That posted recipe (from AllRecipes) has too many responses with people suggesting shortcuts or recipe alterations that would result in a chemical change of the finished product. Shortcuts and alterations are not something you do in food processing! If you don’t know what you’re doing and you improvise, you can end up losing your entire batch (expensive and frustrating) or worse, sickening someone. It doesn’t matter if “I’ve always done it this way and it’s fine,” or “Granny did it this way and lived to 100.” You may end up being the first time it’s NOT fine. Food preservation must focus on cleanliness and proper heat processing to prevent molds and to kill bacteria. Don’t believe me? Ask the people who made that batch of salmonella-laced Jif peanut butter that prompted the current nationwide recall.
He’s so precious! I love strawberries, too, but I just buy them from the store since it’s just me.
HE is so precious with his little hat!!!! I bet it is hot there, it is 3 digits here for the temp. Will you be picking blueberries this summer? We found 2 certified organic farms for us to pick from. Since berries are on the dirty dozen list for pesticides and chemicals. I hope you and your family are staying cool and enjoying this Summer.
Our God is always faithful!!
Hoping to pick blueberries. Unfortunately it is very hot here this week. Hoping it cools down soon. Let me know how blueberry picking goes. Do you freeze them or bake with them or just eat them fresh?
U did what my Mother did, my Mother, took us to a strawberry picking place, then we picked the strawberries, we washed them, we prepared them, Mother cooked it, then we put it in clean Jars!!! That was the best jam ever, and I can taste it still, I am 50!!!!! REALLY, U are making out, how much fun it is to make something!!!!! I taught it to my little niece, that, I wish I could of taught this to my kid, but I can’t have them, so be happy, we all love Cooking+Baking, my Bro is the best cook ever!!!! His food taste like sparkles in the mouth, because does everything from scratch, like my Mother taught us!!!! U ARE A GREAT MOTHER!!!!!!
I love strawberries. I buy my fruit at grocery store either fresh can or frozen. Aww, adorable photo of Little Buddy. Can we get a photo of Littliest Buddy.
Love this! My Grandparents started a Berry Farm when they married in 1936 growing strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry, blueberry and other berry plants to sell and then picked the various berries in the summer months to sell as well. Our entire family from My Dad and his brothers to me and my brother and cousins all grew up working in the berries and our kids and grandkids have all had a hand at berry picking too! Some of my earliest memories are of my Grandma making her beautiful, delicious , prize winning jelly and then teaching me to make it also! Such a blessing!
Keep making those precious family memories with your boys too!
How cool! What great memories! Is the farm still running?
Yes my Uncle still runs the Berry Farm .. still shipping plants all over the country.. not as many grown for picking now as before but still some!
My Grandparents started out during the Great Depression with. It much but the Lord and a lot of hard work and their business has blessed our entire family through the years. Our oldest daughter still requests a blackberry cobbler as her “birthday cake” every year!
Hi Ellie!
Love to read all your food stories and that led me to your recipes page. You mentioned using a slow cooker there. What’s the make and model of your slow cooker? I am looking to buy one myself but there are too many to choose from.
I’m glad to have you as a reader. 🙂 Mine is the Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker with Digital Timer in Stainless Steel
Thanks Ellie! 🙂 I am always Blessed by your posts. You’re very inspiring! If you are taking requests for posts, please consider some posts on your self-care. As a Mom to young kids, it’s so easy for me to fill my day with kid-related activities and at the end of the day I feel totally spent and can’t think of anything else but sleep. What do you do for your self-care?
Thank you for your kind words. I don’t have time for much self-care, but I find long, hot showers to be relaxing. And I make a point to stretch every evening before bed.
My daughter and I just went yesterday. We have a lot of wonderful farms here in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts. I used most of the berries to make a strawberry shortcake refrigerator cake. It is my first time making it, but I am hoping it turns out great for a Fathers’ Day dessert! Looking forward to picking blueberries in Maine, which is a short ride away. Enjoy your berries🍓
My girls and I went last week and it has been a tradition for us for many years now. We love the fresh strawberries to!