I celebrated my birthday last Saturday and Rob planned a pretty interesting day but one of the highlights for me was strawberry picking.
I was so excited! If I had to eat one fruit for the rest of my life, it would definitely be strawberry. It’s sweet and tangy. It’s red. It’s cute. It smells delectable. It’s bite sized. It makes the best jams, jellies, fillings, frostings, toppings, ice creams, juices (I can go on and on but there is more to this post than strawberry picking and I don’t want to bore you to death with ramblings)… inhales deeply…AND I read that it helps fight cancer… just saying.
Rewinding to a couple days ago… we got to Froberg’s Farm in Alvin, TX and eagerly bought ourselves a bucket each. At that point, I think we were too giddy to rationally think through how many pounds of berries we would each pick that day.
Glee overwhelmed me. My routine went something like this: spot red juicy berry, pick it, toss it into bucket, admire harvest at hand, smile and scout more berries. When my bucket was half way full I remembered why I carried my camera. Please enjoy the photos below.
As we walked back to weigh and cash our berries… Rob suddenly came to his senses… “Wait! How many pounds of berries do you think we picked?” We looked at each other with brief worry in our faces then laughed it off.
“It can’t be more than two or three pounds man.” Candice replied boldly. I like referring to myself in the third person sometimes. *ehhem*
It so happened that we picked 7.42 pounds; approx. 119 ounces; approx. 30ish cups… of strawberries. That’s probably 50ish of my handfuls.
The challenge: Make use of 7.42 pounds of strawberries in 4 days. Challenge accepted! Let us begin looking at some berry yummy recipes. *snicker*
Uno.
Chocolate Covered Strawberries: These were very easy to make and oh so yummy! Warning: Do not eat more than 6 in one sitting. You are bound to get a tummy ache. Don’t like chocolate? No worries… I gots plenny more recipes to share.
Two.
Strawberry Tart Cake: This cake was the perfect amount of sweet and berry.
Third.
Sharing is caring yo. Give to your family, friends, strangers on the street. Start dispersing dem berries in every which way you can.
4.
Strawberry Jam: This was by far the yummiest jar of strawberry jam I have ever had. Yes, matter of factly, it does have something to do with me actually making it myself. The recipe was simple and result is superb. Try it! Rob and I had some on a couple of Club crackers with cream cheese. Mmmmm mmmm mmmmM. Note: Be sure to follow proper canning rules to store you jam.
Last but not least.
Strawberry Mini Pies: These were definitely my favourite. As you can see, I could hardly wait to try one… I even used the same jam that I made in no. 4 as my filling. You can use strawberry butter if you prefer.
So there you have it. If ever you are in a similar predicament as I, here is a simple guide to give you a start on using up your berries before they go bad.
Enjoy!
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