Strawberry Picking 2013

Our beautiful bounty!

This past weekend, my husband and I went strawberry picking at a farm about 40 minutes away. I had been wanting to do this since last year but we missed the season when it was cut short by too much rain. 

Saturday was really rainy off and on so we waited and went on Sunday. Most farms don't have Sunday pick-your-own hours but this one does! We went to Scott's Strawberry Farm in Moneta, Virginia and it was wonderful! We did have to endure a little drizzle but it wasn't too bad. 

I would definitely recommend going before the season is over! It is $10 for a 5 quart bucket, they're open 7 days a week, and they're very friendly and helpful! They're also going to have raspberries and blueberries in the summer. I'll definitely be back for those!

They have a bunch of fields that are huge! 

Rows and rows of ripe, delicious strawberries!

I even found a short and squat one that looked like a pumpkin! He was de-lish!

We also bought 3 plants too. I told you my wee little strawberry plant needed friends! Now he has some. He? She? Oh who knows. 

My other strawberry plant is the all-star variety and the new ones are Chandler Berries. They're lower and fuller and seem to produce more too. Scott's Strawberry Farm recommends Earliglow for the flavor so I'll be keeping an eye out for those! 

The little blossoms are so pretty!

Can one really have "too many" strawberries? 

Nah...I didn't think so either.

What's your favorite place to go strawberry picking? What do you do with your bounty when you get home?

Till next time,

Catherine

My Wee Strawberry Plant

Around early April we bought 4 roma tomato plants and one strawberry plant from a local greenhouse. I picked the best strawberry plant I could find and it already had 3 little strawberries growing! 

This is what they looked like the week we bought the plant. 

And after maybe 5-6 weeks they were getting huge! 

Then after close to 7 weeks out, I managed to pluck this beauty at the perfect time! I was like a little kid I was so excited! Way too excited about one measly strawberry! 

 This little guy was delicious! I must have waited till the right time because it was so good!

But alas, just one strawberry at a time is not very filling. I've decided I need about 99 more strawberry plants.

Since that's not very practical, I'm thinking just 3-5 more plants would be a good deal. At least with that many we can have a handful now and then.

Looking at these pictures reminds me that there's one more that's just about ready to eat! Yum!

What fruit are you growing in your garden? What's your favorite fruit? 

Till next time,
Catherine

My Other Container Plants

I recently showed you all how to make an awesome (and cheap!) pallet garden, well, I've also got a few things in pots that are growing on our patio! I've also shown you my container potato plants as well. I've also got a small pallet garden going with herbs but I'll have to share that on another day. 

Apparently I'm just never satisfied! I still want more food to grow! I'm thinking another strawberry plant and a couple blueberry plants...what do you think?

Actually before we made the pallet garden, we went to a local greenhouse and picked up a few plants and some seeds. The soil is the cheap stuff from Ollie's at $2 a bag! What a deal! Even if the quality of the soil isn't too great, I've got my worm farm to supplement it! 

The bag of seeds are Improved Tendergreen Beans. I never knew there were so many types of beans! I just picked the one that looked the most like the classic green beans I used to snap with my grandma. 

I got four Roma Tomato plants. I personally don't like tomatoes (I know, I know!) but my husband does so since he'll be eating them the most, he picked them out. I'll cook with them though!

And my little Allstar Strawberry plant! I can't even tell you how excited I was to get a strawberry plant! It's little, though...definitely think I should get another one. Or two...

Wittle baby strawberries!! They've almost doubled in size in just a couple of weeks!

Ready to plant!

Senor Strawberry seems to be settling in ok!

I doubled up the tomato plants so I didn't have to buy 4 pots. If they grow really large I'll repot them, though.

My little garden in the making! 

What are you growing in your garden?

Till next time,

Catherine

Cook: Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

How would you like to give your family a fruit snack that actually has real fruit in it? I know I would. Almost every type of fruit snack on the market today is deceiving us all! They are made with artificial flavors and colors and are chock full of high fructose corn syrup. I originally found this recipe on Our Best Bites and you can find the recipe HERE. 

This recipe is extremely easy but it does take a long time. If you have a dehydrator you can use that but I used my oven on the lowest heat setting available. 

Ingredients:

• Whatever fruit it whatever combination you want! You can use fresh, frozen, or canned.
• Sweetener like honey or agave
• Lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature. Some only go down to 170 but others go to 140. 

Pick out your favorite fruit(s). Wash them and cut them if necessary. 

Blend them in your blender or food processor (I used a blender). Add a couple spoonfuls of your favorite sweetener and lemon juice. Do some taste testing to find the right blend. 

Stretch out plastic wrap onto your baking sheets, or use a silicon baking mat. Pour the puree onto the baking sheet and spread it till it is even. Try to keep it from the edges. The top pan is strawberry-peach and the bottom is just strawberry. 

Bake in the oven for about 6-8 hours or until the center is no longer sticky. You want it to be solid but not brittle. You can see in the bottom of this picture that the edges were getting too thin and brittle. If this happens, brush a little water onto the areas that need it. 

Now go make more in other flavors! These are apple and peach mixes. 

Once it is done, simple cut strips with kitchen scissors and roll them up. If you want to get fancy you can lay them onto parchment paper, roll them, then tie them with a pretty bow. I wrapped mine while still on the plastic wrap and it works great...just be sure to remind people that it has the plastic on it! 

Trust me, you want to go make these! They're delicious! Experiment with different flavors and see what's best! I don't think you can go wrong, though! 

What flavor(s) would you make? Would you make the switch from store bought to home made?

Till next time,

Catherine