Let me tell you how much I love this time of year... I LOVE IT! I love love love those juicy, fragrant little specimens we've come to know as strawberries. MMmmmmm strawberries - fragole - fresas - erdbeeren - morangos - Doesn't matter how you say it, they're sooooo yummy.
I've always made it a point to go strawberry picking toward the last week of June. Even as a teen, when most were way too cool to pick fruit out in the country, I'd put together a yearly excursion. More often than not, I'd only get one or two true-blue friends who only came along because they didn't want me to feel like a lonely berry-picking loser. I admit it, though - picking berries at 17 is kind of geeky.
Geeky or not, I still maintain the tradition. Now, however, my children outdo my level of excitement. "We're going berry picking" is met with whoops & clapping & jumping. Love it! I asked my parents to join my family this year at Applewood Farms in Stouffville & I can honestly say I felt truly happy. There's nothing like sitting in a strawberry field, surrounded by your family, with your mouth full of those sweet, luscious berries.
With our baskets & bellies full, we made our way home. While everyone snoozed around me, I went on to make jam. Am I nuts? No. I find it so rewarding & relaxing. Plus, there's nothing that comes even close to the quality of my jam on any grocery shelf. I hope I don't sound like a jam & jelly snob, but my preserves rock! Can't wait till peach season. Winona peach fest, here I come!!!
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