Random summary of recent past: found local organic farm with pick your own strawberries.
Random summary of recent past: found local organic farm with pick your own strawberries. Have gone to many such places in different parts of two countries over the years, and was multiply, deeply disappointed with this one.
First of all, although I'm aware that there is a (new?) thought process that there is a balance between controlling weeds and optimizing growing conditions and the biosphere, I have never seen a supposedly cultivated field that was indistinguishable from a wild, overgrown meadow. We're talking 4 foot high pricker weeds.
But, ok, I came out here, I'm gettin' some strawberries. I always wear long sleeves and long pants and sturdy shoes for this sort of thing, anyhow. And a hat, which has nothing to do with the weeds, except for it getting stuck when you bend over to pick the berries.
Secondly, if you're gonna have a cultivated strawberry field, what is with the completely uneven ground hidden beneath a thick, wet layer of straw between the almost unidentifiable rows, which, to add insult to injury, are not on raised beds.
Fine. The strawberries I have picked have always been so much tastier than store-bought. I came out here, I"m gettin' some strawberries. Also, I do not want to go back to the drama. So, fine. We will give our tiny accessory muscles that never get their very own work-out a work-out.
I gave up after it took me something over an hour to find 3 full quarts of berries. Pita.
BUT IT ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN WORTH IT if the berries has tasted at all delicious. Sadly, I went to make shortcake and pie and, therefore, tasted them at that point and was sad. But I thought I would let them macerate in lots of sugar and it would be ok. It tasted like strawberry flavored sugar, so I thought it's still ok to make a pie, and I drained the liquid, quite a bit of it, and only used the remaining solid berries for the pie.
Hunted down some of the last fresh rhubarb, made a pie. In spite of copious amounts of sugar and cornstarch (this is my usual thickener for fruit pies), it is bland and the strawberries essentially turned into liquid. The taste and texture of the rhubarb are great, the crust is great, but you can only tell by the color of the liquid that there were strawberries involved. Basically, when you drain the liquid off, you have a rhubarb pie, which is quite tasty for a rhubarb pie.
I am deeply disappointed in this particular organic farm and their strawberries, at least the ones they leave for u-pick. If I have the energy, I will go find a place that has berries that are not officially organic, but tasty and painless to pick. Probably more expensive, as well. I don't know if I can find any more rhubarb, since the strawberries are so very late this year.
Oh, yeah. the pie looked gorgeous when it came out of the oven. Appearances can be deceiving.
First of all, although I'm aware that there is a (new?) thought process that there is a balance between controlling weeds and optimizing growing conditions and the biosphere, I have never seen a supposedly cultivated field that was indistinguishable from a wild, overgrown meadow. We're talking 4 foot high pricker weeds.
But, ok, I came out here, I'm gettin' some strawberries. I always wear long sleeves and long pants and sturdy shoes for this sort of thing, anyhow. And a hat, which has nothing to do with the weeds, except for it getting stuck when you bend over to pick the berries.
Secondly, if you're gonna have a cultivated strawberry field, what is with the completely uneven ground hidden beneath a thick, wet layer of straw between the almost unidentifiable rows, which, to add insult to injury, are not on raised beds.
Fine. The strawberries I have picked have always been so much tastier than store-bought. I came out here, I"m gettin' some strawberries. Also, I do not want to go back to the drama. So, fine. We will give our tiny accessory muscles that never get their very own work-out a work-out.
I gave up after it took me something over an hour to find 3 full quarts of berries. Pita.
BUT IT ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN WORTH IT if the berries has tasted at all delicious. Sadly, I went to make shortcake and pie and, therefore, tasted them at that point and was sad. But I thought I would let them macerate in lots of sugar and it would be ok. It tasted like strawberry flavored sugar, so I thought it's still ok to make a pie, and I drained the liquid, quite a bit of it, and only used the remaining solid berries for the pie.
Hunted down some of the last fresh rhubarb, made a pie. In spite of copious amounts of sugar and cornstarch (this is my usual thickener for fruit pies), it is bland and the strawberries essentially turned into liquid. The taste and texture of the rhubarb are great, the crust is great, but you can only tell by the color of the liquid that there were strawberries involved. Basically, when you drain the liquid off, you have a rhubarb pie, which is quite tasty for a rhubarb pie.
I am deeply disappointed in this particular organic farm and their strawberries, at least the ones they leave for u-pick. If I have the energy, I will go find a place that has berries that are not officially organic, but tasty and painless to pick. Probably more expensive, as well. I don't know if I can find any more rhubarb, since the strawberries are so very late this year.
Oh, yeah. the pie looked gorgeous when it came out of the oven. Appearances can be deceiving.
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