Fresh food. Real food. The way America focuses on "convenience" makes it easy to forget about the wholesomeness of what I put into my and my family's bodies. But each and every summer, I am reminded of how delicious truly fresh food tastes! First comes strawberry season, followed by sweet corn season, and the hot summer days end with grape season. I (luckily) come from a family of farmers and between the crops and the gardens we eat fresh all summer long! Now I live far away from the family farm so I rely on farmer's markets to find fresh from the ground/vine/plant/stalk produce.
I have memories of being a little girl and picking strawberries off the plants in the heat of early summer. The flavor those berries have is so much more intense than anything that can be bought in a grocery store, which is usually imported from Mexico or shipped in crates across the country. So when I did a little research and found a berry plantation within a 15 minute drive of our new home in Augusta I was super excited! MM didn't understand why I was so excited (he rarely does), but I knew one bite and he would get it.
We went over the South Carolina border to Gurosik's berry plantation. Strawberry season opened at the beginning of April and the "you pick" season opened Wednesday. It's a cute little place that grows many fruits and vegetables, but specializes in strawberry and blackberry production. We picked a gallon bucket full, and there was not one bad berry in the bunch. Now we are eating strawberries on everything!
It gave me the perfect excuse to bake a cake and now I am telling myself that 3 slices (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) a day is perfectly acceptable. I'd even go as far to argue that my 3 daily cake slices are healthy considering the the great source of vitamin C, magnesium, fiber, potassium, and antioxidants I am receiving!!! At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if we need a second gallon in another week. Next I want to try my hand at homemade strawberry cobbler. Yum!
For those living in the CSRA
* and want more information on Gurosik's Berry Plantation, click
here.
*CSRA =
Central Savannah River Area
Awesome! And your shades are straight up ITALY!
ReplyDelete