Savoring Strawberry Season

by Allison Preiss, The Life of a Novice

It is officially strawberry season in my neck of the woods – yahoo!

Now, you might think this is crazy, but I was never really a strawberry fan. I guess I just never got what all the fuss was about. We’d have strawberries in the house from time to time when I was younger, but I was never smitten with them. Even when my mom dipped them in sour cream and brown sugar.

I think though, I have discovered why. I can’t just eat any ol’ strawberry. I need fresh, locally grown and in-season strawberries!! Truly, there is no comparison between them and the ones in the grocery store shipped thousands of miles from the field they grew in. As I change the way I feed my family, in a more locavore type of way, I learn to treasure these jewels.

I have a small community of Amish that live in my area and they all started hanging signs at the end of their drives this past weekend for strawberries. My first go-round, I purchased 13 quarts! I know that might seem like a lot, but when you are trying to preserve and put up for a year, 13 quarts is but a dent! I have conquered 12 half pints of strawberry rhubarb jam (one of my faves), 6 half pints of strawberry jam, strawberries & cream popsicles and some strawberry muffins – warm from the oven!

My list goes on and on though. I want to tackle more jam – hubby could eat a half pint every two days if I let him. And it turns out the little man is also quite the fan of the berries too! I would love to try my hand at homemade fruit leather and also some simple things like dehyradting some of the strawberries to be stored and used in granolas, oatmeals and the likes. And I can’t forget the simplest form of preserving – freezing! Simply hull, wash and freeze. Then, come January when I am dreaming of their juiciness, all I have to do is walk to the freezer!

Being a locavore allows you to truly appreciate and savor each bite to grace your plate. Come fall, I am sure I will be drooling over acorn squash and pumpkins. But for now, these red beauties have stolen my heart!

Allison Preiss is a working mom, wife, apple picker & horse lover. Outside of her day job, Allison and her husband run a small orchard on their farm, Apolloson Acres. Allison has a true passion for horses; 4 rescued horses currently reside on the farm. She is also an advocate of local, real food, cooking from scratch, sustainability and being green. She blogs about all the antics that come with her everyday life over at The Life of a Novice.