Berry time!
July 10th, 2007 by Mollie
One of the changes I have made lately is eating in-season local food. It is kind of bizarre, funny, ironic, and telling that it is soooooo difficult to find year round, in-season, local, organic food. This used to be the norm. People used to just eat year round in-season organic food and it didn’t have to be labeled as such.
However, with those struggles behind me for a couple of months, I get to enjoy the bounty of summer and fall. It is a wonderful and easy time to find local, in-season food. If you are looking for a fun outing to go on with friends or family I would highly recommend finding an organic (or one that is sustainable and chemical free) farm that lets you go and pick your own food. It really is just a great way to spend a day. Talking with the farmers, being outside, harvesting food, and enjoying great company (or solitude–sometimes a person just needs quiet, outdoor time). You can make this a regular thing or a one-time-berry-picking-adventure. Either way is great.
This weekend Kendall and I are planning on a berry-picking-adventure. Since our decision to eat local year round, I have been saving jars to do some canning and jam making. There is really no point in going out and buying a bunch of expensive jars. Save the jam, pickle, olive, salsa, and whatever else kind of jars of food you buy, and refill them with you own homemade goodness (this is a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of thing since we are also trying to reduce our trash).
I will post some delicious berry recipes for you all to enjoy. To find a farm near you go to local harvest or do some google-ing. If you feel up for a little work call ahead to see if they could use any volunteers for the day you are planning on being on the farm (it will be more helpful for them if they know you are coming because they will be able to plan their day accordingly).
July 11th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I’m planning on doing a lot of thimbleberry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thimbleberry) picking this summer, so I can make a ton of jam. Mmmm they’re so good, wish they would ripen sooner!
July 12th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Ben
That sounds so wonderful. I had never heard of thimbleberries before, does they taste similar to raspberries?
Thanks for sharing! Let me know how the jam turns out.
Enjoy,
Mollie
July 12th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
This was Ilon’s first summer berry picking! (last summer Izzie picked HUMUNGOUSLY pregnant) and she did a great job - parked her stroller under a bush and she picked and ate till she was blue in the face.
Because the only sustainable farms around Dallas are over an hours drive away (think of all that gas usage) we’ve started taking the train to Farmer’s Market; it’s the next best thing!
July 13th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
The CSA our friend shared with us is berryless, I guess the frost killed all the berries this year.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
They’re sort of similar to raspberries, but sweeter I think, and the seeds are finer. They’re still green and not super close to being ripe yet, but once they are I’ll let you know how the jam turns out! The recipes are very simple (most people just use sugar).
July 26th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Mere,
Where are the pics of your berry pickin’ fun?
Farmer’s Markets are great. That is where we have been getting our berries too. How is the Dallas Farmer’s Market?
July 26th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Ariah,
Farms have been having a lot of problems because of weather issues. Some of that is normal, but such a large increase nation-wide is not. I am probably going to write a post on that soon–hopefully.
How are you liking your CSA?
July 26th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Ben,
Thanks! I can’t wait to hear about it.