April 21, 2010

Strawberry Fields

We loaded up the kiddos and headed to the country to pick the fruit from these beautiful little flowers...
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Some friends of ours came to visit us for a few days, so we brought them along too.
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Emma was so excited about picking the berries.
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The girls starting picking right away.
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And starting filling up their very large bucket...
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The morning was beautiful, and it wasn't too hot~yet!
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I was so impressed. I had never seen so many strawberries before in my life. There is something kind of neat about seeing your food before it hits the grocery stores.
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Emma hopped between rows choosing berries for her bucket.
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I think that I enjoyed the trip just as much as they did.
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They took a break from picking for a quick photo.
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Then, they were back at work picking these little beauties.
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And, still trying to fill that bucket.
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The strawberries were easier to photo. They always cooperate and don't move all that much :)
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Emma made it pretty close to the top...
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And then started running the rows.
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She ran.
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And ran.
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We took the berries to be weighed, so that we could pay for what we had picked.
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Let's just say that by the end, I was convinced that Emma could have been a farm girl in a previous life. She ate just about as many berries as she picked and had a wonderful morning at the farm.
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The only question I had was, "What's a girl to do with 12 plus pounds of strawberries?"
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So, we made jam. Yes 12 jars of jam! I have to admit that I was a canning virgin, but I have wonderful memories of my great-grandmother's jellies, so I decided to give it a shot. I used this recipe and was pleased with the results. I only wish that the jam was a bit chunkier....notes for next time.
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Rob held Carson while I did all of my strawberrying...
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Then, I made strawberry lemonade popsicles and strawberry daiquiris. I used this recipe from Cooking Light for both of them. I just didn't add the rum and the ice to Emma's popsicles :) We have an extra batch of this in the freezer too...will it be popsicles or daiquiris?
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We still had strawberries left, so I made a Strawberry Almond Cream Tart. I followed the recipe, but took some I just had a baby shortcuts. I didn't make the crust. I used a store bought reduced fat graham cracker crust instead. I used the whole block of cream cheese and went for the fat free version. And, I didn't toast the almonds. It was delicious and pretty low in calories, so you should give it a whirl. It is my favorite dessert at the moment, and Rob and Emma loved it too! I have an extra batch of the strawberry topping in the freezer, so another Strawberry Almond Cream Tart is in our near future.
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We all ate our fair share of fresh ones too... So for now, we are strawberried out. Although, I would love to go pickin' again.

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