Strawberries!

It is strawberry season!  Every year we look forward to fresh local strawberries, and here we are.  Sure, we can buy them most anytime at the supermarket, where they’ve been shipped in from far-away places.  Those are big and firm, and just sort of okay.  If you want the deep red, full-flavored strawberries, they need to come right from the patch to the table - not grown as a hybrid bred specifically for standing up to shipping long distances.

The last couple days as I’ve driven through the countryside, there are so many Amish families selling fresh strawberries that it makes me wonder if competition will drive down the prices.  I paid $2.50 per quart for ours, but I’ve also seen some for $2.75 and $3.00.  Those are all good prices compared to the local supermarkets.  When I bought mine, the young woman apologized for the size.  The berries were maybe a little smaller than normal for early season.  (As the season nears the end, you expect smaller berries.)  Anyway, she said, “We haven’t had rain for a while, so the berries are smaller than usual.”  Then she grinned mischievously and went on, “But you get more berries this way.”  Yes, you do.  (And a little more work.)  But that’s okay.  They’re delicious!

For the next two or three weeks we’ll be enjoying the berries whole and in pies, but most of them will be crushed and poured generously over Buttermilk Crumb cake.  (Forget shortcake.  Buttermilk Crumb Cake buried under fresh strawberries is to die for -  almost.)  Sorry, secret recipe.  Just kidding.  Actually, we’ll include it at the bottom, and also share some pictures that’ll get the ‘ol mouth watering.

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I guess we all know about moving companies like Mayflower, Atlas Van Lines, etc.  I suppose most of us have even heard of the moving company called Two Men and a Truck.  Well, today some movers went past my house.  I don’t know anything about them, and they had no signage or phone numbers displayed, but it seems appropriate to imagine a name for them.  Two Amish and a Wagon.  They went clip-clopping down the road, and I went after them to capture some pictures.  

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Remember those mushrooms I showed you a couple weeks ago.  You gave me good advice.  “Don’t eat them!”  So I didn’t.  The old adage is a good one, “If in doubt, don’t.”  However, I learned that they are safe to eat. They are called Mica Cap. (Coprinellus micaceus).  They’re found where wood is rotting beneath the surface of the soil.  I haven't tried them yet, but hope to soon.  They need to be harvested before the gills begin turning dark - and that happens within a couple hours after they first appear.  If you don’t hear from me again, just figure the mushrooms were not identified properly.

Now for the Buttermilk Crumb Cake recipe:

4 C flour

2 C sugar

1 tsp. Cream of tartar

1 C butter (slightly softened)

Mix these ingredients and measure 1 to 1-½ C into another bowl. Set aside.  This will be the “crumb” topping.

Now add the following:

1-½ C buttermilk

1 tsp. Soda

1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix and put into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan, level it, and add the crumb topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Check with toothpick.

Enjoy it warm with lots of strawberries.  

Just out of the oven.

Food for royalty!

Family picking the berries

From Kidron, Ohio.  Hope your week was a good one.  Have a wonderful weekend.  So long.