11.06 lbs of strawberries picked again at the lovely Edgewater Farm. $2.50/lb. Picked in my own containers – they now charge $1.50 for a wax-coated picking box. $27.67 total. 45 minutes of work.
Tag Archives: u pick
Blueberry haul 2016
I headed to Noda Farm to pick blueberries. The bushes were laden with fruit and picking was easy. Noda Farm is a lovely place to pick berries because their bushes are large and well kept. Picking is easy because you don’t have to crouch down and the large bushes provide shade. I was able to pick 8.5 lbs of berries in about 45 minutes. I would love to share pictures with you, but my phone was dead.
Back home, the blueberries went into some blueberry jam (9 half-pints), and into a recipe for Blueberry Boy Bait from Cooks Illustrated. I also froze a bunch for pancakes and smoothies this winter.
Blueberries and maple syrup are two New England food trends that I can really get behind.
The best pie… EVER
Strawberry Icebox Pie from Cooks Illustrated is the best pie I have ever eaten. Icebox pie is a gelatin-based pie with fresh fruit in a pie shell, topped with strawberry whipped cream. It has all of the qualities of a perfect dessert:
- Ripe strawberry flavor really shines through
- Pieces of real fruit
- Cold, refreshing and you eat it when its hot outside.
- A positive uplifting note at the end of the meal.
I do one minor variation. I substitute goat cheese for cream cheese in the whipped topping. The slightly goaty and tangy flavor is unexpected in the topping and is a wonderful complement to the fresh strawberries.
My mom used to make these pies when she worked at Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant in Dayton, OH. Seems like it’s still on the menu. No way it can be this good.
Blueberry Picking
I traveled to Super Acres Blueberry Farm in Lyme, NH with my colleagues from work to pick blueberries. This was my first you-pick blueberry experience. Blueberries are easy to pick because they grow on 5 to 8 foot tall bushes, meaning you get to spend a lot of time in the shade and pick berries standing up. No bending and straining your back for blueberries.
With our berries, I made blueberry jam (3 lbs, 10 half-pints), blueberry buckle (1.5 lbs) and ate the rest with breakfast. I think we may go back again and pick more for the freezer.
Super Acres farm is also dog-friendly, so I can take the pooch with too!
These are the blueberry varieties available
I picked 6 lbs of blueberries (about 6 mounded pints). $2.75/lb so the total price was $16.50
Beth (in red), Sophia (in pink) and Oleg (in Vermont Plaid) picking blueberries.
From the satellite images you can see the rows of bushes.
ReLocavore: Redefining "local" 