Last night we talked about driving to Brenham today to see the bluebonnets. This morning we got up a little late and by the time we had made it to Panera well...
1. We were going to take Desi to Brenham and take pictures in the bluebonnets.
2. We were going to do same but only drive the back roads to Waller and back.
3. We were going to grab some lunch boxes at Nielson's Deli and go to Memorial Park and have a picnic.
4. We were going to just head "that way" and see what happened...and leave Desi at home just in case whatever happened included an indoor restaurant.
Here is what ended up happening!
Literally on the beltway at the split for 45 N or S - we decided to go to Froberg's! We didn't exactly decide to pick our own strawberries until we got there. And by we I mean me and the mouse in my pocket because nobody else was picking...but Mr. Ken did take the photos.
Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to finally ditch the purse and really get busy!
This is approximately 5 lbs of strawberries which I picked in oh, 10-15 minutes! I later split this bucket with my momma surprising her that I even picked them myself...I was even more surprised when she didn't tell me the story about how as a little girl I frequently picked the berries in our backyard, even though I was NOT supposed to. Not because momma was mean or anything but because I was highly allergic to strawberries and besides the fact I came in with hands, face and clothes covered in red juice I also broke out in hives all over! And yet, I still professed to have NOT been in the strawberry patch at all. Her favorite part of that story is that she could actually see me from the kitchen window and always remembers seeing the little white legs, and then the little ruffle-y covered backside as I spent all my time bent over inhaling the berries as fast as I could pick them. Kind of like the photos above only with cuter ruffle-y pants!
Now, you may think what a lot of trouble for nothing...and to that I will say this! Strawberries that are freshly picked and have never even thought of being in a refridgerator of any kind have a completely different, and far more delicious, strawberry flavor than anything you have ever purchased at a grocery store or even a farmstand (depending if truly fresh picked or picked yesterday and refrigerated overnight). Just saying.
We also picked up a few other homegrown at Froberg's items - Celery (I chop and freeze it because it has more leaves than you will ever, ever find on celery at the store), Leeks, Broccoli, Radishes, Mustard Greens, Cabbage, pickling Cucumbers and lots of Dill Weed. I give you Food Glorious Food!
We also grabbed a smoked pork chop from the smokehouse next door and viola! Dinner is pork chop, mustard greens, blackeyed peas and for dessert - Strawberry Shortcake, of course!
Here is the link to the Shortcake I made: Pioneer Woman Mixed Berry Shortcake Here are the few changes I made ~
I halved the recipe for the bisquits (it made 5 large ones).
I only used strawberries, natch!
I used lemon juice and sugar only to marinate the berries - I prefer lemon to orange, just me. Secondly, I don't use much sugar or lemon juice...about three tablespoons of sugar or so and the juice of two small lemons (no zest). I've used that recipe for years and I feel it is just enough to bring out the sweetness of the berries.
I whipped 1/2 cup heavy cream until almost at peaks, then added 1/2 TBSP of powdered sugar and 1/2 TSP of vanilla and whipped until peaks formed.
So, technically I could have rewritten the recipe with my tweaks and called it my own but ... either way, is this beautiful or what???
Yes, Food Glorious Food. I'm full! Love, spajunkie