It has to be one of my favorite parts of Spring...biting into a juicy, red, ripened strawberry. Believe me, I can, and will, devour them directly from the patch...no washing necessary! Growing up, we lived right down the road from Brooks' Farm Strawberries. Almost every year, my mom or grandmother would take us to pick our own. I vividly remember my younger sister eating her weight in strawberries before ever even leaving the patch, covering herself in red juice from head to toe. My grandmother always picked enough to put in her freezer so that we could have fresh strawberry shortcakes year round. Mom always put sugar over them after they were sliced, and put them in the fridge for later. Or, we would put them in our Frosted Flakes on Saturday mornings, back when good cartoons were still on TV on the weekends.
My grandmother, who's birthday happens to be right in the middle of
strawberry season, turned 91 this year. She is currently in the
hospital, going through rehab for Neuropothy, which is a condition that
affects the nerves in her arms and legs. She was unable to enjoy her
birthday at home, so we brought the birthday to her! We made German
Johnson tomato sandwiches (her favorite), and for dessert, we had
strawberry short cakes. My mom purchased some local fresh strawberries,
tossed them with sugar, and put them over the little yellow cake cups
that you get in the grocery store. We topped them with whipped cream,
and a candle, and voila!, birthday cake! It really brightened her day!
It's amazing what something as simple as food can do for the soul!
It has to be one of my favorite parts of Spring...biting into a juicy, red, ripened strawberry. Believe me, I can, and will, devour them directly from the patch...no washing necessary! Growing up, we lived right down the road from Brooks' Farm Strawberries. Almost every year, my mom or grandmother would take us to pick our own. I vividly remember my younger sister eating her weight in strawberries before ever even leaving the patch, covering herself in red juice from head to toe. My grandmother always picked enough to put in her freezer so that we could have fresh strawberry shortcakes year round. Mom always put sugar over them after they were sliced, and put them in the fridge for later. Or, we would put them in our Frosted Flakes on Saturday mornings, back when good cartoons were still on TV on the weekends.
My grandmother, who's birthday happens to be right in the middle of
strawberry season, turned 91 this year. She is currently in the
hospital, going through rehab for Neuropothy, which is a condition that
affects the nerves in her arms and legs. She was unable to enjoy her
birthday at home, so we brought the birthday to her! We made German
Johnson tomato sandwiches (her favorite), and for dessert, we had
strawberry short cakes. My mom purchased some local fresh strawberries,
tossed them with sugar, and put them over the little yellow cake cups
that you get in the grocery store. We topped them with whipped cream,
and a candle, and voila!, birthday cake! It really brightened her day!
It's amazing what something as simple as food can do for the soul! 
