mmm...berries

we went strawberry picking yesterday! we picked about 11 pounds of berries.



moonpie was serious about her berry picking. at no time was she near me. she zoomed down those rows, filling her basket not once, but twice! after 2 full baskets i asked her what she thought about how sweet they were. she hadn't even tasted one! give that girl a job and she is on it!



buddy, on the other hand, thought he was for sure in heaven. all the strawberries he could eat? and he got to hunt them down? the above picture is of his proximity to his basket. uh-huh, he was no where near it! who needs a basket when you have hands?



and a mouth?



on our walk back to check out he asked me to hold him because his legs felt 'all wobbly'. i picked him up and noted how heavy he was, he replied 'it's all dos strawbewies i ate'. probably so...



and here is what we did with some of our bounty. strawberry jam cooling alongside a loaf of crusty bread. i was really dreading all of the sugar i was going to have to put in the jam, but when i got to the store i found that ball jelly is now offering a sugar free pectin! that was VERY exciting to me! i added a cup of fresh squeezed apple juice and 1/2 a cup of honey to 4 cups of strawberries and then one packet of pectin. it seems to have set well, but i'll let you know after we actually open one!
the jam was a true team effort. moonpie cut off the stems and halved each berry. buddy mashed 'em all up! we also made strawberry muffins for a road trip we're taking tomorrow and put some up in the freezer. man, without my little helpers i don't think i could have gotten it all done! i'm worn out just thinking about it!

loop hole

i read some important news this morning on dr. mercola's (http://www.mercola.com/) website, and i wanted to pass it on. since the us govt. is not required to reveal if a food is genetically modified or not, this loop hole seems pretty invaluable to me. read on:

Although the U.S. does not require GMOs to be labeled, you can still find out whether or not your produce is genetically engineered, by looking at its PLU code. For example:
A conventionally grown product carries a 4-digit PLU code (Ex: conventionally grown banana: 4011)
An organic product carries a 5-digit code, starting with the number 9: (Ex: organic banana: 94011)
A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) product has a 5-digit code, starting with the number 8: (Ex: GE banana: 84011)

finally! a way to know about our produce! here is some additional info you may find helpful:

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or grow organic:
Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes
Conventionally-grown strawberries, in particular, were found to be highly toxic due to a poisonous blend of pesticides in a previous 2007 EU study as well. (i'm reading this while munching on a bowl of conventionally grown strawberries- great.)
But be VERY careful as the list above is for fruits and vegetables. Non-organic meats have far higher concentrations of pesticides than all of the fruits and vegetables. And the highest concentration of pesticides is actually in non-organic butter.
So if you can only buy one organic food item it should be butter. Next priority would be meats and once those are addressed, you will want to focus on the fruit and vegetable list above.

let's see, the only organic veggies that my market carries off that list are spinach, lettuce, apples, and celery. what i wouldn't do for an organic strawberry! but really, that only gives me more incentive to grow my own. so here's the question for you experienced berry growers. will strawberries tolerate shade, or should they be full sun? i have a nice dappled sunlight area that i could fill, but i'm not sure if that would be best. i've never successfully grown strawberries before (and i 've tried many times!).

and of course, another shameless plug. support local growers! within 15 miles i can get locally grown organic produce (http://www.homesweetfarm.com/), raw dairy products, and several meat options (http://www.jolievuefarms.com/, http://www.oaksofmamre.com/, or the up and coming http://www.yonderwayfarm.blogspot.com/). seek out local growers in your area and support the modern hero- your local farmer!