Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion

We are going to pick strawberries today in Granville. Can purchase picked but we have fun going into the field and picking our own.

Summer raspberries will be available around July 1.

Our strawberries have come & gone. I got most of a quart off of one plant I put in as kind of a laugh last year. I put it along the front edge of the porch, behind the bushes & other flowers, along with some periwinkle. It sent out a dozen babies & every one of them seemed to have strawberries. Kind of cool.

We've been having black raspberries for the past couple of weeks. We don't gather them in big bunches, but like to nibble on them as we take our evening walks.

Jim wrote: "Our strawberries have come & gone. I got most of a quart off of one plant I put in as kind of a laugh last year. I put it along the front edge of the porch, behind the bushes & other flowers, alo..."

Ah, home grown fruit. Nice.

We just got back from strawberry picking. Our first time. The berries are shiny and incredibly juicy. Rinsed a bowl full of strawberries, culled and sliced them. Just a dollop of cream on top - absolutely delicious.

Food Network TV - Barefoot Contessa - made some fresh strawberry jam last week and I copied the recipe. Going to try and make some now.

Linda wrote: "We just got back from strawberry picking. Our first time. The berries are shiny and incredibly juicy..."

Now I really feel like a city girl (which I am, basically). I've never gone berry picking in my life, but I do love fresh fruit. Your harvest sounds delicious, Linda!

One time I went apple picking with my sister and our kids once. Ended up throwing rotten apples at one another for fun. I hit one of the kids by mistake. No harm done, but a lesson learned.

By coincidence, at our last meeting of the Monday Evening Library Book Group, one of the members brought in bowls of fresh strawberries from CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and passed them around. Absolutely luscious! They are members of a local CSA group and they get their fruits and vegetables from local farms. They said they pay a certain fee for each season of membership. The book we were discussing was _In Defense of Food An Eater's Manifesto_.

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Linda wrote: "We just got back from strawberry picking. Our first time. The berries are shiny and incredibly juicy..."

Now I really feel like a city girl (which I am, basically). I've never gone b..."

Joy,

Funny you should say you feel "like a city girl" - which I am basically. Born in NYC and lived until I was 9 (moved to LI).

Made a small batch of strawberry jam last night. Unbelievably delicious. Almost better than icecream! Got the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa (Foodnetwork TV). She used 2 tablespoons of orange-flavored liquer. Since my cupboards didn't contain any liquer I added a bit of White Zinfandel.

My husband and I decided that instead of wine or liquer, orange zest will probably be a better substitute. And, less sugar than called for in the recipe.

Going to have some straweberries with cherrios in a little while! Yum yum.

Linda wrote: "...Made a small batch of strawberry jam last night. Unbelievably delicious. ... Going to have some straweberries with cherrios in a little while! ..."

Sounds delicious. A little wine or liqueur never hurts!

I went strawberry picking once on Long Island where my in laws have a summer home. Mind you, I was in my 20s then, and the next day, my legs hurt so bad, I vowed never to do that again.
My 47 year old legs would never survive it, LOL

Jackie wrote: "I went strawberry picking once on Long Island where my in laws have a summer home. Mind you, I was in my 20s then, and the next day, my legs hurt so bad, I vowed never to do that again.
My 47 yea..."

Jackie, you may surprise yourself!

Blueberry picking ends on August 15. We plan on going on Friday afternoon as we are all out of blueberries. Used the last batch to make a blueberry pie last night.

Below are some links to nutrition facts about blueberries:

http://www.trueblueberry.com/blueberr...
Article: "Blueberries: The #1 Antioxidant Fruit"

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/a...
Article: "Antioxidant Berry Fruit and Vegetable Listing"

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fr...

Sounds like I should buy more blueberries! :)
Lord knows I'd never have the energy to pick them myself! LOL
... or the motivation to bake a pie! :)

PS-Just noticed this in the antioxident article:
"Anthocyanin (the pigment that makes blueberries blue) is thought to be responsible for this major health benefit."

Never knew that. Amazing what we learn on the Internet!

and they are yummy. especially the fresh picked ones! :)

Linda wrote: "and they are yummy. especially the fresh picked ones! :)"

Good point! LOL