When the rains finally stopped and the sun decided to shine down on us I packed up the kids for a little fun. For days we had been cooped up indoors. The kids were at eachother's necks and bored beyond belief because they have no toys and nothing fun to do. I am a mean Mommy who never lets the kids play and have fun. So I decided to give this having fun thing a try.
We took the Strawberry Ferry out to the fields where we saw endless rows of beautiful, ripe berries. We were assigned a suggested row to pick our berries. It was not that the farmers wanted to confine us to these particular rows, but it was a way for them to keep track of the picking. There were about 10 of us in one row and it was getting rather crowded so I decided to jump on over to the row next to me. There I was confronted by a not so friendly woman in her 60s telling me to mind my own row! "Excuse me she said," in an unkindly tone. "This is my row. This is the row they gave me," she said, emphasising the my and the me a little too dramatically. I have no idea what came over me. I was brought up to be kind and curteous and respectful towards my elders... but this lady was something else and brought out something in me that could not be silenced. "Well," I said to her, "aren't you a lucky one to get an entire row all to yourself." I think it shocked her. It certainly shocked me... this inner voice certainly was not my own. Then, in a kinder, gentler tone she said "really, we don't get our own row?" Then, in a kinder, gentler tone, I explained that it was suggested we pick at that row... and I remained on that row. The older lady tended to her berries and I tended to mine.
Everyone was dressed appropriately for a morning filled with picking and eating, eating and picking, picking and eating. Unless you are Super Toddler who decides to eat his weight in in berries! (You think it was a coincidence I dressed him in red?) And the berries indeed were tender and sweet. All in all we picked over 5 pounds of berries and fun was had by everyone. We ate about a pound more that afternoon and the rest are sitting in the fridge... and I need desperately to use them in a recipe!
Mom's Strawberry Tea Bread
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar (I use 3/4 Cup)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 Cup Canola oil
1 1/4 Cup sliced strawberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl --set asside
Mix together remaining ingredients, then mix in dry ingredients until just moistened
Pour into a 9 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour