Strawberries, Finally!

Every year our family looks forward to picking strawberries at Biringer Farms in Marysville. There is nothing quite like having a tractor tow you in a cart out to a field of ripe, red, fragrant strawberries and then being able to pick your own for a very reasonable price. No one can resisting popping a few of the sweet little guys into their mouths for a "quality-control" sample. My kids usually end up with quite a few berries in their stomachs while they're out in the fields, so the free fiber is another benefit.

Local strawberries have been behind schedule this year because of the cold spring, so we were overjoyed when the farm's Berry Line recording indicated that the ripening had begun. We picked two flats that totaled about 24 lbs., most of which the hubby and the kids will slice and freeze to make batches of delicious freezer jam throughout the year.

We also took a few cups to make the strawberry glaze pie in the photo. The pie crust doesn't look very pretty because I was too impatient to let the homemade dough chill long enough before rolling it out, but it was delicious all the same. You'll have to take my word for it.