Welcome Berry Season!

It's that time of year again!



Berries, berries, berries!  Yum!  Have you noticed that all the berries are on sale lately?  Take advantage of the berry season to have some fun with your family. See if there are any U-Pick farms in your area. Here is one online resource I have discovered:   pickyourown.org I live in Michigan where there are lots of places to choose from. I've gone berry picking with friends (with and without our kids), with my husband for a fun and different date, with visitors from out of town, and of course with the whole family.  We've mostly done blueberry and raspberry picking, but I'd love to discover a blackberry patch around here.  As for strawberries, I have a little patch in my backyard that is more productive that you would think. I picked these strawberries in the picture this morning while I was out watering the garden.

There are so many things to do with berries during their on-season.   First of all, after coming home with your fresh berries, you must enjoy them with a drizzle of cream and a sprinkle of sugar.  It's pure Lusciousness.  And the kids find this tradition especially exciting! :)

Try some recipes that spotlight fresh berries in their full sun-ripened glory!  For all our berry recipes, search under the Recipe Archives Tab under the Berries category. (PS. This index will be revamped very soon for easier use.)

Try the Fruit Pizza that Amy posted last week:

Patriotic Berries and Cream Trifle:


White Chocolate Mousse Tartlettes:


Strawberry, Pinenut and Feta Salad:


...to name a few...
And of course, don't forget the classic: Homemade Freezer Jam!



I always make homemade strawberry freezer jam every Spring.  This year I also made blackberry freezer jam for the first time.  After trying some of my friend, Jenny Balmforth's, homemade blackberry jam at her house, I just had to make some of my own. It was heavenly!  If you're buying your berries at the grocery store, wait for the 10 for $10 sales, where you can buy a 6-oz container of raspberries, or a similar size of blackberries, or a 1 lb container of strawberries for $1 each. (And you don't have to buy ten of them to get that price, fyi.)  That's as good of a deal as you will find at the local grocery store.  I prefer to use the regular pectin that comes in a box for homemade freezer jam. It's a ratio of about 3 cups of crushed berries and 5 cups of sugar. (I confess that I don't really like the lower-sugar pectin varieties.) I follow the Quick & Easy Freezer Jam recipe, which entails crushing the berries, mixing in sugar, combining the powder pectin and some water on the stove, and then mixing it all together for three minutes. It is SO easy.  I can't wait to share Jenny's half-white, half-wheat homemade rolls. When I had her homemade blackberry jam on one of the warm rolls, it was pure heaven. I'll be posting those soon, so stick around!