Strawberry Update

The berries have started rolling in...yum. It is our goal to just try and get sick of them. The first day we were each able to eat several in rapid succession, I turned to Jon, nearly teary, and said, "I don't think I've ever had as many strawberries as I wanted to eat." I'm not sure if I've bought any in the nearly five years we've been married. They're expensive, even the conventional ones at the grocery store, and usually half of them don't even look good. Also, they're on the "dirty dozen" list of items you're not supposed to eat unless they're organic. Organic ones are through the roof. I'm certain they're worth every penny, and I always buy organic when it's available, but organic berries are just not in our budget. So, I won't buy conventional ones, and I can't buy organic ones. Therefore, no berries.


I do have this strange double standard, though. If I'm at a party, I'll eat conventionally grown fruits that I would never bring into our house. Again, dirty dozen items, like grapes. I'll even let my kids eat them. What can I say? I'm inconsistent at best.



Anyway, production is up. Zephyr is allowed in the greenhouse again, but he must ask before picking a berry, and he's supposed to help pollinate. Yes, since we're trying to keep bad bugs out of the greenhouse, there is an absence of pollinators. Luckily, I've come to think of pollinating as going to my "happy place." To pollinate strawberries, you need to wiggle something like your pinkie or a paintbrush in the center of the flower. We like to make a little "buzz" sound when we do it. If I had an MP3 player, I'd queue RENT while pollinating. (Although then I wouldn't be able to hear Zephyr asking, "Is this one ready? How about this one?") It can seem tedious, but it's worthwhile when you get big, ripe berries as a result. Underpollinated berries are small and oddly shaped. We still eat 'em.


I've made strawberry shortcake and jam; we've mixed them up with vanilla ice cream, and eaten them by the handful. "I never get tired of eating these," enthuses Zephyr. "They're the best food we've ever grown." Drooling yet?



PS Since I've been asked a few times lately, here are the Dirty Dozen: the 12 foods most likely to contain large amounts of pesticides:

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes, imported (Chile)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach