Pickin' season, and I don't mean guitars

CRAZY around here right now - picking georgeous berries that look and taste like a strawberry is supposed to. And ours don't have that spongy white core in them like the boxcar strawberries - what IS that thing? Our kids are fascinated with it - they like to "core" the hard winter strawberries from the grocery store and stick them on the ends of their thumbs as puppets. Gross.

While we're in the middle of picking, it feels like eternity, but really, the season's over in a flash. Farming is ridiculously difficult - more so since the appetite for out-of-season stuff has stores shipping rock hard fruit in from all over the place. People who couldn't find Chile on a map with both hands are more than happy to eat a sour plum from there in January. Go figure.

Glad we started the food line. (see http://www.tassleberry.com/) What doesn't get eaten/sold in strawberry season at least has a fighting chance to come back as a jar of marinade. Good marinade, at that.

Our current favorite snack - wierd as it sounds - is strawberries dipped in Strawberry Dressing and Dip. http://www.tassleberry.com/Categories473c.html?category=Strawberry+Dressing+and+Dip Add a hunk of cheese and a glass of Savignon Blanc (makes it taste less citrus-y, smoother), and bring on the night. And as my Granddaughter pointed out with the wisdom of a 6 year old - "it says DIP."

I'll end with a video my friend sent me - he didn't mean it to be funny, but I think it is. How to Make Strawberry Shortcake. http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b4LQIbYqj8. First of all - it ain't Strawberry Shortcake. Second of all, his pace is so manic I had to do a Yoga Pose to calm down afterward. Third of all, the focus on his hands had me thinking of the Seinfeld episode "Man-Hands."

Click on the clips at right for other recipes.

Let me know what you think...