“The strawberry is the wonder of all the fruits…”
Roger Williams
founder of Providence in 1636
The truck was cleaned and ready to go. The morning chores had been finished and breakfast had been hastily eaten. Two loads of laundry hung fresh and clean on the laundry line, snapping in the wind.
Ringing the bell (which is a standard in our home – I try to use a bell instead of calling the girls) signaled it was time to leave. Little girls quickly strapped on their shoes and ran out the back screen door, letting it slam shut as they shot out of the house. Their squeals and squabbles filled my ears as they tumbled into the car to find their seats. I carried baby Loyal on my hip and placed my big straw hat on my head.
“Okay, let’s go! We want to get picking before it gets too hot,” I said, as the girls clambered throughout the big 12 seater van. My eldest strapped the two year old boy into his carseat and we all sang happily as we drove the five minute drive to the local organic strawberry patch. I knew we had to leave early if we were to pick before the baby began to fuss for his morning nap. Plus, it is best to pick berries in the cool of a summer morning, as opposed to working in the dry heat of June.
It has been a yearly tradition for the girls & I to go strawberry picking for as long as I can remember. Even as a young girl, I remember following my enthusiastic mother into the local strawberry fields, dreading the heat, but excited for the taste of June’s juicy berries that were headed into my cardboard basket. In fact, later, my sister and I were employed at the same strawberry farm to pick berries for the owner. As I crouched down in the hot fields, the sun beating down on my braided hair, strawberries staining the seat of my pants, I was always jealous of my older sister’s job at the same farm. She, just two years old, was promoted and now wore a bright x-marked vest that marked her superiority on the farm, she had surpassed the mundane job of just picking berries and was the one that organized where customers were to pick and even helped at the checkout stand, an old wooden shack at the beginning of the field. In any case, the monotonus task of picking hundreds of berries in Ontario summer heat was a good job for this young girl. It is always good to be challenged to have such a task to teach consistency, hard work and a steady pace at your task.
Now, with eight children toddling behind me, I had parked our big family van and was now walking into the strawberry fields with all the children following behind like little ducklings. Each girl was given a task of filling two baskets. Of course, we would help the younger ones fill their little baskets as soon as ours were filled. My little son was enamored with the big tractors parked at the edge of the fields- he pointed to them and said his favorite word, “Ta!”, as we walked slowly into the field.
Within an hour, we were finished our task and it was time to pack up and head home to hull the berries. I am so thankful that the girls did not complain and everyone seemed to still be somewhat cheerful about the day’s work ahead of us.
After the berries were paid for, we returned home and spread the berries out on the outdoor kitchen table. The girls donned some aprons (even though their dresses were already strawberry smeared) and I put up the third load of laundry on the line. Today was going to be a productive day, indeed.
With the help of listening to Jonathon Park CDs, we hulled berries until noon. Then, the lovely red strawberries were washed and covered and put aside for tomorrow’s jam and preserve making.
What a blessing to have a mighty crew of lovely ladies to help me! So many times I hear that it must be so much work to have eight children. Why, yes, it is work, it is not easy to be pregnant eight times and to have babies that need tending and gentle care year after year … and yet, here I am now, reaping the benefits of older children helping their mother and the blessings of younger children entertaining us while we work. 🙂
Children can truly be blessings to their families. I have always heard from a popular parenting speaker that he taught his children chores and to work with the family.
“This is a home, not a hotel,” he would say over and over.
And I agree with that. Work does not have to be dreary either. We often have something to listen to while we work and that helps pass the time. We find with so many helpers, sometimes it will only take an hour or two before the task is completed.
Later, my eldest was encouraged to make a pot of bubbling strawberry jam, which tasted divine.
Lovelyn, 7, helped me make a batch of strawberry lemonade concentrate, which we also canned. It was delicious served with our lunch!
While the eldest made jam, I made up some pie dough and placed it in the fridge for a future pie. I believe I shall bake one today, seeing as my husband is home for the day today. I also canned 10 jars of strawberry pie filling for future pies.
The following day, the strawberry picking scene was repeated as we returned, armed with the same amount of baskets, to pick another 50 lbs of strawberries. In total, we picked approximately 100 lbs of lovely, red, sweet tasting strawberries for the year’s supply. What a blessing! Strawberries may be used in so many recipes – you really can’t go wrong with a freezer and Provision Room full of strawberry preserves.
Would you like to share in our recipes? I will post them below.
There are so many lovely ways strawberries. Pictured below is a yummy afternoon treat of a scone with whipped cream and strawberries on top. Just perfect with a cup of tea!
Here are some recipes for your enjoyment:
2 1/4 cups of Clear Jel or Thermflo
** Please, feel free to adjust the sugar to your preference. In the case of pie filling, one can simply reduce the sugar and add some back if needed when making the pie. I usually add less than required. In the case of jam making, they say the amount of sugar is required to make the jam set. If you do not mind a runnier jam, then feel free to reduce the sugar, as well.**
(This recipe will make 7 16oz. pint jars)
4 cups of lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
4-6 cups of sugar
Puree strawberries with a stick mixer or blender until smooth. Transfer to a large pot. Add lemon juice and sugar to the puree, stirring well. Heat to about 190 degrees F over medium heat, stirring to keep from burning. Try not to boil the mixture. If foamy on top, remove the foam. Ladle the juice into your hot, clean jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean with a hot, clean rag and put on your new canning lids. Water bath in full pot of water for 15 minutes at a roiling boil.
Later in the week, we happened to find this lovely, slow moving (if he was moving at all?) turtle attempting to cross our road. What joy it was to watch him just sit and be still! I brought the girls out and we all studied him in awe. It is rare to see a turtle around our area.
by Gigi
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