In the Kitchen JOHN REARDON WITH

Hello my Foodie Friends!

There is something delicious and nostalgic about strawberries. When I see them, my mom flashes into my memory. Growing up, I lived by a farm that grew strawberries. The last weeks of the month of May would bring the start to some beautifully ripe and delicious strawberries. My mom used to love taking all of us strawberry picking. Maybe it was her grand plan to tire out her three rambunctious boys or she just loved how happy it made us to accompany her on the strawberry picking adventure. We would race to fill our baskets and run them back to mom. My two sisters were diligent in looking for the biggest, reddest strawberries. However, my brothers and I preferred to create a “bug competition” looking for the most bugs and different bugs we could find. The other issue was when we did pick the strawberries, it was difficult not to take a bite out them. My mom would often find our buckets filled with little bites taken from several of the strawberries. I have to admit the best part of the day was eating the strawberries. During our strawberry excursions, my brothers and I, John, Danny and Billy, always competed in everything we did so we would split up to find our own patch. On one of our strawberry picking adventures my brother Danny who was usually the one who got into mischief, was kneeling on the ground talking to a very cute animal. Since we were about the ages of five or six, we had no fear of animals yet. I said “Danny, is that a cat? He then responded “yes, I think so and he’s wearing a mask!” He was saying “here kitty would you like a strawberry?” You know what happened next, the “kitty” took the strawberry and bit Danny’s finger. We were then off on another adventure to the emergency room where Danny saw a very big needle. That is also when the doctor told all three boys what a raccoon was and how much they enjoyed strawberries as well. We still talk about that day whenever we get together. Being involved with creating a garden or visiting one is a wonderful way to encourage eating fresh garden harvests. Although my mother and grandmother did not have strawberry fields, they did have beautiful vegetable gardens. One of my favorite memories is when my mother would ask us to gather rocks for her garden. Picking out the largest and coolest rock kept us three, highly energized boys busy for hours. Another favorite memory was plucking the fruits of my mother and grandmother’s gardens. Snacking on the garden vegetables was another challenge for us to avoid. We would play hide and seek in the garden while nibbling on some of the garden treasures. My brothers and I would try to hide and flatten our bodies close to the ground as soon as we heard either my mother or grandmother asking us what we were up to.

Getting children involved with gardening and harvesting fruits is a great way to create memories. Being involved with creating a garden or visiting one is a wonderful way to encourage eating fresh garden harvests. With picking strawberries, we get to celebrate having fresh strawberries and whipped cream. This is one of my favorite desserts and snacks. There are so many ways to use strawberries; you can eat them for breakfast and add granola for some texture, drizzle chocolate on them, or make strawberry cream pie or shortcake.