Shortcakes

The short strawberry season is starting to wind down in the Driftless Area. A few roadside signs are up, with the local Amish selling their crops. Our strawberry patch ended up doing much better than I had thought it would. We got anywhere from a pint to a quart of strawberries each day over the season. While we ended up with enough for a pie, we have been enjoying them in other ways. Maggie likes to eat them as-is, or cut up with a bit of sugar. I baked a batch of homemade shortcakes and have had a strawberry shortcake every day for a week. I have also been freezing a few every day to make smoothies. The raspberries are starting to ripen and take over from the strawberries, so soon it will be raspberry jam and smoothie time.

The smoothies have been very refreshing after a few hours of weeding the garden. We are at a critical juncture, as it is important to control the weeds while our small plants establish themselves. By the end of June, the plants are usually big enough to out-compete and shade out the weeds. The season moves on. We have eaten all the radishes, but still have plenty of lettuce for salads. Peas are starting, and we will probably have some early cabbage in a couple of weeks. The basil and parsley have gotten large enough to provide fresh toppings for pizza and other dishes.

The garden looks pretty from a distance. In a month it will look wild and overgrown, so we are enjoying it while we can.