Strawberries Abound

This recent stretch of fine weather has ripened the strawberry crop. Now is the time to pack up your buckets and take part in the fresh berry rush. The English believe that soft fruit, like strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and blueberries are best picked and consumed that same day. A real purist will not wash the fruit until just before eating. If you plan to make jams or preserves, you should not let them sit in the ice box for more than a day. With strawberries in particular, the sugars quickly turn to starch, losing its sweet flavor. That sugary taste makes a freshly picked strawberry out of this world. Scout out the best berry growers in the area. Many of them have their specialties and some offer picnic areas and entertainment for the kids.

Schedule a berry picking trip soon. The strawberries will come first, followed by raspberries, gooseberries then blueberries. A good rule of thumb when harvesting any fruit is to schedule picking right in the middle of the specific fruiting season. Early varieties may open the picking season but are not always the best examples of perfect flavor. So best to find that sweet spot, which with fruit is smack dab in the middle of its season. If you don’t can, bake or eat the fruit in its peak, we can take P.J.O’Rourke’s advice and look at the bright side of fruit. “A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do.” Still have our Facebook Fan Page contest with the two free Tower Hill Botanical Garden passes. You have to be the lucky 125th Facebook fan. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bilowz-Associates-Inc-Our-Blog-Annies-Gardening-Corner/325316334444

P.S. Post your favorite berry picking spot!
Image of Strawberries from the Internet

Cool Recipes for the Heat

Whether you are planting in your garden or relaxing at a friend’s barbeque this weekend, here are some easy recipes to prepare on the fly. Both include a refreshing fruit that everyone loves and associates with summertime fun – watermelon.

The first recipe is an Egyptian favorite. We had this at a friend’s barbeque last weekend. The refreshing taste is perfect for warm weather. You will need:

Watermelon – 4 cups of seedless watermelon cut in small chunks
Mild Feta Cheese –1 cup of feta cheese cut in cubes (French Feta is ideal – creamy and mild. Best Central Mass. source – Ed Hyders’ Mediterranean Market (not open on Sundays) http://www.edhyders.com/
Pitted Calamata Olives – ½ cup of olives chopped fine (Ed’s is also a great source for olives)
Fresh Spearmint – ¼ cup of fresh spearmint chopped fine
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
Toss together, chill and serve.

We whipped together this next recipe for that very barbeque. This salad also blends refreshing and sweet flavors, complimenting other summertime foods. Don’t forget to use the salad dressing recipe from the May 18th blog. http://blog.bilowzassociates.com/2010/05/greens-will-be-coming.html

Here’s what you will need:

1 head of Boston lettuce
½ cup of wild arugula
2 cups of washed hulled and sliced fresh strawberries
1 Asian pear
1 cup of seedless watermelon cubed
1 cup of shaved asiago cheese
4 Tablespoons of sugar
Hot crushed pepper

Wash and slice the strawberries and add sugar, place in fridge for ½ hour. This draws out the juices.
Thinly slice the Asian pear and cube the watermelon. Toss into the strawberries.
Wash and drain the lettuce and arugula and place in large bowl.
Spread the fruit mix around the outside of the bowl.
Shave the asiago cheese and place in the center of the bowl.
Sprinkle hot crushed pepper. Serve the salad dressing on the side. It should not be tossed into the salad prior – toss when serving and go lightly so as to experience all the flavors.

It is hard to believe it is already Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy the garden, stay safe and remember to take time to honor our fallen soldiers. Thank you for our many freedoms. Annie

To keep with the freedom theme, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin provides our final Memorial Day inspirational quote of the day. Rather verbose but a very French way of describing barbeques. “Seating themselves on the greensward, they eat while the corks fly and there is talk, laughter and merriment, and perfect freedom, for the universe is their drawing room and the sun their lamp. Besides, they have appetite, Nature's special gift, which lends to such a meal a vivacity unknown indoors, however beautiful the surroundings.”

P.S. As promised on yesterday’s fan page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bilowz-Associates-Inc-Our-Blog-Annies-Gardening-Corner/325316334444 there will be a fun Memorial Day Contest. Two free passes for Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston, MA to the 125th Facebook Fan. You have to join our Facebook page and become a Fan!

Image of Watermelon Salad from the Internet.
This recipe looks like it used parsley but a very cool way to serve it!

The Natural Landscape

On this Memorial Day weekend, many of us pack up the cars and travel across town or state, plunking ourselves in a beach chair or at a picnic table to enjoy food, family and friends. Take a moment while you travel the roads to discover the natural landscape. Notice the native mix of trees, shrubs and flowers and log it in your memory bank.

When you get back to your own garden, ask yourself if any of these native species would play into your own landscape. First, find out if those trees, shrubs and wildflowers you spotted on the roadside are invasive species. When you see an expansive stand of a single species, this can often be an indication of an invasive. There are many of these plants on this list and as astute gardeners we should be aware of them. To name a few, Norway Maple, Winged Euonymus, Autumn Olive, and Honeysuckle are some of the species on the Massachusetts’ list. (Note: There are lists for each specific region or state.) http://www.mass.gov/agr/farmproducts/proposed_prohibited_plant_list_v12-12-05.htm

These invasives take over everything and must be eradicated in order to maintain a diverse plant community. The cost of dealing with eradication and control is mind-boggling yet most people don’t even think about it. If you happen upon any of these in your own backyard, remove them so as not to infiltrate your garden. The purple loosestrife, that beautiful wetland flower has been raising havoc for years. It is hard to believe that this plant started in people’s perennial borders and has since choked out vast areas of wet meadows and marshland.

In keeping with the theme of freedom for this week’s quotes, it is fitting to use the words of William Wordsworth. “How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold.”

Don’t forget to check in tomorrow. There will be quick recipes for the weekend cookouts. Have a great day. Finally, our gardens have a little relief from the heat!

A Photo of Purple Loosestrife from the Internet
Bold and beautiful yet invasive!