Last fall we moved into a new home and I have been in love with it ever since the moment we moved in but I just fell in love with it even more! I found out we live within 15 minutes of not one, but TWO pick your own strawberry farms!!! The last two years, we have gone to the one farm despite the fact it was almost 40 minutes away from our old home. Last Friday we ventured out to the farm we have never visited before which is just a hop, skip and a jump away. The scenic country roads we took to get there and watching a bald eagle flying above us while driving made the whole experience even better.
We visited Broyan’s pick your own strawberry patch in Nescopeck. The first field we drove to had a sign saying it was closed so we headed up to the Broyan’s Farm Market and Country Store for more information. The woman working at the counter was so friendly and helpful and directed us to the strawberry field which was open that day. We also picked up two bunches of kale while we were in the store because it was huge and I’m all about eating locally grown food. They had so many other great items like kohlrabi, raw honey, freshly baked hot dog buns, sweet corn, Milkhouse Creamery ice cream pints, and a variety of delicious baked goods.
We hopped back into our car and drove down the road about one mile to the field. I was extremely excited to find those pesky little gnats that have been tormenting us so far this summer were nonexistent in the strawberry field!!! This set the tone for the whole experience. We had our baskets weighed and got to picking. (We took our son’s Halloween candy buckets to fill with our berries but they also had baskets you could purchase for $1.50) There were about four or five other families in the field when we arrived and there were still plentiful amounts of strawberries. The view from every angle in the field is absolutely gorgeous! It feels like you’re on top of the world. It felt nice to just relax a moment and take it all in. We spent about one hour picking the fruit and ended up with ten pounds of strawberries in total! They are only $2.00/pound so it was definitely worth it for us. We go through a ton of strawberries each week because our family loves adding them into our smoothies and eating them with homemade coconut whipped cream.
We got home, rinsed our berries, let them dry, and cut the hulls off about ⅔ of them so we could freeze them for our smoothies. They last about one year for us when we freeze them. We just ran out of the berries we picked last year at this time only two months ago.
Tip: Use a straw to remove the hulls from your strawberries by poking it through the bottom tip of the berry and straight through the center. Put the berry with the leaves facing down on a plate or cutting board and poke your straw through the tip and straight down until it comes out the other end. You won’t waste as much of the strawberry as you could cutting the hull off with a knife.
I also made a super quick refined sugar-free strawberry chia jelly with one cup of strawberries and we ate the rest of the fresh berries along with my infamous and personal favorite coconut whipped cream.
Strawberry Chia Jelly
Ingredients:
- 1 c of fresh strawberries
- 1 tbsp of the sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, stevia, agave, etc)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- The juice of ½ of one lemon
Directions:
Mash one cup of strawberries in a small saucepan and add the sweetener of your choice. Turn the heat up to medium high and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 7 minutes. Mash the berries again if necessary. Add the chia seeds and the lemon juice. Stir and simmer for one more minute. Remove from the heat, let cool, and transfer to a mason jar. The jelly will stay fresh for about one week.
Find the recipe for my favorite coconut whipped cream in THIS article.
Thursday, July 2 will be the last day to pick your own strawberries at Broyan's Farm. They are open 9 AM-2 PM, weather permitting. It is best to check their Facebook Page or their website for any updates and to learn more about the current products available in their store. The Farm Market and Country Store is open Monday through Friday 6 AM-6 PM, Saturday 8 AM-5 PM and Sunday 10 AM- 5 PM. Stop by and purchase some locally grown fruits and vegetables picked that same morning!! I will definitely be going back for some more kale, broccoli, potatoes and peppers as soon as possible. We can’t wait until the fall so we can pick our own pumpkins!
