Strawberry Jamboree

True strawberries – and by that, I mean strawberries that are locally grown and begin to ripen to perfection in early June – are just a fleeting moment in the landscape of summer. Lasting only two to three weeks, they are deeply red to the core, and drenched with sweet, sunny flavor.

More and more I realize that these ephemeral moments are something to protect and preserve.  Perhaps that’s why I have gravitated towards home canning.  A spoonful of homemade jam from a jar evokes a whole raft of memories.  It goes far beyond capturing the sweet flavor of the fruit. 

It recalls the sun on your back and the sweat on your brow as you walk through the fields at Restoration Farm. It’s the buzzing of honeybees and the glimpse of a red-winged blackbird.  It’s the conversations with friends in the field, and the reminder that despite the fact that a growing season is always advancing towards an autumnal finale, time just seems to move a little more slowly at the farm.     

It’s been a glorious start to summer, and a strawberry jam project was inevitable.  The strawberries come from Restoration Farm’s Glenn Aldridge, who this year cultivated a separate field of strawberries at the Old Hewlett Apple Orchard in Old Bethpage Village Restoration, which he’s been restoring and cultivating for several years now.  

It is hardly hyperbole to say that you can taste Glenn’s caring nature in these beautiful berries.  He gives me far more berries than the recipe requires, so my kitchen becomes the site of a strawberry jamboree.  

To prepare the jam, I use my Ball Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker, which is calibrated to cook at just the right temperature.  The reduced sugar recipe is formulated specifically for use with this device, and contains more fruit and more intense strawberry flavor.  

As the jam simmers, my memory is at work.  The aroma of warm strawberries instantly transport me to summers past, enjoying hot popovers slathered with jam on the banks of Jordan Pond at Acadia National Park.  

The final yield is eight jars of memories in two varieties – Strawberry Vanilla Jam infused with vanilla bean, and Strawberry Lemon Jam spiked with lemon zest. 

I leave you with this poem – given to me by my mom – written by Bea Lotz, which nicely captures the essence of strawberry jam in a quilted crystal glass jar:  

Homemade Jam

Sugared Summer in a jar,

To spread on Winter nights,

Rich layerings of sunshine

Of golden day delights.

Preserved now…lazy afternoons

With droning bumblebees,

Heavy berries bending low

And weighted, swollen trees.

Preserved for when the snow drifts,

When wind howls at the door –

Within each sticky spoonful,

Bright Summer lives once more.

-- Bea Lotz

©2014 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Stalking Asparagus, Strawberries and the Sound of Strings

Ah, the weekend!  Time to put aside the demands of the workweek and reconnect with the world outside the office.

The weekend is a perfect time to explore the simple pleasures of Restoration Farm.  Tucked into every corner of the farm, there’s a new discovery to be found. A sun-drenched visit is a feast for the senses.  

Not many realize that the asparagus field is just to the side of the dirt road leading to the historic Powell homestead. This farmland was first purchased from Native Americans in 1695.  

Poking out of mounds of soil and mulch are thick green stalks of asparagus.  Asparagus is a flowering perennial, and these are as local as local gets. They decorate the field like sharp pencils emerging from the earth.   

Back at the storage cooler, there are fat packets of asparagus waiting for members to take home. They will be enjoyed for dinner, sprinkled with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil and simply roasted.  

Nearby, the brilliant red baubles of the strawberry field are peaking out from beneath bright green leaves.  The strawberry season is a bright and shining moment at the start of the summer. 

I get to the field early to pick a pint. The berries are still sprinkled with raindrops from last night’s passing storm. Warmed by the sun, red through-and-through and impossibly sweet, here too, simplicity is key to enjoying these homegrown strawberries. 

No need for extra adornments. We’ll just slice them up and scatter them over a piece of rich, citrusy pound cake.

Restoration Farm stimulates all of the senses – not just sight, smell and touch and taste, but hearing as well. The cluck of a heritage hen, the grind of a tractor, and even the strum of a guitar or the twang of a fiddle invite us to reconnect with our soul and the world. 

At the Tin House, the musical group “The Live Cultures” is performing a set of folk, blues and traditional Appalachian tunes.  

The music is restorative and the band’s spirit and enthusiasm is infectious.  

As they are all about “live cultures” the musicians even bring along some sourdough starter for sale, and tell a few ripe fermentation jokes - what did the bacteria say to the beer?  It’s the yeast I could do!     

Monday morning seems a million miles away.  

©2014 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Poppy Seed Cake with Strawberries and Summer Blossoms at Restoration Farm

Summer arrives on Long Island with an attitude – never predictable, yet never indifferent.   There are cool breezy days, black clouds, torrential rain, and afternoons of withering humidity.   One can only accept the cacophony and try and go about the rituals of the season.

I make my annual pilgrimage to Patty’s Berries and Bunches on the East End of Long Island to stock up on strawberries.   

The strawberry season is short and sweet, and two quarts are collected to supplement my summer desserts.  

At Restoration Farm, the lettuce for which we have patiently waited now stands tall.  As the Summer Solstice approaches, the heat of longer days will coax the prized greens and vegetables to maturity. 

On a late Sunday afternoon, members gather for the annual Summer Solstice potluck, where we celebrate the bounty of the fields and the farm community we share.   

The buffet table is topped with a delicious spread of homemade salads, cakes and pies, all contributed by members.  

We pile our plates high and revel in the moment, enjoying the music of a sultry jazz ensemble.

My contribution is a sweet summer treat – an Almond Poppy Seed Loaf Cake topped with Long Island Strawberries.   (Recipe found here)  The tartness of the strawberries perfectly compliments the delicate flavor of almonds. 

And, throughout the farm, a bevy of blossoms have emerged to welcome this precious season of sunlight, warmth and earthly delights.

©2013 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Strawberries First Blush at Restoration Farm

A carpet of green, accented by brilliant jewels of red, signals the start of a festive season. It’s not the yuletide, but the start of summer.

The strawberries fields of Restoration Farm offer the bright young things of summer.  Red to the core, they are like sweet pockets of juice that glitter under the late spring sky.  

I can’t fully embrace the summer until I’ve waded into the field and picked my first basket of fresh strawberries. These blushing berries belong to us, the first fruits of the season.  As always I celebrate their arrival by sneaking a taste of few berries right in the field.   It’s a little miracle to savor the dripping, delicious sweetness of a fresh strawberry, drenched by the sun and plucked right from the field.

The first strawberries of summer make for a particularly whimsical dinner salad of berries and slivered almonds tossed with local Long Island lettuce and asparagus.  

A taste of a single berry in the field at Restoration Farm is a miracle. A bowlful is a guilty pleasure! They are like no other berries on Earth!  

©2013 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved