I am home in Calgary, waiting to go back to the Shuswap tomorrow.
"How are the berries in B.C.?", Matiram Pun asked me tonight.
I said that the raspberries are bearing enough fruit now that they have to be picked every other day. I tell the children that they have to pick 10 berries and bring them to me in the kitchen. Then I follow the kids up to the raspberry canes and watch how long it takes to get ten berries into their hands, given that for every berry they pick and put in their hands, 4 or 5 of the berries go directly to their mouths and do not pass by their hands.
The strawberries are another thing -- when Askews was selling 10 pounds for $10 Doral couldn't help bringing home a flat from his shopping trip. The berries were at the peak of perfection -- you know, one of those times when you know that the strawberries will be over-ripe in just 3 more hours, so they must be eaten at that moment.
I got the ones that couldn't be eaten cut up and the dishes done, and I was just in time to see Mary walk through the door with a flat of strawberries, saying, "Look, the strawberries were $10 for 10 pounds -- I just couldn't resist getting a flat for us."
Out came the strawberry hullers and sieves -- for if strawberries are that ripe and good once in the day, they are really good, twice in the day.
The next week, the blueberries were the same price: $10 for 10 pounds.
What is this? A loss leader? Who can pick, pack, transport and market berries for that price?
In the NY Times list of 101 Summer Salads Made with 3 Ingredients was one that called for grated carrots, blueberries and toasted sunflower seeds with a mustard vinegrette of olive oil, vinegar and a bit of mustard.
So the blueberries are coming home with the same speed that the strawberries arrived, but not all of them are eaten out of hand. Some go into that salad. We are learning that the carrots should go on the finest shredding blade of the vegetable chopper, and with that, we have a perfect salad.
"How are the berries in B.C.?"
Delicious.
How are the blackberrry bushes looking?
ReplyDeleteThe blackberries still have some lovely pink blossoms on them, though some of the blossoms have now gone to fruit -- hard, green knobs on stems that have spikes as big as ever.
ReplyDeleteWhen walking down the new steps to the beach, some of the bushes leap out and scratch arms and legs. When I get back to the Shuswap today, I must take care of those stray bushes that won't stay on the hill. My weapon of choice?
A machete.
Arta