I’m sitting outside on this muggy morning, and suddenly all of my senses start reminding me of the season. Strawberry season. I close my eyes and let myself lean into the feeling; the early birds chirping and the morning haze promising a hot and humid day.
I can almost hear my mother shuffling around in the closet searching for the containers that she somehow lost every year, inevitably finding them somewhere they did not belong with the remnants of my latest rock collection. I always went with the intention of helping her pick. I’d start down the row motivated but the thoughts of our Father’s Day strawberry pie or the berries and short cake we would have that weekend.
But eventually the building heat of the dirt beneath me and my mother’s quiet spirit lured me to sit and watch. And eat. The sweet sugars in the strawberries made me all the chattier. I sat and talked while my mother picked. I would change location every time I felt she could not hear me well enough. I’d watch as she nodded every so often, still focusing on the strawberries she picked.
Once buckets had been filled and I had a belly ache, we would head home. I’d use the hose to wash off the dirt and stickiness which had somehow managed to spread across every inch of exposed skin.
I returned inside to find my mother washing and slicing the strawberries. I would sit and talk again…and eat. So, this morning, I am reminded of my mother and of those warm, ripe strawberries.
If this article has you craving strawberry shortcake or strawberry pie, we can recommend a few yummy recipes from our blog archives!
This recipe is the perfect solution for dairy-free strawberry shortcake. The shortcake as well as the whipped topping is totally dairy-free! It uses coconut cream and coconut milk instead. Find the recipe here!
For those of you who crave shortcake but can’t have gluten, we’ve got you covered too!
This gluten-free strawberry shortcake recipe is a delicious option created by Elizabeth Weaver. Get the recipe here!
Find out all the details on pick-your-own strawberries here.