Berries

I’ve been making a lot of lacto-fermented sodas in preparation for my homemade soda class tonight. Right now, I have hibiscus-rose hip soda, blueberry soda, and lemon balm-honey soda all bubbling away, in addition to a raspberry-orange soda that’s already in the fridge. Don’t these jeweled jars look pretty?  
 

Lacto-fermented hibiscus, blueberry, and lemon balm sodas

It's been just 10 short weeks since City Market volunteers helped cover the hoop house at a Crop Mob at Adam's Berry Farm on March 27th.

Hard to believe we've gone from this.....

City Market volunteers help cover the hoop house on a cold spring day in March.

to this:

Our family looks forward to Thursdays at the Intervale all year.

We bring a picnic blanket, some fresh cut-up veggies and dessert, and then enjoy a picnic with American Flatbread slices and whatever else looks good (the pulled pork sandwiches from Bluebird have been delicious).

Almond sponge cake with fresh, local berries

Here’s an almond sponge cake that’s delicious with heaps of berries, honey, and freshly whipped cream on top. Use any berries you have…raspberries, blueberries, currants, you name it. (This is also delicious in the winter, with pears steamed in cider and ice cream).

On Tuesday, I taught my 2^nd class at the Chubby Muffin Community Kitchen. Eleven participants made honey-sweetened raspberry jam with Adam's Berry Farm raspberries and we canned it together so everyone could bring jars home.

Honey-sweetened raspberry jam

Meg visited Adam's Berry Farm recently, and has this to report:

I didn’t grow up in a farming family. My parents grew a few gnarled tomatoes each year and that was the extent of my agricultural experience as a kid. And yet, each July, we’d go out to the U-Pick blueberry farm for a few flats of berries.

Blueberries ripening in the sun