The Sweetest Day

Yesterday, we took a Strawberry Tour.

Not only did we get a chance to stuff our faces with some of the sweetest, most delicious strawberries, but we also got the chance to tour the farm in a tractor pulled wagon and taste all sorts of seasonal veggies.

I had never had sweet corn raw before, but it was amazing.

{I'm so used to slathering my corn with butter and cheese.}

It was so nice to enjoy vegetables in their purest forms.

My kids were popping small, golden tomatoes into their mouths like grapes.

We also tried sugar snap peas, yellow wax beans, carrots, and Maui onions.

The best part was we were the last tour of the day, so we got to take a ton of veggies home.

I learned from the ladies last year, and I even brought a bag with me.

Tomorrow, I will be incorporating all those fresh veggies into a yummy beef stir-fry.

The kids had a great time filling their baskets, eating the yummy berries, and riding in the wagon.

I had a great time knowing that I am teaching my kids a little bit about the importance of fruits and vegetables.

It is nice to see them learning about how the fruits and vegetables that make it onto our table each and everyday are grown.

We ate, picked, and shopped.

At the farm, they sell a salsa verde made in Encinitas.

It is spicy, fresh, and fantastic.

I even saved half for some of my famous chili verde.

It is one of the oldest farms, and it is so charming and quaint.

The general store reminded me of one of those fruit/veggie stands we would stop at on our way up to San Fran on our little family vacations.

On the way back from our strawberry picking, our tour guide rattled off some very weird vegetable facts.

{She was so funny and told the best stories.}

Here are a couple:

• An apple, potato, and onion all taste the same if you eat them with your nose plugged.
  
• Avocados are poisonous to birds.
• If you put onions and potatoes in the same place, they will rot faster.
• Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
• Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them. A fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.
• Cranberry is the only flavor of jello that has real fruit juice in it.

We left the farm with four heaping baskets of ripe, delectable strawberries.

We have eaten our share of them with breakfast this morning.

We have eaten our share of strawberry shortcakes this evening.

We still have a ton left over.

I may try my hand at making some strawberry freezer jam this week.

{I would love any tips you all have to make that a success.}

*fingers crossed*

It was such a beautiful summer day, and it was the sweetest day because we spent it as a family eating, talking, and laughing.