Strawberry Delights

                                                 Fresh Strawberries picked from the farm

We went for Strawberry picking near Oxford. It was so calm and peaceful and totally away from the busy life. One can pick the fruits and vegetables as per their choice. We found very healthy plants. There were raspberries, gooseberries, black currants, red currants, strawberries, cherries, runner beans, garden peas. Nearby farm is available with all freshly grown vegetables.

We picked few raspberries and ate them fresh. Initially we struggle a bit to choose the right ones. Tried, tested and wasted few and then, mastered the art of picking them. Raspberries are so soft and delicate with lovely ruby colours.

Raspberries

Various stages of Raspberries

 Fully ripen fruits are very sweet and juicy, where as the unripe fruits are bit sour. It is bit difficult to differentiate the ripe and unripe fruits as they differ by very slight colours. One trick I found in picking the very ripe ones is, when you hold your fingers around the fruit and give slow movements, the fruit will come into your hands, where as the unripe fruit doesn’t and literally we need to pull it.

A fully ripened raspberry

Black currants

Aren't they resembling black pearls

Millets Farm House

Fresh vegetables at Millets Farm

 Red Currants

Accidentally we found a nest with little chick. Have a look at this cute chick.

A cute little chick peeping out of the nest

Strawberry plants

Strawberry clusters

A fresh delicate strawberry

There is a big difference between the farm fruits and the superstore ones. Not only the freshness, but also the taste differs a lot. In superstores though the fruit colour tempts, the taste doesn’t. Whereas the farm ones, even the unripe fruit tastes sweet if it matured enough.

Here are some strawberry delights.

Strawberry milk shake:

Select few fully ripe fruits, so that we don’t need to add extra sweetness. Remove the stalks and blend the fruits by adding sugar. Slowly add milk to this and pulse again until the milk blends well. Serve it immediately in a glass and top it up with ice.

Strawberry Milkshake

Strawberry yogurt smoothie

1 Cup yogurt

1 Cup Strawberry puree
2 tsp Honey

Select few fully ripe fruits and make them into puree using blender. In another cup beat the yogurt along with honey into smooth paste and slowly fold the strawberry puree into it and serve it cold. This is not only a healthy recipe but also a best substitute for ice creams.

Strawberry yogurt smoothie