En route towards the outskirts of Montreal, Québec...
strawberry fields are plenty this time of year.
Plenty...usually yes...
or, it could depend on where you end up.
Our outing proved to be a little more
exploratory than we could have imagined.
We merrily took the road in search for strawberry fields. Not too far from where we live...along the Mille-Isles, Laval River...the water level seemed quite disturbingly low.
photo source: unknown
A minor note...keep in mind the point I just made about the water being low.
Apparently, the one night when rain had come falling hard...90% of their berry crop got wiped out. This important fact, for some reason had slipped us by!?!
photo source: unknown
In these parts of Laval, Québec...our Summer strawberries only started a few weeks ago and only last week were they sweet enough for me to want to buy in bigger quantity.
Jams, desserts...and whatever else comes from the joy of getting all that sweetness in one gorgeous red berry were waiting to be created.
It seems like the last two years have not been very berry fruitful for me personally.
I've had a somewhat terrible timing in going to get my strawberries.
Yet, I used to be so timely when it came to gathering one of my favourite fruits.
Last year, we were away somewhere out of town and this year unfortunately
our puppy had not been well. Hence, the decision to forego our little yearly country
ride towards strawberry fields and had decided to postpone it for another day.
Therefore, last weekend, we were all good to go.
We were determined to get ourselves a big basket of strawberries.
soure: SouthernLiving.com
Beautiful flora was everywhere...
...Strawberry picking was sure to
be announced somewhere soon?!?
source: theStar.com
We also had a great look at...
beautiful horses.
beautiful horses.
You certainly didn't think we would have
a whiff of strawberries with the horses...did you?
Still determined to find those strawberries...
I asked Hubby to keep on driving.
We were not going home empty handed!
We came across beautiful country roads spotted by our traditional
rural Québécois ancestral homes dating back to the mid 1800s.
It was truly heart warming to see that such care was
given to these historic and still lived-in homes.
Unfortunately for us...it started to feel like it was
not going to be a fruitful picking on this particular day.
source: fruition.ca
not only were the summer strawberries sweet and plentiful...they weren't as pricey.
Therefore, to resume...
we ended up buying a basket from the tail end of the Summer variety and a
basket from the very beginning of what they call here as the 'Autumn' strawberry.
The latter is tasty...however, nowhere as sweet as it should be in the next few weeks.
Having driven around for what seemed too long for local berries...
we did manage to get a few things along the way.
Although the ride was absolutely delightful...
we found ourselves a tad bushed.
photo: jamesspan.com
Exhausted from our scouting
for non-strawberry fields...
Hubby quickly put together
a little picnic lunch.
While he took over that part of the kitchen...
I started giving a little thought on what to do with all these berries.
To think how set I had been on making strawberry jam with the sweeter berries.
Well...that certainly went out with the hand basket. LOL
Unfortunately, these early Autumn berries were not going to make the cut.
Therefore, how was I to figure out to handle this semi-pleasing berry?
Cover them all in chocolate like I had done here with my recipe for:
cold and creamy CHOCOLATE fondue dip
A great idea for sure...but not quite what I had in mind for today.
***
Ahh...yes, there were a few apples in the fridge waiting to be set in a compote.
I added an orange, a squeeze of lime, a little organic sugar, grated ginger
and a few strawberries to round off the fruits and lastly a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Once, I had the compote going...
...I quickly decided to cut some strawberries and have them macerate
in a little sugar and Grand Marinier for a later dessert.
Meanwhile, I also started preparing a chocolate sauce to accompany our
Vanilla Strawberry Choco Sauce Parfait.
As you can see...
nothing too complicated for today.
I hope you enjoyed riding with us throughout
this non-picking strawberry journey.
Have you ever had plans that have also gone the other route?
It was a pleasure having been given a chance to gently vent.
Thank you for indulging me ;o)
Flavourful berry wishes,
Foodessa
Comments or suggestions ... write me :o)
Comments or suggestions ... write me :o)
Claudia at: foodessa [at] gmail [dot] com
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