Childhood Fruit & Veggie Memories

I'm reading about different friends picking berries and it brings me right back to my childhood. Do you have some fond memories like these? Growing up in the Garden State it was all around us....

Some of my best memories are of my Mom, two Grandma's and me going on expeditions down to South Jersey to" pick your own" Blueberry, Blackberry and Raspberry Farms. It would be an all day trip then we'd spend the next day making jams, jellies, freezing, baking pies, etc. Then at other times of the year it was time to go to the peach or apple orchard. We never ate them when they weren't in season, we ate them in season and preserved them for the winter. Picking up juicy bushels of apples that were crisp and chilly in the morning can't be beat. I think that's why I don't like apples as a fruit now - just can't compare to "fresh off the tree" MacIntoshs...

I often hope that 18 years of growing up in a home with avid organic gardeners has residual effects on my body because we never bought veggies. We'd have rows of tomatoes, corn, beans,peas, brussell sprouts, scallions, broccoli, zucchini, rhubarb, peppers, melons, cucumbers, asparagus, strawberries and occasional experimental crops. I wish today I could have one more day in that kitchen with Nana and Mom runnning the tomatoes through the mill separating the seeds and skins then canning the juice and pulp to make homemade sauce in the winter. Or sitting on the back porch snapping beans and peas with Nana - racing to see who could snap the fastest - then we'd blanch them then flash freeze to eat later. When the raccoons would get the first ear of Silver Queen Sweet corn we knew to pay attention - we'd pick them off the stalk, strip the husks then straight into the pot of boiling water - I've never had such sweet corn since. We'd freeze the kernals too for the best corn in the dead of winter. Same thing with the pear tree - we'd pick them up off the ground and race the critters for those ripe treats. Even though we had asparagus it was never enough for Nana so if we were driving around she'd scope out wild asparagus patches while they were blooming. We'd remember where they were then go back at the right time of year to harvest the young stalks.

It was fun going on the berry excursions - guaranteed pint baskets full - but what was even more exciting was when they were ripe in the meadows by our house. It was Blackberry Dove time - Nana's special summer treat. If my Dad and I would search and bring back the fruit Nana would whip up a batch - only in the summer when the fruit was at it's peak.

Here's the recipe:Blackberry Dove (Nana's recipes were never written down - in her head - so here is what I wrote down)"Fresh Blackberries to cover the bottom of a pot. Water to cover berries - cook for a few minutes. I use Bisquick. Make as directed on box. I add an egg to the bisquick - mix good. Put 1 T at a time on top of berries. Put cover on and steam 15-20 min - make sure heat not high. Sauce for top: 2T Flour, 4 T sugar, butter the size of a walnut. Mix all together then add water and put on stove until creamy and thickened. Scoop dumplings and berries into bowl then drizzle with the sweet sauce."

Thanks for reading my memories...would love to hear yours...