Strawberries, Strawberries Everywhere...

This isn't exactly an entry about books, but...

I haven't gone strawberry picking since I was Lorelei's age...up in Erie, Pennsylvania, where my parents are both from.  I still remember looking out at the fields of strawberries, in awe of how much fruit there was to pick.  And the taste of the berries--so sweet!  I went with my Buschia (Polish for Grandma) and we'd go to her house afterward and help wash and clean the strawberries so she could make jam out of it.  Of course we'd munch on berries the whole time.  I am very excited to go!

Strawberry elves...can't wait to surprise Lorelei and Ben with these!

We've been talking about what to expect--will the berries be larger or smaller than those in the grocery stores?  Will they taste the same, or sweeter, or less sweet?  Will they be as small as the wild ones we've been finding in our woods?  Lots of questions...soon to be answered.  I love fostering my kids' curiosity, especially about food and nature.

Lorelei, Ben, and I have been crafting a list of ways to enjoy strawberries.  You better believe that I was thinking about (enter southern drawl here) Forrest Gump's buddy Bubba talkin' 'bout all the stuff he can do with shrimp.

Here's what we've come up with (most have links, many from my favorite kids/family cooking blog, weelicious.com, in case you're interested in the recipes):

Strawberry jam

Strawberry shortcake

Strawberry smoothie

Strawberry yogurt (we'll just mix in strawberries with plain yogurt)

Strawberry muffins

Strawberry ice cream (without an ice cream maker)

Strawberry and almond butter sandwich

Strawberry milk

Strawberry soup

Chocolate covered strawberries

Strawberry Popsicles

Strawberry "elves" (omg how cute are these?!) 

What have I forgotten?  And can we actually make ALL of these things?  It'll be a strawberry-filled long weekend for us...