~strawberries~

I'm already looking forward to strawberry picking season.  Although the soil is not ready for planting yet, it sure felt like it today with the weather at 67 degrees.  It is such a beautiful "winter" day, although I am so anxious for Spring. 

We usually only have a couple of plants growing at home in my favorite purple pot on our back patio.  We don't harvest too many at home, but the boys enjoy watching these as they change from their white flowers, to the "green small strawberries", to the light pink and then vibrant, red, plump, juicy fruit.

We make an annual trip, a.k.a."Adventure", to a local strawberry patch to pick most of our strawberries that I use for making freezer jam.  Last year we hit the patch late in the picking season and got the last crop.

Yesterday I was cleaning and washing a couple of quarts of strawberries in the sink.  I've done this for years, but I tried something new this time. It was an epiphany!!  And after I was done, I wondered why the heck had I not done this before!  Don't laugh.. I know you've been guilty of this, too. 

Are you ready to hear what amazing thing I learned??

It will forever change the way you wash, clean, and "de-stem" your fruit.  Here it goes:

I ran luke warm water in the sink, over my hands, while holding the berries instead of freezing, ice cold water.

Call me a slow learner, if you must.  Laugh... you might. But I felt like I had just passed a really hard exam with flying colors.

So, if you've been guilty of letting the cold water run wild
while cleaning your fruits and veggies
(like I have forever.. and why!?!) 
give it a try...

move the handle over...
your hands will thank you!

Life changing, I tell ya!