U-pick Strawberries and Shortcake!

Apparently, Saturday was National Strawberry Shortcake Day.  Who makes up all these days, really?  It's a little too much sometimes.  But, I'll take this one since it's probably my favorite late spring/early summer dessert.  Without even knowing this, we hit the road Friday and went out into the country a bit to find a u-pick strawberry farm near us, Yankey Farm.  I have picked grapes, blueberries, and apples other places but never actually picked strawberries before.  It was super easy, and my almost two year old really enjoyed it.  The four year old was a little hesitant for some reason, but it was a good mama and sons outing.

Yankey Farms has a pretty simple set-up, basically a tent in the middle of the strawberry field (with a port-a-potty nearby), but did accept credit cards as well as cash.  For $4 you could pick a pint, and for $20 you could fill a huge bucket.  Prices were slightly higher to buy already-picked pints/buckets that were available as well.

I decided to let each boy pick a pint, and realized I should have brought a handled basket for Eli to put his in so they didn't get spilled.  I should have had them both in rain boots since it has rained a lot this week, and they love puddles.  But otherwise, it was a perfect activity for my two little guys.

We decided to make some strawberry shortcake with our haul, and plan to make some popsicles too (though Theo wanted to make "carrot popsicles" instead).  I love a good biscuit-like cake for my shortcake, and wanted to share the recipe I use here:

Directions:
•    Quarter 2-3 pints of strawberries and toss them with ½ cup of white sugar. Set aside to macerate.
•    Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.
•    In a medium bowl combine 2 1/4 cup flour, 4 tsps baking powder, 2 Tbsps sugar and 1/4 tsp salt.
With a pastry blender cut in 1/3 cup shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add 1 beaten egg and 2/3 cup milk. Stir until just combined.
•    Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in pan on wire rack.

To serve, slice cake in eighths, and then slice each piece in half height wise as well.   Separate and top bottom piece with strawberries and whipped cream, and then repeat with top layer.

 Theo requested I take his photo as well.  And yes, he is wearing snowman pajamas.

Soccer Mom and Apple Picking

 This past weekend I officially became a "soccer mom".  I drive an SUV (crossover) already, so it wasn't a stretch to become an actual soccer mom as we drove Theo to his first ever game.  He was pretty adorable running around the field, and would wave and shout "Mom!" to me when he ran by.  Too cute.  He did well (listened, cheered, stayed near the ball), and was one of only a couple who made it through the game without crying or throwing a fit, so that was excellent.

Eli was a great cheerleader too!

 

Afterwards we decided to unofficially start Autumn a little earlier than Sept. 22nd by heading out to the mountains to find an apple picking spot. 

Doing some quick research online I found that there were a couple off of I-66 about an hour from where we live.  This is what I refer to as NOVA wine country, since when driving through here before I noticed that there are several exits in a row, exits with as many as four signs for the local wineries.  In earlier days of our marriage we would have been stopping there for a taste, but with two boys in tow we went to the more family friendly apple orchard instead.

There are two orchards here to choose from.  One charges a fee to come in and has many activities, corn mazes, and a festival feel; the other has apples.  We chose the simpler one today (Stribling Orchard), and weren't the only ones that did.  The place was pretty full of families, but we still felt like we were the only ones there and enjoyed some peaceful family time in a beautiful setting.  Pictures can't really do justice of how beautiful it really was to be in such a calm, quiet place in the middle of the rolling hills. 

When you arrive here, you can drive right up to the check-in station where you can get bags, pickers, and a map.  Then you can either park there near the store, or drive out into the orchard and park nearest your favorite tree.  If you choose to walk like we did, you could probably use a stroller for your non-walker if you wanted, but we chose just to carry him today.  It was a little warm for a carrier.

Theodore has learned from Daniel Tiger that, "If you can't do it alone just work together!"  This seemed to be his motto for the day.

The McIntoshs were ready, so we picked those (though they did say you could pick other varieties if you really wanted to).  Like most places, they placed ribbons on these trees so you would know which ones were ripe.

Our big bag, and Theo's tiny bag for himself and Eli.

Once done, we headed up to the shop to pay.  The shop contained many different types of canned products, as well as some local products like eggs, cheese, and peanuts.  Here Theo learned the difference between jam and jelly (we call everything jam around here for some reason). 

The aroma coming from the baking pies there smelled so delicious that we had to buy at least some baked product at the time.  We picked up some "apple sticks" and had a little picnic in the shade of the trees.  Both boys relaxed and played and we enjoyed soaking up the sun on this last drop of summer/first taste of fall.

Plans for apples:  Apple Salsa, Applesauce, a pie or two, and fruit salad

Local Attractions: Northern Delaware

Delaware Museum of Natural History:  Interesting exhibits for parents, and this place had a great room designed just for hands-on play for little ones.  We could probably spend at least an hour there alsone.  I wish I could make Theodore's room look just like this!

Camden Children's Garden:  We had a great time here with our cousins!  This place has limited hours, but kids two and under are free and the rest are $6 if you can go a time that they are opening.  Theo loved the carousel, as well as the ability to run around outside and see exhibits.

Milburn Orchards:  In addition to picking fruit, they have a petting zoo year round and a newly remodeled farmer's market.  They also have a playground, wooden train, sandbox, and other outside attractions for the little ones to play on.

 Adventure Aquarium:  Similar to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, a great place to spend the day.  Is better in the afternoon, as school groups tend to dominate the exhibits in the morning.  They have many touch tanks for the kids to feel the creatures.

Delaware Children's Museum:  This is a fairly new museum, where we can spend an hour or two with our active toddler.  There are quite a few different exhibits, but T. spent a large amount of time at this one last time:

August was a fun month!

Theo got to revisit some of our favorite places this month, as we started looking toward another busy fall semester.  With the hurricane and earthquake added on, he had quite a few learning experiences this month!!

http://www.woodsidefarmcreamery.com/  (DIRT Sundae!)

http://www.brandywinezoo.org/ (The tiger is back!)

The Pool! (sorry, no pics)

Kilby Cream (I love the glass milk jugs!)

http://www.milburnorchards.com/(Grape picking!)

And daddy's birthday!  (The last one where Theo has young parents!)