Strawberry Season in Hampton Roads, Virginia

With strawberry season in Hampton Roads winding down, I thought I'd share what my strawberry season has looked like. I did not make it to the Pungo Strawberry Festival this weekend:( Hope some of you did! On the other hand, Ava and I did go strawberry picking recently. Believe it or not, this was the first time I'd ever done this! We had visited Full Quiver Farm for one of their Open Farm Days one recent Saturday, and before we left we asked the family if there were any pick-your-own fields nearby. The family recommended that we go to nearby Greene's Strawberry Farm (757-539-8033), on Raleigh Drive off of Route 58 in Suffolk.

We nearly had the field to ourselves.

Greene's Strawberry Farm in Suffolk

Ava did not pick very long...she left me and went to hang out with the farm employees.

Ava makes friends wherever she goes.

Ava and a young Miss Greene

Our strawberry picking was cut short because a nasty looking storm was on the horizon, but also because Ava had to use the bathroom. So, I did not get my money's worth, but I'm just glad I got to go pickin'.

Greene's Strawberries

With the strawberries we picked, I made strawberry muffins with a recipe I found on the Buy Fresh Buy Local Facebook site.

Click here for the Strawberry Muffin Recipe

Our friend and neighbor, Katherine, also did some strawberry picking this season at Lilley Farms in Suffolk (757) 435-2085. She enjoyed it so much that at the peak of the season she would frequently go pickin' on her lunch break. One day she was in heels! That's dedication! Katherine shared a whole lotta strawberries with us during that time. With the Lilley Farm strawberries, I made strawberry bruschetta. I started with Ciabatta bread, sliced it thin, spread a thin layer of cream cheese and added sliced strawberries and drizzled local honey over top. The honey was from beekeeper Bill Frank from Roseland, VA (757-724-2337) - I bought it at Five Points Community Farm Market in Norfolk.

strawberry bruschetta

The third way I acquired strawberries was by purchasing them from Poor John's Farm by way of Clarke Farm. This time I drove right past the Lilley Farm pick-your-own field:)

I also made a few other no-recipe-involved dishes for John. This was a salad with a variety of lettuces from our garden, Poor John's Farm strawberries, avocado (obviously not from around here), and pecans.

The next dish was a salad on a flatbread that I bought from the Heritage Natural Market in Virginia Beach. I sautéed some sweet onions from Clarke Farm, then tossed them with sliced strawberries and a little balsamic vinegar.

Meanwhile, I warmed the flatbread with some butter on the stovetop. I then topped it with lettuces from our community garden, the strawberries and onion balsamic mixture and toasted pecans.

I think John liked it:)

I guess raspberry picking will be starting in a month or less. Clarke Farm should be having pick-your-own raspberries for the first time this year, so please keep them in mind!

We definitely plan to pick blueberries this season for the third year in a row. (I'll be making blueberry cheesecake like crazy!) We like Erwin Orchards in Zuni (757-562-0156) and Drewry Farms in Wakefield - the site of the Blueberry Jam Festival on June 23rd! Check out their Facebook site for details. Sounds like it's going to be a really fun time!

Finally, here's a great site for finding pick-your-own farms in your area:)

http://pickyourown.org/