When I was a little girl, in early spring a man with a rigged up produce truck came to our neighborhood, with windows rolled down we could hear him as he called out…’Ber-ries, straw-ber-ries!’ It was an exciting sound, ‘Momma, Momma, it’s the strawberry man!’ We’d run to the road waving our arms for him to stop…gears grinding down he would roll to a perfect stop, so that the open wooden shelves could be seen. Little balsa wood pint boxes of perfect strawberries were displayed and exclaimed over. As we were dancing on tiptoe to get a better look, the strawberries would be bought- always more than we needed, always a few juicy ones that had to be eaten right away! To this very day, it is one of my most vivid childhood memories. As a young adult I was delighted to see strawberries growing in rich dark soil, the runners connecting the mother plants to their young…pale green berries hiding under leaves that looked like they had been cut with pinking shears., sweet white blossoms with sunny yellow centers, such a sweet sight! Two years ago, I decided to start my very own tiny patch, not for a big harvest more just for the fun of watching them grow and girl, let me tell you! There is nothing as sweet as a fresh picked, warmed by the sun strawberry ! Here in Alabama, it’s almost scandalous how right that groundhog was when he predicted an early Spring! I’ve been just dying to show y’all my little patch and how it’s coming along…
The pictures above were taken the first week of March, very early for Central Alabama! And I was able to buy early spring strawberries at the store, sweet and ripe even then! Now look at my patch in the pictures below- don’t you just love those pale green babies and sweet white flowers!
It’s so much fun to watch! Truly, they can be grown in containers, you just have to treat them as annuals…whatever room you have, start a little patch just for the experience of growing your own and showing the children what strawberries look like before they see them in plastic boxes at the store.Oh my, bless your hearts! I wish you could be here in a few weeks! If the birds don’t get to them before I do? I’m making a pound cake, not biscuits this time-to eat with those strawberries like we did about a hundred years ago, when the Strawberry Man came ’round!
Love y’all, Camellia
Eggs are plentiful this time of year, perfect time to make Deviled Eggs! And believe me darlin’ you’re gonna want to Shut de Door and keep de’ devils all to yourself! Start with six fresh hard boiled eggs. To make them easier to peel, once they’ve bubbled 3-4 minutes drain and plunge into a big bowl of cold water with ice to chill. Peel the eggs, slice in half and carefully remove the yolks into a bowl. If you have one, put the white yolkless halves on a plate made especially for stuffed eggs- the one pictured is my grandmother’s. Mash the egg yolks. Add a good mayonnaise- check the label! Homemade Mayo has oil, egg yolks and lemon juice. Find a commercial brand with at least those 3 ingredients. One of my favorites is Winn Dixie’s generic label. Add 2-3 tablespoons to mashed egg yolks until a good consistency, more if necessary, then add 1-2 teaspoons of yellow mustard, please don’t make this mix into a paste!
Camellia's Cottage 