Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Hoods Are Back
Heading down to the Saturday Farmers' Market in Hollywood (NE Portland), with new, bigger family in tow, I pass Beaumont-Wilshire resident F.F. and stop to talk. It's 9 a.m., but she's already been down the hill to the market, which opens at 8."I was freaked out about the strawberries," she confessed. Freaked out that they might run out. Ridiculous? Yes, but not on F.F.'s part. These are the Hoods, Oregon strawberries in full season right now, sweeter and more fragile than their leathernecked southern California cousins. These berries weren't made for shipping...they start to dissolve right in your hands.
As we neared the market, one person after another came trundling out, carrying flats and half-flats of these little red devils.
So we plunked down $13 for the half-flat...six pints (prices that I saw ranged from $12.50-$15, and with pints running between $2.50 and $3 or $3.50).
They didn't look like anything special. Lots of dirt, a range in color from almost pink to almost purple, lots of shapes, some grown together. And invariably some already past prime.I bought some horchata from a microentrepreneur. It needed a little ice. I found some.
Too many people couldn't resist eating the berries as they walked, subjecting me to something as uncomfortable as nails being filed: the image of someone biting into a large strawberry, all the way up to their gums. Bleh.
At home, washed them and went out to check our own berries (we've since eaten the three ripest). Soon, we will have our own berries. And, if this year's garden comes through, our own white beets, bibb lettuce, and fennel among other things that will probably either rot or get forgotten until mid-September.
The berries? The hype may be overripe, but the flavor is pretty sweet.
Serve with: Angel Food Cake, from a box, and Chocolate Ice Cream, from a box.
