“I’m amazed at how Midwestern you’ve become,” one of my friends, a friend who reads the blog occasionally, remarked not that long ago. “I would have never have expected you to be like that when you moved from D.C.”
I still fight strongly for my East Coast sensibilities…I will defend my non-Midwestern status to the death, people…but I’m going to have to admit that I spent last night in pursuit of the following activities:
- I took just over a quart of strawberries I bought at the farmer’s market, cleaned and hulled them, and then individually froze them so I could stick them all in a big freezer bag and save them for winter, when a farm-fresh strawberry will be better than any anti-depressive drug they’ve got on the market.
- I put a roast in the slow cooker liner, threw in a bunch of ingredients, then stuck the whole thing in the refrigerator to rest until morning, when I will put it back in the slow cooker and cook it all day. (OK, I was doing that kind of stuff in D.C., but in combination with the strawberries? TOTALLY Midwestern.)
I even gave a five-second thought to using those strawberries to make freezer jam. Look. How. Far. I’ve. Come.
Next thing you know, I’m going to be making Walking Tacos at home.
Genie, it was bound to happen… but it all sounds good! I’m not Midwestern, but now you’ve got me thinking about freezing strawberries for winter….
Strawberries are a great anti-depressant.
I ate a pint last night and made a strawberry-rhubarb pie.
Maybe I should move to the mid-west.
Nope, you’re not there yet. Because a real Midwesterner would look incredulous and think (not say), Well how else do you suppose we’ll have strawberries in the winter? :-)
Come over to the dark side. Mwahahahaha! Let me know when you start smelling the air outside to try to predict the weather. If you then argue with your neighbors about your predictions you can never again return to the land of the non-midwesterner.
If you had just waited a day or two with that roast, you could have put in some new taters and a graden fresh onion or two and had a fresh salad to boot! that was our supper last night, pork roast(home raised)cooked with new taters, garlic scapes,wild mushrooms and of course, lots of gravy and a fresh salad with leeks. yummmm Life is GREAT in the Midwest, we are glad that you are here!
Ha! I got a note from my editor the other day about a piece I wrote saying it was “crotchety and midwestern” It sorta gloms onto you doesn’t it? I need to freeze some antidepressant strawberries. I get the S.A.D. something horrible.
You’ll know you’ve arrived when you find yourself walking through your garden, nibbling on unwashed produce (it DID just rain) and spitting out seeds, when appropriate.
I was rather shocked the first time it happened to me!
Yummy looking berries! You mean Mid Westerners are different than the rest of the country? LOL
Lydia, I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to taste those berries when I need a hit of summer.
Chigiy, I haven’t cooked with any rhubarb this year…and I may have missed the window. Wish I could have tasted some of that pie!
Alanna, well, yeah, you are right…I’ll know I’m an actual Midwesterner if/when you ever deem me one. You are the arbiter! :-)
Michelle, no, I’m not yet smelling the air. Yet.
Farmer Mark, I’m glad I’m here, too. And I did enjoy those new potatoes with some of the leftover roast and, well, YUM.
Steven, some people would consider that a compliment!
Katiez, I did some of that last year, but will do more this year, I bet. It takes some time to really acclimate. :-)
Iowa Gardening Woman, different? Never! LOL…