< Empty Nest | Main | Locavores Talking the Talk >

Not quite strawberry time in Boise

Posted at 10:01 AM on June 6, 2008 by Scott Swendsen (4 Comments)

As I mentioned in my last blog, I am in a bit of a transition - at some point this summer, I am planning on moving back to Minnesota to be closer to my parents to assist with some long-term care issues.

So because of this, I have decided to put off canning and freezing a lot of the summer produce that I had originally planned on. I am worried that I may get a lot of breakage of glass canning jars from shifting around in the back of the U-Haul over the course of 3 days of interstate driving. In addition, the daytime temperatures in Wyoming & South Dakota and the sun beating down on the metal shell of the truck may heat up both the canned items beyond the normal "shelf" temperatures that a person wants for storing.

As for my frozen foods, even with dry ice, there is no way that I could move a "freezer-full" of food at a reasonable cost without spoilage. Therefore, I am going to concentrate on drying as much as I can and if it looks as if I am moving closer to the fall when temperatures in the Great Plains might be more manageable, then try to do some last minute canning & freezing.

But if any of you have experience in moving and bringing along your canned and/or frozen food, I would love to hear about it.

And speaking of drying food - there are a ton of herbs appearing now in the local gardens and farms, so am planning on a dehydrating session next week. And soon, fresh local strawberries - it was so tempting at the store yesterday - a half of a flat of California strawberries for $2.99! Buy two for $5.00! But I stuck with my local seasonal mantra - chanting it softly as a friend buys a flat, getting louder as the salesclerk discusses how wonderful they taste, and nearly hollering when my friend opens up the flat outside and takes a big bite of a plump, juicy strawberry! Some friend!!

Comments (4)

---

Hi Scott, Congrats on your resolve in leaving the non-local strawberries to your non-loyal friend! I'll be anxiously awaiting your dehydrating/drying post - this is something I'd like to learn. Moving and all the stuff that needs to happen to prepare for it is a challenge. Hang in there.

Posted by Donna McClurkan | June 7, 2008 11:48 AM

---

Hey Scott,
Good on ya about avoiding those California strawberries!
It is exciting that you will get to re-explore Minnesota good eats.
BTW I go to the Twin Cities every couple of years to visit my "play" parents, Tom and Ann O'Toole. I seem to recall a really delicious ice cream place (Izzy's?)from my visits.
There are often really good teacher workshops at UM-Minneapolis. Unfortunately the one I really want to go to is this month and we have to have packed up the school for the move by that week.

I will be interested in knowing how the drying flows.
Paulette

Posted by Paulette Thompson | June 8, 2008 4:08 PM

---

Hi, Scott. I don't have any tips on traveling with that much food. I feel very guilty, because this is the time for all types of berries in our area. I was also listening to Lynn's show today about strawberries. It' funny how I won't even look at the strawberries in the grocery store any more. They're so fresh and tasty from the farmers' markets around here. I did, also, eat a my first stawberry from my own plant on the back deck. My oldest son took a ceramics class and made a strawberry pot. Now I have all of these beautiful little strawberrier hanging over the sides. I'm sure your strawberries will taste even better after the long wait. Adios!
Laura

Posted by Laura Solorio | June 8, 2008 6:02 PM

---

Thanks Paulette, Donna & Laura for your postings! Sorry for the late response. I have been busy trying to deal with all of the flats of local strawberries that I have been buying since the season hit two weeks ago!

Paulette - I think that there is an Izzy's back in Mpls but the place I remember is the Grand Ole Creamery on Grand Avenue in St Paul - the line would snake out to the sidewalk and down around the block at times in the summer....

Laura - cool on your son's strawberry pot - I didn't realize it could be made in pottery class - that would be a great reason to take a class! I always have wanted to buy one but with me moving all the time, it just wouldn't work out....

Thanks Donna for your comments on my resolve - it has been interesting in how easy it has become to say no if the product isn't local. My awareness in making food purchasing decisions has been definitely changed for the better in this regard.

See you all!

Scott

Posted by Scott | June 18, 2008 5:07 PM