Yesterday I went to a local, family owned strawberry field I had never been to before, drove by hundreds of times but never knew they opened for UPick. In fact, it may be the only UPick in Seffner (between Brandon and Plant City, FL). My friend and her husband, excitedly, called me about finding this place on Saturday afternoon. They described the berries as large, red, ripe and to good not to use it as an excuse to get some vitamin D! Since I was already planning on blueberry picking Sunday morning, I decided to do both. If they were as perfect as they described, how could I pass it up?! I only live about 3 miles from the farm, so I seriously had no excuse to at least drive by and check it out.

The owners/family was sitting out near the road, just a block west of Chastaine, when I pulled up. One of the women came to my car window with baskets to pick with, prices and directions to the best berries and told me to just drive over to them … it was a short walk from the roadside tent we were in front of, but I drove over as instructed. My friends were right, there were plenty of ripe, lucious berries ready to be picked. Probably the best quality berries I’d picked in a long time! At $.50 a quart, I let my back decide when I was done picking instead of my wallet!

When I was done picking my 5 quarts, I drive back to the Easy Up tent to pay and saw a few more families had arrived! Yes! Supporting our local farmers is always important!! I also grabbed a strawberry onion for a dollar. They are perfect for onion rings and my 14 year old loves my homemade onion rings!

Off to the next stop, Wishing Well Barn in Plant City for some blueberry UPick as I had originally planned! I’ve been a loyal IG follower of theirs for years… WWB is rustic barn wedding venue and they are always posting the most breathtaking wedding photos. I saw them post that they had blueberry UPick this weekend ….

http://www.wishingwellbarn.com/

I am not sure when they open but whomever I was planning my trip with through IG direct message and I agreed to be there at 9am. When I pulled in, a sweet grandmotherly woman met me at the wedding barn and chatted me up for a few minutes before she drove me, in her golf cart, to the blueberry field. She warned me that the berry bushes looked scrawny but were actually ripe and full.

I’ll agree, looks were deceiving, the scrappy little twigs were bountiful with ripe, large blueberries and I picked a little over a pound in about 15 minutes. In this case, since the berries were $4 a pound, my wallet told me to stop way before my back did!

I learned Wishing Well Barn had only been growing blueberry bushes for 2 years, such an impressive growth and product for 2 short years. I can’t wait to see how much more full the bushes will look next growing season!

Once I paid, I wished them luck in these horrific economic times our small, locally owned businesses are facing and went on my way. I promised my husband Danish Puffcakes with fresh fruit for breakfast! So home was my next stop!

I made these Puffcakes on Saturday morning and saved half. In a Ziploc baggie in my fridge. They heated up real well the next day… I wrapped them in foil and put them in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. They were as fresh and delicious as the day before.

I’d love to share this easy and crowd pleasing recipe with you (recipe will feed 4, so double as needed!).

I also made good use of my berries and made a yellow sheet cake to enjoy for dessert later that night!

Although we are all exercising social distancing, we should get out and get some vitamin D whenever we get the chance… And supporting your local farmers is a bonus!

Rachel