Strawberry Smiles

Strawberry Smiles

Why Strawberries Make Me Smile

Hey Cotton Stalkers! I’m happy we’re able to chat again, maybe next time it won’t be so long? Anywho, I was thinking about our next topic the other day and while researching, I came across an interesting idea. I really never thought about it before but I asked myself, “When was the last time you had a strawberry and didn't smile?” I really thought hard on this and I can never remember eating a strawberry and not smiling immediately after taking that first juicy, sweet bite. Although I really like strawberries, it is not my favorite fruit, so why does it create such a feeling of immense joy and simple pleasures? Well since I’m not a scientist, theorist, or even a chef, I can’t properly provide you with a 100% correct answer but, the great thing about our world is that the answers we seek sometimes aren't found in books or mounds of data. They seem to come from a source more close to home, the heart. I truly believe that some things can incite forgotten emotions and memories we have long ago pushed aside. Being a child from the South, it was rare that we got strawberries from grocery stores. Sometimes we may get some extra strawberries from an old farmer’s market, but those times were only when we needed more berries than we had time to pick on short notice. I do remember going out to find fresh strawberries on the vine while the sun was just starting to crest over the horizon. I can still see the morning dew on the bright green leaves, creating small rainbow prisms where the sunlight rays touched them.  I remember making lists at night about how many strawberries we would need to make all the delicious treats for the next day. We needed strawberries for: Kool-aid with the sliced strawberries mixed throughout, Homemade Strawberry Popsicles, Strawberry jam for toast and buttery biscuits, Strawberry Jello with chunks of real strawberry, and Butter cookies with strawberry centers! When I think about delectable treats like these, I understand why I unconsciously smile every time I eat a strawberry. Now the years have taken not only me but my taste buds far from those simple, child-like treats, to a more adult palate. Not to mince words or anything because I love a lot of the delicious, tantalizing, and sometimes downright sensual dishes that involve strawberries, but nothing, absolutely nothing can compare to those simple strawberries that Mother Nature brought to perfection. We found the world in those strawberries, or at least the world through the eyes of a child. We could have strawberry jam and buttered biscuits or jam on buttered toast for breakfast, we could have strawberry fruit salad with yogurt for lunch, and we could have strawberry pie for dessert after supper.  We could eat three meals a day and they could all involve strawberry, yet no one thought anything of it or ever got bored. Times were simpler then and our family showed love for one another through food. No matter what kind of day you had, it was something about slicing into that strawberry pie with that flaky, buttery crust that let you know everything was going to work out just fine and if things didn't go your way, then there was a place that had a cool drink and a warm piece of pie to welcome you, and that place was called HOME.

As I come to a close, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to read this blog.  I would say “my blog” but I feel like it’s “our” blog.  I want you to feel like you've just come home every time you stop by.  So by all means, come in, take your shoes off, and let’s talk for a while…

P.S.

If you have some topics that you would like to see discussed, then drop us a line on facebook, a tweet on Twitter, a letter by email, or note tied to a carrier pigeon’s foot…however you reach us, we’ll just be glad you did. Email Me: southernkiss@thecottondiaries.com