I opened up the N&O this morning to discover the following headline in the food section: “A BECKONING BOUNTY.” That’s right, my friends—berry season is upon us!

Berry picking has always been a favorite summertime pastime in our family. As a child, I remember going to Trax Farms and returning with armfuls of fresh strawberries. My mom transformed the bounty into sweet and delicious strawberry jam.

We reinstituted the tradition two years ago with our visit to Petals from the Past for fresh blueberries and black berries.

And last year, Seth and I headed to Waller Family Farm for loads of strawberries.

What’s your favorite kind of berry? Have you ever gone berry picking?

For eating straight-up, blackberries are definitely my favorite, but for smoothie-makin’ I like blueberries better—I hate having those blackberry seeds in my smoothies.

Speaking of blueberries, I had some with my breakfast this morning…but sadly, they were of the dried variety.

Today’s lunch was a Tuscan Tuna Salad, inspired by a meal plan I saw in the most recent issue of Clean Eating. It was plenty tasty (peppery arugula, salty beans, fruity balsamic, oh my!), but it ended up kind of ugly. Next time I might add some more vibrant vegetables to prettify it.

The evening meal was decidedly brunch-y in theme, as I paired cheese grits with a fried egg and Ellie’s Asparagus with Lemon & Tarragon.

My tweak:

-I used dried tarragon leaves, as I couldn’t find fresh tarragon anywhere. Reason # 867 why I need to start my herb garden, pronto!

The asparagus tasted fresh and spring-y, but the combination was hardly innovative. Lemon makes all vegetables taste so verdant—I should really use it more often!

Just one more day of class left in the semester…think I can make it?

I’ll check in again soon to announce the winners of the NuNaturals Giveaway!

Filed under: Meals