It’s been a month and a half since I last wrote in this space (sorry!) May and the first half of June have been busy - with every ounce of my spare time and energy allocated to rebuilding the garden. I talked a little bit about how I had to dig up my established garden beds of 6 years in my last post, and won’t bore you with the details in this post - but I feel like I’m coming up and out on the other side of it for some air finally. Maybe my next post will be a full garden update?

For today’s post, I wanted to share some photos from a day out in Long Valley, NJ earlier this month. It was such a beautiful, sunny, “top 10” day - which has felt like a rarity this year. If you live here on the east coast, you know it’s felt a whole lot more like the PNW and has been unseasonably wet for us. I’m not mad about it though - everything is so green and lush. But when I saw a day like this in the forecast? I knew it couldn’t go to waste.

I started with a quick hike at one of my favorite parks - Schooley’s Mountain. I knew that there were irises up in the meadow overlooking the lake, but it had been a few years since I had caught them in bloom. To my delight, they were opened up and on full display. I also made my way to the overlook and waterfalls - which were so full and flowing with so much water from all the rain.

Next, I stopped by Long Valley Peonies - a peony farm with over 65 varieties of peonies to see / smell! They had been on my list of places to visit for the longest time, and I finally made it there this year to catch their peak bloom. It was such a breathtaking sight - especially with the surrounding green rolling hills as a backdrop. The fluffiest flowers juxtaposed with the fluffiest clouds. I learned that different varieties had different scents - which I thought was so fascinating. So glad I decided to go. The flowers are past bloom now, and they are officially closed for the season - but please do add them to your itinerary for next year (and years to come)!

The main stop of the day was Ort Farms for strawberry picking. It was also the last stop, as I didn’t want the berries to just be “cooking” inside of a hot car. Fortunately, all three of these places are under 10 minutes away from each other - so it really is possible to do everything in one day so long as you pace yourself.

There are so many other farms in the area, but Ort has been my favorite in recent years for PYO strawberries. I love the scenery (again, it’s the rolling hills for me 👌) - but their berries truly are top tier. They also recently upgraded their farm market (it’s now so much more spacious) and also newly launched vegan vanilla at their ice cream window. I didn’t get a chance to try it this time around, but it would have paired great with the strawberries!

all their differing shapes and sizes are just so cute :’)

One of the simplest joys of early summer is going berry picking and coming home with an abundance of locally grown ripe berries to play with in the kitchen for the coming week.

Here’s everything I made this year:

Strawberry Turnovers

I avoid turning on the oven during the summer as much as possible, but sometimes it’s worth it. I usually can’t resist baking (at least) one thing with freshly picked berries when they’re in season. This year, I was too lazy to do a full blown pie - so I opted to make turnovers instead. They are so much easier, and still embody the ✨essence✨ of pie. I watched this video as a loose guide, but essentially I didn’t measure much of anything.

I cooked the filling down (a couple handfuls of halved strawberries, a couple spoonfuls of sugar, squeeze of lemon juice) and thickened with a little corn starch slurry in a small saucepan. Let that filling cool completely while cutting the (pre-made) sheet of puff pastry dough into rectangles. I was able to make nine with one sheet. Fill one side of each puff pastry rectangle with the (cooked and cooled) strawberry filling, then fold the pastry onto itself. Seal the edges with a fork and a little water if necessary. Brush the tops with a little soy milk so they bake up nice and golden! Cut slits on the tops to allow steam to escape. The filling will likely still leak out / ooze a bit, but that’s okay. An ooey gooey delicious mess! Bake on a lined baking sheet for 30-40 minutes at 350 F.

Strawberry Matcha Latte

I reserved a bit of the juices from the turnovers to make a strawberry matcha latte. I’ve never been a coffee person, but in recent years I’ve really grown to love matcha. I tried 12 Matcha last month when I was in the city for MDW, and it was worth every bit of the hype. Anyways, trying matchas at different cafes has inspired me to upgrade the matchas I make at home. This was my first time attempting a strawberry matcha latte, and it was so good!

Spoon the thickened strawberry juices into the bottom of the glass, then add ice, milk of choice (I did soy milk), and matcha prepared as usual (whisked with hot water is how I do mine). So refreshing on a hot summer day!

The Fluffiest Vegan Pancakes (w/ Strawberries)

I used to be a boxed pancake mix girlie, but it really isn’t that hard to make them from scratch. This week, I tried this recipe by Ambitious Kitchen for “fluffy vegan pancakes” and it did not disappoint! They were sooooo fluffy. I served mine with peanut butter (slathered between each pancake), maple syrup, coconut whipped cream, and some cooked down strawberries on top. (I cooked them similarly to how I cooked the turnover filling, but didn’t thicken with corn starch).

My Go-To Salad (w/ Strawberries)

I make a variation of this salad throughout the year - and change it up depending on what’s in season. Strawberries in the summer and apples / dried cranberries in the fall! Here are the ingredients:

lettuce / arugula / kale (from my garden)
scallions (1-2 stalks) or diced slice of red onion
sweet potato / chickpeas (I usually pick 1 of the 2)
pasta (1-2 handfuls, I love fusilli or penne)
tofu
avocado
strawberries
mint (a couple leaves goes a long way)
roasted sunflower seeds (nut or seed of choice)
nutritional yeast
Trader Joe’s goddess dressing w/ balsamic glaze drizzle OR balsamic vinaigrette (pairs so well with the strawberries)

I’ll usually get the sweet potatoes (cubed, baked at 350 F for 30 mins) or chickpeas (in a pan with a little oil) and pasta going while I work on preparing / cutting up everything else. Feel free to omit any ingredients if you don’t have them or don’t like them - this is just what I like in my salad!

Overnight Oats (w/ Strawberries)

Once the weather warms, all I want is a cool and refreshing easy breakfast. I love that this basically feels like a dessert.

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup soy milk (or milk of choice)
spoonful of peanut butter (optional)
spoonful of matcha powder (optional)
a couple strawberries, diced

Basically just add (oats, chia seeds, soy milk) to a jar, shake to combine, and let it sit overnight. When serving, I like to smear peanut butter around a bowl and pour the overnight oats into that. Sometimes I’ll add cinnamon. I also tried adding matcha powder straight into the jar one day, and that was a yummy variation, too. Then, of course, top with fresh strawberries!

Strawberry Top “Tea”

Did you know the tops of strawberries are edible, too? I like to keep mine in a glass or small pitcher in the fridge and steep them in water to make “strawberry top tea.” It may not look the most aesthetic, but it’s refreshing! Once they’re done steeping, I’ll often throw the tops right into my salad (above) too, so they don’t go to waste. 😅

Have you gone strawberry picking yet this year? I hope this gives you some ideas on what to make if/when you do!

AMYVENTURES ON SUBSTACK

Thanks for reading amyventures! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.