This weekend marked the beginning of summer on the calendar, and the weather responded accordingly by finally giving us a bit of heat! Although it came with a few downpours, I was happy to stroll out into bright sunshine this morning, soak up the rays and even the humidity.
Besides the sunshine, one of the best things about summer time is the berries. In the winter, berries are hard to come by, expensive, and they lack in flavour and colour. And then suddenly in June, there is a strawberry explosion. Ripe, juicy, bright red, pieces of heaven are being picked daily by farmers and eaters alike. The best part is, it's all happening right here in Ontario.
After having a few containers of packaged and shipped strawberries from the grocery store, I was happy to be switching out my frozen for fresh, but I was also craving the kind of fresh strawberries that smell like earth and sunshine, and taste of juicy sweetness. I needed fresh picked Ontario strawberries.
So when I strolled by the Leslievillle Pumps Kitchen and noticed a new fruit stand out front, my heart skipped a beat. If you haven't heard of the Pump's before, it's one of Toronto's unique little eateries, hidden inside one of the least likely places for good food - a gas station. But it is good food, offering up breakfast and lunch sandwiches with ingredients like maple glazed smoked peameal bacon and farmer's sprouts with sides of corn fritters or poutine, to name just a few. Tack on an outdoor patio equipped with picnic tables and greenery and you've got a winner. Add in a strawberry stand, and well, you've got a bonus cash prize!
A basket of the delicious red fruit goes for $5 which competes with the usual St. Lawrence market prices, and the stand will be there every Saturday (and possibly Sunday if it continues to go well) all summer long, offering whatever fruit they have picked from the farm that morning. Strawberry fields forever!
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