First of the U Pick Crops

U Pick will start this week with strawberries and hopefully some herbs. Make sure you only pick your allotment and be gentle with the crops. For the herbs, just pick small stems, leaving the plant to continue to grow for the next several weeks. With the other crops, again, be gentle and use 2 hands to pick, rather than pulling off the item.

Strawberries - everyone knows how to enjoy them, but a couple notes on storage: don't wash them until right before you eat them. As with a lot of other crops, water causes rotting, so keep them dry until you want to consume them. If you need to preserve them for use later, slice the green off and place on a cookie sheet and place in freezer. Once frozen, the berries can be placed in plastic bags for longer storage. Enjoy!

Dill - you know that dill is good when used for pickling. But do you know how great it is with fish - salmon was made to go with dill. It can be poached with dill added to the poaching liquid and/or chop it up and sprinkle the fish after cooking. Dill can be added to your favorite dips (such as tzatziki), and it makes a delicious Ranch Salad Dressing. Add it to tuna, shrimp, chicken and potato salad. And these are things to enjoy before the cucumbers are available!

Cilantro - enjoy cilantro even before tomatoes are ready! Add it to yogurt or sour cream for a topping on chili and stews. Add to rice along with a squeeze of lime. Add to your favorite vinaigrettes to kick up your salads. Combine it with salt, pepper, and a little oil and add to chopped veggies for a yummy cole slaw. Bok choy is great this way. Pasta salads are also great with cilantro.