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It seems the summer will soon be taken over by autumn. It is sad, but true. Fortunately I have had a good summer and am ready to taken on the many joys of autumn. However, Son and I came across a fruit vendor (or close to that at least: a man selling berries off a table near a gas station) who still sold Norwegian strawberries. I’m not much of a nationalist regarding strawberries, but I prefer buying local produce rather than strawberries that have barely had time to ripen before they are shipped across a continent to be placed in my local supermarket. I was surprised to see someone still sell strawberries, as I thought the season was over. The berries weren’t as sweet as they have been earlier in the summer, neither were they as red or juicy, but they definitely served their purpose well: the last local strawberries of the summer of 2011. We bought about a kilo worth of berries. Some we put on sliced of bread and sprinkled with a wee bit of sugar (just as much for the crunch as making them sweeter) the rest we ate straight from the box.
This summer I’ve tried strawberries from both Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and it is impossible to pick a favourite. However, they are all a lot better than the importer berries from Belgium and Portugal (there are the most common imported strawberries in Norway). I think I could live on strawberries alone during the summer, and some days I have been close to eating nothing but strawberries. Now, however, I am happy to wait some ten months before I again taste the delicious berries.
Usually when I start to let go of a season, and start preparing for the next, the weather god put on their sarcastic faces and completely surprise me. Some days ago I talked to someone about the weather, and we both agreed that autumn was just around the corner. Consequently the next days were the sunniest days we’ve had in a long time. There is a bit of a cold breeze though, and the shade is no longer as pleasant as it has been. I’m sitting outside at the moment, showered in the warm rays of the sun, but I’m still a bit cold, despite jeans and a sweater. I’ll pretend it’s still summer for a few more days though.
Strawberries are ‘jordbær’ in Norwegian, which translates directly to ‘earth-berries’ (pronounces something like ‘your bear’) Fun fact of the day 😉
Thanks for the Norwegian lesson there at the end 🙂 Strawberry bread looks fantastic too. It’s hard to let go of summer, but you’re right, autumn’s a bounty of good things too!
It is! I can’t wait for the local plums, apples and pears to dominate the tables of the fruit vendors in the city. Maybe you have a few recipes using plums that you could share as the autumn approaches?
Vi kjøpte Joabær siste dagen… Veldig tidlig slutt i år 😦
Tror de selge Hardangerber ennå, men di va på langt ner liga god… Tidlig slutt, og sikkert tidliger plommer og. Me får venta på di 😀
Yummmmmm I live about a mile from a local orchard/farm market. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, fresh produce, and a multitude of apples, pumpkins, and peaches are all grown there. You can pick your own if you want to. How lucky is that??
I hope you take advantage of it the best you can! There are few fruit vendors and farmer’s market in the area here, unfortunately most have been moved the supermarkets. Th number of farmers selling fruit increase in the summer, especially in the strawberry season, after that it is mostly restricted to a few places within the city boundaries.