It's Strawberry Season... Now Go Out and U-Pick 'Em!

Ah, winter in Florida (yes, it is winter my fellow Floridians). Time for navel oranges and fresh strawberries! Now, I have not been to the Plant City Strawberry Festival, so I can't compare, but I found a great place to take the kids strawberry picking right up S.R. 441. While heading back from lunch in Mt. Dora a couple of weekends ago, we passed a sign that read "U-Pick Strawberries" and a big arrow. Grandpa reasoned that if the sign was out, then they had to be open so we followed the arrows. A few miles and a dirt road later and we arrived at Oak Haven Farms. Yeah! They were open! We parked by the farm store and found out that we were there for the second weekend of strawberry season and it had come a little early this year. If we wanted to pick our own, it would be $1.99 a pound, or we could just buy the ones they had already picked for $3 a pound. We decided to "U-Pick" and grabbed a long cardboard box to put the berries in. We were told to head to where the other pickers were and the Oak Haven employee there would tell us what to do. BB dashed off to the strawberry fields with LB quickly following behind. Wow, I guess they were excited! The Oak Haven farmer gave us an orange flag that we were to put at the end of the row of strawberries we picked so they would know that row was done and not to send others down that row. All we had to do was find a row without an orange flag at the end. The boys and Grandpa had a GREAT time. The boys liked to find the ripe red berries and even my 3-year old started to learn that the red ones were good and the green ones were not yet ready. BB learned how to pick the berries pretty quickly but I had to guide LB a little bit. At first, he would just reach for the red berry and pretty much squish it. I taught him to use two hands and hold the stem with one hand and then pull the berry by the green part with the other. I had to help him pull but he did really good. The berries were nice and big and really ripe, but not too soft. At the end of the row, we realized we had actually picked a lot of berries.

Turns out, when our booty got weighed at the store, we had picked 3 pounds worth! They were really sweet and juicy too -- no sugar needed here! I was also excited to get back to the store because I saw that they had fresh strawberry milkshakes for sale as well. Unfortunately, I found out that, since it was only the beginning of the season, that they didn't have enough staff yet to man the milkshake counter but that they would in January. That seals the deal - I'll have to come back.

To get to Oak Haven Farms, take S.R. 441 North through Mt. Dora (past Hwy 46), and then turn right (East) on Wolf Branch Road. Take Wolf Branch Road for 2.5 miles and then turn left (North) on Bird Road. Bird Road is a dirt road and you'll see Oak Haven Farms on the right-hand side. Oak Haven Farms is not open everyday so you can call them at 352-735-1996 to see when they are going to be open.

Does anyone else have a favorite U-Pick 'Em place? I know there are some blueberry ones and corn ones as well. Let me know!

Restaurant Review: Carrabba's Italian Grill, Clermont, FL

Tonight I took my big boy (BB) and little boy (LB) to the Clermont Carrabba's to meet Grandma and Grandpa for dinner. There are several Carrabba's in the Central Florida area but I believe this is the newest one. Grandma called ahead to get our name on the waiting list, yet we still waited about 30 minutes to get a table. For some unknown reason, Clermont restaurants ALWAYS have a long wait. Here it was, a Wednesday evening at 6 pm, and we had a half hour wait! I guess Clermont residents have been literally starving for new restaurants in the area and now that several open up each month, they want to make sure they stay in business. I actually didn't have high expectations of what our experience might be at this restaurant. Grandma and Grandpa told me their first experience at the new restaurant a few weeks ago was terrible -- the food was cold and the service was horrible. But, they were willing to try again and we were all glad they did. We had the most wonderful server who was very attentive and was great with the kids. It turned out that Ashley was studying to be a preschool teacher and told us how she loved working with kids. How perfect is it to have a server like that? She quickly took our drink orders and let us know that it was still Happy Hour and "real" drinks were 2 for 1. Grandma and Grandpa took her up on that deal and ordered two sangrias. Ashley quickly came back with our drinks as well as hot bread and a bread dipping sauce made with herbs, spices, and olive oil. While the boys were stuffing themselves with bread, I perused the menu. Carrabba's has a pretty standard Italian menu with pasta dishes and pizzas along with some specials of the day and several interesting choices in Pasta Specialties and From the Grill. From the Grill features various preparations of chicken, seafood, and steaks that come with soup or salad plus a side dish. These run in the $15 - $20 range and sounded too filling for me. I went with Mezzaluna in the Pasta Specialties which was half-moon ravioli filled with chicken, ricotta and spinach in a tomato cream sauce. Grandma had the same as I did and Grandpa went with a bowl full of mussels steamed in a white wine and butter sauce. The kids menu was a coloring/activity book that had the offerings on the back. BB loves getting an activity book and crayons as a menu and quickly started filling out all the pages of his book. LB just scribbled happily. Kids' entrees are $4 - $5 and come with a beverage -- a big plus in my book as my kids rarely finish their drinks. LB went with the cheese pizza while BB got the cheese ravioli and went off the menu with his sauce, preferring an alfredo to the offered Pomodoro sauce (ah, my little gourmet, I was so proud). Of course Ashley said that would be no problem. The food quickly arrived and was all delicious. LB decided he wanted to eat a little bit of everybody's food although he liked BB's food a little too much and got a little cranky when he couldn't have more of the ravioli in the white sauce. We were able to placate him with the mezzaluna and he calmed down. Ashley returned to the table several times to refill drinks and bring more bread. We ended up bringing several types of ravioli home to save for my husband who had been working. All in all, a very pleasant experience and good food.