Just the highlights…

<^> I went strawberry picking with a girlfriend on Sunday.  This activity has been on my radar for years and it was nice to finally give it a go.

I’m not really sure what the two of us were picturing though, because I definitely rolled up in sandals and a long scarf (with a giant iced coffee and a huge purse).

After we went back to the car to regroup, we got down to business (literally down, strawberry picking meant an hour crouching in the dirt!) and both came away with big cartons of tasty berries.

Glover Farms, if anyone local wants to go themselves.  We’d recommend it.

<^> As of June 2nd, Jamba Juice has added a fresh-squeezed juice menu at over 500 locations nationally.  They sent me a gift card so that I could try some out.  The card got here just in time, because I was at two different locations with Jambas this weekend so I was able to try two options.

Please note – I received a gift card so that I could sample the juice menu free of charge.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Let’s start with the negative – these drinks are not juices.  They juice the fruits, carrots, and beets, but then that juice is put into a blender with the greens, making this item a smoothie.  I started this argument with an employee and eventually gave up, but fresh-squeezed juice does not involve a blender.  Period.

That said, inaccurate marketing aside, the drinks were quite tasty and healthy.  Both flavors I tried had a good balance of sweet to green.  And every 16 oz “juice” has 2 full servings of fruit and/or vegetables for minimal caloric cost.  Tropical greens:

Super greens/apple/pineapple/chia.  210 calories in a 16 oz.

Garden Medley:

Super greens/carrot/apple/chia.  170 calories in a 16 oz.

<^> I haven’t blogged about them much, but I have been loving the almond thins that Nonni’s sent me.

The banana chocolate flavor is legit.  And I’m usually annoyed by things that are put in 100 calorie packages but the serving size feels perfect here.

<^> I ate homemade nachos while I watched the 2 hour season intro of Rookie Blue and I practically cried I was so happy.  Summer tv at its best.

I also had an episode of Awkward.  Best. Night. Ever.

<^> I finally got to try Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Now I totally get the hype; I tasted Zen Butter – sesame and peanut butter – and it was worth the buzz.  I chose taro and black sesame for my cup though.  The black sesame was amazing, super roasty and crunchy.

<^> Saturday’s dinner.

Asian flavors night.  Bok choy sautéed with green onions in evoo.  Towards the end I tossed in some thinly sliced Persian cucumbers that I quick-pickled in sugar and salt for 20 minutes.

A big pile of green curry turkey salad.

The salad was so good it’s getting its own recipe page.  I promise to get that up on the blog tomorrow.

<^> Sunday’s dinner.

Such a summery – vegetarian – plate!  Corn on the cob, of course.

With bbq tofu.  I rubbed TJ’s super firm extra-protein tofu with a homemade spice blend {brown sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, and curry powder} and baked it off before tossing the slices in a skillet with some bbq sauce.

Plus we had chard sautéed in evoo with salt, toasted hazelnuts and a drizzle of maple syrup.

That teensy pile of greens was what happened when I cooked down this big bunch.

I bought my greens at a tiny farmer’s market that was happening at the farm museum near my house.

My chard was picked the same day I bought it!  The only thing fresher is my strawberries 🙂

Have you ever picked your own berries?  We have our eye on apples this fall.