Strawberry Serendipity

One of the many great things about being retired, is that I have time for the unexpected.  For instance, strawberries on sale for $1.49 a quart.   My days start with a general plan in mind, then I find something like this, which means an additional task to be tackled.

Washing and cutting the berries took about an hour.  That wasn't time I had planned for during my day, but something that needed to happen promptly.  I purchased three containers and that meant quite a lot of time slicing.  This is why I tell people who ask me how I spend my time that it's "mostly chopping!"

The tops that are hulled -- including the leaves, never go to waste.  While I had extra time to cut up the berries, I didn't have time to make veggie slop for the pup.  A big bag of cauliflower scraps was already being stored in the puppy freezer, so this was nestled next to it, then later used in the same batch.  Now that I have extra freezer space, I set aside the scraps to make veggie slop when I have time set aside for it.
 

Some of the berries went into a plastic container that was sent off to work with TBG.  I like to make sure he always has fresh berries at work.  He makes sure to have plain yogurt on hand.  This way we ensure he always has a healthy snack.  I also filled a large quart sized freezer zippy so that I'd have berries the following week for pancakes or muffins.

Of course we also made sure to set some aside for dessert!

A large amount of the berries were made into freezer jam.  My proportions weren't on target, and this was a little more syrupy.  That is OK by me! I love this stuff over pancakes, waffles, ice cream, mixed in yogurt, etc.  At $1.49 a pound, we had some berry good times!

When I was working, I'd have had time for maybe one quart.  Now that I have my days free, I can seize this kind of deal and really make the best of it.