WHEN already ?!?
 Well, we’ve had quite a few phone calls and emails asking when those berries will be ready. We’re still hoping for a June 1 open for blackberries and mid-June for blues. The weather is now warming up and we’re seeing the green berries dusting with a little blue…wooohoo! We still have some mayhaws if there’s anyone who thinks you may want to try to do something with ‘em. We’ve had some wonderful new friends (new to us anyway) stop by and get their buckets of mayhaws. Seems like when someone gets a taste for mayhaw jelly, they just can’t go a year without it. (In case you’re wondering, a ripe mayhaw is about the same size as a blueberry and tastes like a slightly tart apple.) If you’re not ready to try to make your own jelly, we do have some mayhaw jelly already made and you can get it on our website as well as here at the farm. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by, it’s been a pleasure to meet you! We’ve got some pear trees that are also loaded, so we’ll keep you posted as to when you might be able to get some of those, too.
 As I was walking back from helping one of our guests out to the mayhaw trees this morning, I noticed a very few ripe blackberries. How exciting. I plucked one off the bush (very carefully, as it was a thorny bush) and brought it back to the house for inspection. I had to take a picture of course, and then I proceeded to rinse and eat that berry. It was juicy and had a very slight tang to it. Folks, you’re going to love the berries this year! Here’s to the first blackberry of 2010!
By way of reminder, we’re planning to open on June 1 for blackberries, but blueberries won’t be ripe until mid-June. The hours of operation for the 2010 season are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and Sunday. Every day, we will be open from 8am to 3pm. Do keep in mind however, that the best picking is earlier in the day and we don’t “hold rows” for people. We’re sorry if you’re not an early bird, but this is the way of the country and we’re going to roll with it.
By the way, don’t forget to “like” us on our facebook page and share our newsletter with your friends. ~J
Gaela Renée Confessions
 A while back my mother told me about a blog that she had started reading and how much she loved it. Like a typical daughter, I just kind of smiled and nodded and said, 'uh huh, that's nice.' Since she mentioned it several times, I finally decided to check it out to see what she was going on about. That's all it took. As soon as I plugged in the web address, I was hooked! The website is www.thepioneerwoman.com. 'Pioneer Woman' has quickly become one of my favorite people and I easily check out her website once a day, if not more (surely that doesn't make me a stalker, right?). She tells the story of being a city girl with dreams of moving to Chicago and then was derailed when she met a cowboy (a for real one!!). They fell in love and 13 years later she has 4 kids, a blog, photos and a cookbook to share her adventures of being a ranch wife! Her quirky, self-deprecating sense of humor, adventures with her camera and love of food make her my kind of people!
The moral of this story is: Listen to your mama, sometimes she really does know best! ~GR
GR in the Garden
  You may or may not have figured out that this whole country/ rural/ farm (whatever you choose to call it) living is a little new to us. (It is, however, in mine and Jeannie's blood. We come from a family of German farmers). I'm currently living in both worlds commuting up to the Berry Patch a couple of days a week and spending the rest of my time in good ol' suburban North Dallas. All that to say, Jeannie and I were a little giddy and silly while we were getting our hands dirty (literally!) while watering the garden the other night. It seemed a little surreal that all this was our reality. We pulled loads of lettuce (surprise lettuce, if you will, since it was not planted this year and was growing in bounds around the tomatoes) and a handful of radishes. It was a gorgeous evening and we were just enjoying the fruits...er...vegetables of our labor. OK, we didn't labor for the lettuce really, but it was work avoiding the spiders and worms that were in very, very close proximity. I am quite confident that I, Jeannie and Erick will have many adventures in our very near future. I'm also confident that we will be sharing in those adventures with you! You have been fairly warned. :) ~GR
The Kitchen Sink
I have a crazy little habit that I am sure I share with many of you. I read cookbooks and recipes for entertainment. I will never in my lifetime try every recipe I have copied, downloaded or torn from a magazine, but boy do I ever enjoy reading them. I like to make things from scratch and routinely find myself investing far more time than I had planned in the kitchen. I have even sat down to eat a microwaved mac-and-cheese (Amy's brand is my fave) and read my favorite cookbook "The Best Recipe". If you’ve never encountered this cookbook, you must check it out sometime.
That said, I have to share one of my pet peeves – obscenely long or obscure ingredient lists. No matter how sumptuous or yummy a recipe sounds, or how lovely the picture, or how many rave reviews, if that ingredient list hits two columns, my eyes start to cross and I hear “ding! next!” in my head and move on. I’ve seen some recipes that include almost everything BUT the kitchen sink. And I’m no novice in the kitchen, but usually if there’s more than one ingredient I can’t identify, then it’s pretty safe to assume that item won’t be coming out of my kitchen. You may rest assured that I will endeavor to include recipes in this newsletter that are both tasty and practical. At any time, please feel free to email me (or post on our facebook page) your questions and recommendations regarding recipes, tips, tricks and ideas.
All that said, here’s our offering for this week’s recipe. This is a great snack recipe and should be a wonderful healthy treat as we’re embarking on the summer. Hope you enjoy it!
Blueberry Oat Bars
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ¾ cup cold butter or margarine
1 ½ cups quick cooking oats 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 ½ cups sugar, divided 2 Tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp baking soda 2 Tbsp lemon juice
In a bowl, combine flour, oats, 1 cup sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 2 cups for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13” x 9” x 2” baking pan; set aside. In a sauce pan, combine blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and remaining sugar. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Spread berry mixture evenly over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.
Yield: 2 ½ to 3 dozen bars
~J
New Rules
We need your cooperation and understanding to implement the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules and regulations regarding u-pick farms. These new regulations are to protect the Nation’s fresh food supply. These new rules come as a result of the recent recalls of fresh produce for e-coli outbreak.
The following rules are now in effect at Bailey’s Berry Patch:
1. Wash your hands properly before entering the berry fields.
2. Use a clean bucket supplied by the farm.
3. No unattended children are allowed in the field.
4. Children cannot use the regular farm supplied buckets (1 gallon pails).
5. We do have “special buckets” for the children.
6. Do not mix the berries that the children have picked with yours.
We realize that your children love having a bucket of their own. We have purchased a VERY SPECIAL bucket for each child. These are 1-quart plastic buckets with a lid. Because of the cost of the buckets, we will have to charge for these. Children’s buckets will be available from the cashier for $5.00. We encourage the parents to help fill them even if you have to take some berries out of your bucket.
These buckets cannot be returned into our supply but, if you will bring the bucket back with you on your next visit, we will only charge $4.50 for your child to fill the bucket again. We have lids to put on these little buckets and, because we have to separate them from the parents’ berries, we are not able to clean these berries on our cleaning machine.
Please understand that these are not our rules but come from the FDA and USDA. For the sake of your health, we are required to enforce them. Join us in helping to make America’s food supply safe.
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