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What’s that? You don’t know what I look like so you can’t picture that? OK, real quick, imagine a really handsome man; now make him 100 pounds heavier, then give him a beard and a big grey hat. Now you can imagine me jumping up and down yelling “Woo-Hoo!”
But anyway, let me get back to the important news.
Just as you are approaching Clearlake Oaks from the southeast on Highway 20, there is a strawberry farm on the right hand side of the road. I have never had better strawberries than from this stand. If you have only ever had strawberries from the supermarket, when you stop here you will think these strawberries are a religious experience.
Need a better description? For readers who live in Napa or Ukiah, they’re worth the drive! How’s that? I save the little green baskets the strawberries come in for the entire summer, wash them, and the following spring I bring them back to the farm for reuse. I typically collect 50 to 60 baskets per year.
Am I getting my point across? These are the BEST strawberries anywhere! One word of advice/warning: if you have to drive any further than three miles, one basket will not make it all of the way home, so purchase accordingly.
I’ve often thought of saving the seeds from one of the berries, or asking the stand what variety of strawberries they were so I could grow them at home, but then I realize that it’s so much easier just to go to the farm stand to pick up as many as I want.
My daughter will play hostess to her friends many days during the summer, and we sit them out on the deck with a flat of strawberries and a pitcher of lemonade. That evening the flat is nothing but a cardboard box and a few green baskets, the deck has red stains all over it, and the ground is littered with strawberry hulls.
There are several stories about how strawberries received their name, with the most popular story being that in the garden they are mulched with straw. Other stories have English children threading strawberries on a reed of straw and selling them as “Strawed berries”, and yet another story describes how they were found “strewn” over the forest floor, “Strewnberries.”
But the most likely origin of the name is the practice of packaging the berries in straw for transportation and displaying them in the market on the straw. Most often in tales of naming produce, the story that evolves from the consumer spreads the farthest and therefore becomes better known. Tales of how they were named by the grower rarely survive.
I think that strawberries are one of the most sensual foods that exist. I can prove it, too: give a woman a strawberry and she will produce two sounds. First upon seeing the strawberry she will give off an inquisitive and anticipatory “Ooo!?” then upon eating it she will sound out with a pleasurable, almost orgasmic “Mmmmmmm!”
Strawberries have been considered an aphrodisiac since before the times of Rome. They contain more vitamin C than any other berry (one cup of strawberries provide 140 percent of the recommended daily allowance). Strawberries are high in potassium, folic acid and antioxidants, and have been found to carry out several things to prevent and reduce cancer. Strawberries also contain a couple of flavonoids that battle LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream. Mixing strawberries with baking soda is supposed to be a great natural whitening toothpaste, but I just think that it’s a waste of good strawberries.
Have I whet your appetite for fresh, farm grown strawberries?
The Oaks strawberry stand prices are as follows:
Basket – $2
Half flat – $10
Full flat – $19
The recipe below is for strawberry crepes, but I have to be precise: they aren’t for “true” crepes but they are easier to make. They offer a good launch at crepe-making for the beginner, and a lazy day break for the pro.
Simple strawberry filled crepes
Try serving as breakfast in bed.
Simple crepes (makes about three to four crepes)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
Mix the crepes ingredients well until combined, then cover and place in the refrigerator overnight (You need to give the flour time to hydrate and the bubbles to subside).
The next morning, heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and butter it well. Give the batter a light stirring just to make sure that the flour isn’t settled on the bottom. If the flour didn’t mix well and you have clumps, just put the batter through a strainer before cooking. Pour in about one quarter of the crepe mix and tilt the pan in a circular motion until the entire bottom of the pan is covered and the batter is no longer liquid (set). Many crepe recipes will call for you to flip the crepe but this isn’t necessary as long as the batter is set. If you buttered the pan well the crepe should just slide off the pan onto a plate. The general rule of crepe making is “The first one never turns out”, so don’t panic on the first one. Even pros mess up the first one more often than not.
Continue this process until you have used all of the batter. I typically make a double batch of batter the night before so I can make extra crepes.
Fill the crepes with the following mixture:
Filling
½ cup strawberries, hulled and halved
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup cream cheese
1 tablespoon honey
Small pinch of cayenne pepper or black pepper
Optional – whipped cream for topping
Mix well in a bowl and then spoon into crepes and roll them up. Topping the crepes with a little whipped cream gives you bonus points! A dusting of cocoa powder wouldn’t hurt either.
You can also use the sour cream cheese mixture to pipe into hollowed out strawberries for a delicious finger food/dessert.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
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- Written by: Ross A. Christensen
A four-person scramble golf tournament will be held, with check-in time from 11:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Kathy Fowler has graciously donated a car for a hole-in-one on the second hole.
The need for the safe house is critical. The numbers of homeless youth in the US today are rising at alarming rates and Lake County is no different. Current statistics show that on any given day in Lake County, between 600 and 1000 children under the age of 18 are homeless.
Some of these children are runaways, some have been kicked out of their homes (throwaways), but the vast majority, simply have no place to sleep or be safe during the night.
The safe house will be a 24 hour facility that will provide temporary housing, access to health services, crisis services, family and individual counseling and life skills training to homeless youth.
The need for this facility has been discussed by service agencies, law enforcement and local schools for many years, but we have now hit the critical mass numbers that requires our community to take immediate action.
The Lake County Community Action Agency, under the direction of Executive Director Georgina Lehne, has taken the lead role in the development and creation of this highly needed facility. This nonprofit agency has experience in transitional shelter operations for families, food and clothing distributions, New Beginnings, self-sufficiency education and support, and is the new overseeing agency for youth services formally know as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Club.
Please help us address the large and growing population of homeless kids by attending this wonderful day of golf, gourmet dining, live music and fun.
Following the tournament, at 5 p.m., there will be a delicious western buffet. Many local businesses have donated special items for the silent and live auction which will take place throughout the evening. The cost of golf, cart and the dinner is $85, or $40 for dinner only (tax-deductible).
For information call Carol Germenis at 928-4280 or Sandy Hearn at 928-5713.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
James Wade Roberts, 46, was found guilty last month of first-degree murder for the October 2006 murder of Ruth Donaldson, 62, as Lake County News has reported.
Roberts stabbed Donaldson to death at the home they shared a home on Mullen Avenue in Clearlake.
His attorney, Stephen Carter, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Carter had argued that Roberts had a long history of reported mental issues, delusional thinking and psychotic episodes.
On Friday afternoon Judge Richard Martin sentenced Roberts to 86 years to life, a sentence District Attorney Jon Hopkins had anticipated last month, when the jury found Roberts was sane at the time of the murder.
Roberts has five previous strikes, according to Carter, who also told Lake County News last month he expected his client would receive a lengthy sentence.
Hopkins said Roberts stated Friday he planned to appeal the sentence.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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A statement he released following his return from Iraq seemed to confirm Thompson's stance on the need to get US troops out of Iraq. His spokesperson Anne Warden said Thompson has been to Iraq twice before.
“In addition to meeting with General Petraeus, Ambassador Crocker, as well as some of my own constituents, I had the honor of spending some time with our troops,” he said. “Our brave men and women in uniform continue to do an amazing job despite being overextended and caught in the middle of a civil war.
“You need to look no further than the recent increase in attacks on the Green Zone – an internationally-controlled, fully-protected area in Baghdad – and the ongoing threat of Improvised Explosive Devices to know how important strong, effective intelligence is to ensuring our troops return home as fast and safe as possible.
“This war has given Iran the opportunity to strengthen its influence in the region. After my visit, I believe more strongly than ever that Iran’s threat must be addressed by bringing the world together through a surge in diplomacy. Strong intelligence gathering capabilities is the key to peacefully nipping the problem of Iran in the bud. It’s also the key to fighting terrorism worldwide, improving our national security and keeping us out of future wars.
“I continue to support immediately beginning the redeployment of our troops out of Iraq and giving the Iraqi government full responsibility for their national security,” he said. “I believe we must work with the United Nations to develop an international strategy for controlling the violence in Iraq and ensuring it does not spread across borders, which would certainly lead to a regional civil war.”
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- Written by: Lake County News reports