Oh Canada, Eh?

The day of fireworks, BBQs, and the first official long weekend of the summer is almost upon us, so I am taking every opportunity to remind myself that I am a proud Canadian.

Most of these so called opportunities of mine are through food. And since summer is out in full force, I am using as many local ingredients in my ventures as possible.

We are so lucky to live in a country with all four seasons and still be able to grow such a wide range of fruits and veggies. It's amazing really -- we can celebrate Christmas with snow at our feet, and then only a few short months later, we can eat food we have grown ourselves!

One of my long list of favourite foods is strawberries and to make eating strawberries extra special, I love to head out the country to find a local berry patch and get my hands dirty.

Of course, a lot of the dirty part isn't due to dirt, because strawberries have straw around the plants to keep them warm at night, a reason why strawberries got their name.

No, the reason for me getting my hands dirty is because I often sneak quite a few tastes of the berries during the picking.

And with the prices of local berries, I think the farmers expect it. Plus, you can't wash a strawberry after the top comes off because it will fill with water like a sponge and become tasteless. So I guess that means you may as well eat it right away!

But... I have to admit that I may have intentionally pulled a few tops off in the field too. :)

Eating the delicious berries in the field reminds me of when I was a child and my mom used to take me berry picking with her. One patch had lots of cute mechanical raspberry people smiling along the route to the parking lot, and yet I was told I wasn't allowed to pick the berries there. I was told that, because of my age, I would have been merely eating the fruit or running wild and disturb the other paying adults.

Well, my mom convinced her to give me a chance and I was never sent packing again.

However, if I were to return to that patch today, I don't know if that would be the case...

But back to what's important right now. An easy dessert featuring nothing else other than fresh local strawberries.

Brown Sugar Strawberries

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups fresh strawberries, whole and preferably still warm from the patch

1. Take a strawberry and dip it into the sour cream.

2. Roll the sour cream covered strawberry in brown sugar.

3. Enjoy and repeat.

Who says desserts need baking or a lot of work?

Certainly someone that has yet to try these little treats!