Berries and Belgians

I feel like I have all this free time now that I get out of work at 4! I know it is just an half an hour, but my afternoons feel so luxurious.
Today with my new found oodles of free time, I met my sister in law Jess to pick strawberries. I love u-pick strawberry season! We picked and chatted and before I knew it, my bucket was full.

9 pounds of strawberries!

Afterward I made a wonderful discover at my favorite beer store (uh, it was on my way home).

Saranac Belgian White! My all time favorite Saranac beer. They have it in their 12 Beers of Summer, but you only get two Belgian Whites. When the brewery makes extra they sell it under the "Brewer's Choice" label. I stopped at the store specifically to see if they had it. I had to talk myself out of buying a whole case. I'm sipping one as I write this post  :)
While my beer chilled I processed my berries. I set aside a few for us to eat this week, and then prepared the rest for the freezer.

Washed, hulled, and ready for a chilly nap.

I got enough for 3 gallon-sized bags of berries. I may have snacked on a few while I was prepping. And it turns out someone else likes strawberries, too.

I tossed her a couple of mushy ones into the yard.

Coonhounds must not be trained to sniff out berries. I had to get up and show her where a few landed! Then I got nervous and had to Google whether or not dogs can eat strawberries. Google consensus was yes, so I tossed her a few more.

Dinner tonight was small and quick. Mostly because our stomachs were full of berries. I had half of a giant Heidelberg ciabatta roll with a fried egg, sliced tomato, and arugula. And of course, a little Sriracha.

Jerry made a meatball sandwich on ciabatta from some of his mom's meatballs and sauce. I am not posting a picture because I didn't want to drool on my keyboard.

Can't wait to wake up tomorrow to a strawberry filled breakfast!