We drove down to Midlothian, VA to visit my mother over the Labor Day weekend. On the way home, along Richmond Turnpike, I spotted a roadside produce stand. Berry's Produce. We actually missed it, so we turned around and drove back. I was very glad we did.
According to the business card I picked up, this establishment is owned and run by William and Sandra Berry. They are located at 9592 Chamberlayne Road, Mechanicsville, VA. They had so many fresh fruits and vegetables and homemade goods that it was hard to decide when to stop buying.
The first thing that caught my eye from the road were these beautiful bushel baskets of freshly harvested Hanover tomatoes. I had to have some of these. They were delicious on brioche rolls with Duke's mayonnaise and a little salt and pepper.
Behind the tomatoes were bins of red and yellow onions. HUGE!! These were magnificent looking onions. Oh, and take note of the yellow tomatoes on the end of this row. I did not get any of the yellow tomatoes but I love them. I love the flavor of yellow tomatoes.
Lots of freshly picked corn.
A huge selection of fruits. These pints of peaches reminded me of summertime at my maternal grandparents house. They had a small orchard and they had peach trees and apple trees, cherry trees. I would help my grandmother pick the fruit and then my mother would come and help her preserve the fruit in glass jars that were stored in the basement. I guess it was called a "fruit cellar". If you have ever heard that phrase and didn't know the true meaning, now you do.
Delicious cantaloupes. One for $3.00 or two for $5.00. I did two for $5.00. These were the sweetest, juiciest most delicious cantaloupes I can remember having since I was a child.
A freshly picked, seedless watermelon is very much worth $6.99
They had a large bin full of them. They were quite large. I did not buy one, although I wish I had now. I'm sure they were superb.
I loved this collection of preserves in crates all stacked one atop the other. I particularly liked the one named "Traffic Jam". The story of my life living in the nation's capital.
These little birdhouses designed as churches were every bit as cute in person as they are in this picture. If I was still at Crest Avenue I would have bought one of these, maybe two. I might have bought all three of them. They would have looked wonderful on the sweet gum tree in the front yard. However, since I am an apartment dweller with no balcony, I passed on these.
Homestyle chocolate chip cookies; I am never going to pass up this treat, so I bought a container. After I picked up the cookie container and placed it in my bag there was a woman leaving the stand and she said "good choice; they are delicious". She was right.
Back home with my two cantaloupes and fresh Hanover tomatoes. I did not waste any time cutting up the cantaloupe and getting it into the refrigerator to have for breakfast and lunch. And even dinner. These were ripe - very ripe - and I did not want for any of it to make its way into the trash can. So I had cantaloupe with every meal for several days and I did not mind it at all.
I cut the melons about 1-1/2" thick and then scooped out the seeds and removed the rind and cut the cantaloupe into 1" chunks. It was perfectly delicious.
I don't know if I will make it back down there before the season ends, but I am glad I got to stop in at least once this year. Now that I know where they are located, I can assure you I will be making several trips down next year. A real find!!!!
According to the business card I picked up, this establishment is owned and run by William and Sandra Berry. They are located at 9592 Chamberlayne Road, Mechanicsville, VA. They had so many fresh fruits and vegetables and homemade goods that it was hard to decide when to stop buying.
The first thing that caught my eye from the road were these beautiful bushel baskets of freshly harvested Hanover tomatoes. I had to have some of these. They were delicious on brioche rolls with Duke's mayonnaise and a little salt and pepper.
Behind the tomatoes were bins of red and yellow onions. HUGE!! These were magnificent looking onions. Oh, and take note of the yellow tomatoes on the end of this row. I did not get any of the yellow tomatoes but I love them. I love the flavor of yellow tomatoes.
Lots of freshly picked corn.
A huge selection of fruits. These pints of peaches reminded me of summertime at my maternal grandparents house. They had a small orchard and they had peach trees and apple trees, cherry trees. I would help my grandmother pick the fruit and then my mother would come and help her preserve the fruit in glass jars that were stored in the basement. I guess it was called a "fruit cellar". If you have ever heard that phrase and didn't know the true meaning, now you do.
Delicious cantaloupes. One for $3.00 or two for $5.00. I did two for $5.00. These were the sweetest, juiciest most delicious cantaloupes I can remember having since I was a child.
A freshly picked, seedless watermelon is very much worth $6.99
They had a large bin full of them. They were quite large. I did not buy one, although I wish I had now. I'm sure they were superb.
I loved this collection of preserves in crates all stacked one atop the other. I particularly liked the one named "Traffic Jam". The story of my life living in the nation's capital.
These little birdhouses designed as churches were every bit as cute in person as they are in this picture. If I was still at Crest Avenue I would have bought one of these, maybe two. I might have bought all three of them. They would have looked wonderful on the sweet gum tree in the front yard. However, since I am an apartment dweller with no balcony, I passed on these.
Homestyle chocolate chip cookies; I am never going to pass up this treat, so I bought a container. After I picked up the cookie container and placed it in my bag there was a woman leaving the stand and she said "good choice; they are delicious". She was right.
Back home with my two cantaloupes and fresh Hanover tomatoes. I did not waste any time cutting up the cantaloupe and getting it into the refrigerator to have for breakfast and lunch. And even dinner. These were ripe - very ripe - and I did not want for any of it to make its way into the trash can. So I had cantaloupe with every meal for several days and I did not mind it at all.
I cut the melons about 1-1/2" thick and then scooped out the seeds and removed the rind and cut the cantaloupe into 1" chunks. It was perfectly delicious.
I don't know if I will make it back down there before the season ends, but I am glad I got to stop in at least once this year. Now that I know where they are located, I can assure you I will be making several trips down next year. A real find!!!!
No comments
Post a Comment