Plotting this summer's berry preservation strategy

Gaze upon my breakfast! Isn't it a thing of beauty? Oatmeal laced with raspberries accompanied by a raspberry-banana smoothie. Three whole servings of fruit in one meal! So good. My brain, on this dreary winter-like Portland day, has time-traveled to June...the month when berry-picking season officially kicks into high gear. All the work (which is mostly fun) that goes into picking and preserving berries during the summer has been savored throughout these cold months in the form of belly-pleasing eats such as this breakfast. And now I'm plotting our strategy for this summer's berry extravaganza.

Last summer was really the first time my family got serious about picking mass quantities of berries. Strawberries were turned into 27 pints of freezer jam (which has proved to be too much) and we packed ten one-gallon freezer bags with whole straw, blue, rasp and blackberries (which has proved to be not enough). This summer the plan is to forgo the freezer jam and just freeze the whole berries -- more and more and more. And how do we use these berries?

Breakfast smoothies. We all love yogurt-based fruit smoothies in this house, and it's such an easy, delicious way to get a serving or two of fruit into your body. In our house a smoothie is usually just plain yogurt blended with bananas and frozen strawberries. I'd love to hear your favorite smoothie combinations. Every time I buy bananas I feel guilty considering how far they've traveled, but they're so darn good in a smoothies! Any alternatives to suggest?

Baked goods. Blueberry muffins, fruit crisp or cobbler, and this amazing Strawberry Yogurt Cake from Orangette. Such a treat in the winter.

Oatmeal, almost every morning. My absolute favorite combo is brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans and BLUEBERRIES. I just throw the frozen berries in the oatmeal when it's piping hot and they thaw within seconds (and cool the oatmeal).

I am quite concerned by a recent report on a nasty Asian fruit fly that is threatening to destroy this summer's berry harvest. This fly damaged 2009's late-season fruit crops in Oregon and could wipe out this summer's crops. While most fruit flies prefer over-ripened fruit, this varmint feasts on just-ripening fruit. Will farmers have to resort to spraying pesticides? Stay tuned.

We planted some raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in our backyard last fall, though I suspect we won't see a ton of fruit this summer. Thank goodness for U-pick farms! Are you dreaming of berries? How do you enjoy the fruits of your berry preservation efforts throughout the winter?