A HOLIDAY MONDAY, one that doesn't require you to be at the office, can spread out in numerous ways, from trips to history museums (say, if the holiday happens to be Presidents Day), to get-togethers with friends, to some time spent out in the sun. That sunshine is especially welcome after several days of extremely soggy weather, even if, yes, we're still in sweaters and light jackets. It is, after all, still February, but, spoiler alert, February happens to be just ahead of springtime's start. Which means this: A number of delicious fruits, the sorts of edibles we associate with the warmer, lighter months, are busily growing and ripening, from the tangerines of Ojai to strawberries at various farms and soil-rich locations. If you'd like a little dose of spring-y sun, a preview, of sorts, of the season to come, you can begin it on your holiday Monday, Presidents Day, at that berry bastion that's been in Irvine for several sweet decades. We're talking about...
TANAKA FARMS, of course, which just re-opened for the season earlier in February 2017. The foodful, fruitful spread is keeping open hours on the holiday, too, with four tours on the schedule, beginning at 9 a.m. (you just might already be up and at 'em, since it is a Monday). Your tour includes fresh air, of course, and a look at good growing things, of course, as well as tastes of vegetables and the chance to pick strawberries. You'll be able to take some home, too — one pound, which'll help your shortcake-making in the days ahead. Oh, we went and assumed you're in a shortcake-making kind of mood, but, then again, it is still February, when cakes and cookies of the heartier sort continue to reign. The strawberry shortcake, then, is the perfect dessert to bridge the time between winter's chill and spring's warm, seeing as it is both hearty and light, all at once. Inspired? Here are the tour times, and info, for your Presidents Day, Tanaka Farms frolic.
