Plump, red strawberries are ripening to mouth-watering perfection in the fields of B.J. Farms in Elberta, Ala.

If you’ve never tasted a freshly plucked strawberry from the farm, you’re missing out on one of the area’s culinary delights.

“There’s nothing like a ruby-red, ripe strawberry, and the smell and flavor of biting into one at its peak,’’ said Irv Miller, chef of Jackson’s Restaurant on Palafox Street.

He and Fish House Executive Chef, Jim Shirley, trek to the farm every spring to buy the fresh berries for many of their culinary masterpieces.

From now through May, you can pick your own strawberries at the farm, too. If you can’t make it to the farm, pick up a pint or a flat of B.J. Farm strawberries at Bailey’s Farmer Market on Davis Highway.

Use them to add vibrant color and a burst of flavor to a wide range of dishes. Try them on salads, pancakes, cakes or sprinkled on ice cream.

They’re delectable dipped in chocolate or powdered sugar or soaked in lemon juice with a sprinkle of sugar.

Hands down, freshly picked berries are superior to the ones shipped in from other states, Miller said.

“When they’re picked in California, they’re picked early and that is why you see the white heads on them,’’ he said. They’re usually dry and lack flavor.

You won’t find Claude Bailey, owner of B.J. Farms, picking strawberries before their time. Every morning, he strolls down the rows of strawberries, stoops over, plucks one and tastes it.

“This is how I decide which field is ready to pick,’’ he said as he sampled a golf ball-sized strawberry oozing with juice.

After 17 years of growing them, and tasting them, he’s a strawberry aficionado. A strawberry is ready to pick when: “It’s sweet and red; the redder the better,’’ he said.

To prove that point, he picked another strawberry from a vibrant green plant and bit it in half, and then he showed off the ruby-red inside. That’s how you know you’re getting a good strawberry.

Besides being yummy, fresh strawberries are good for your mind, body and spirit, Bailey said.

“They’re full of sunshine, and you know, sunshine makes you feel good,’’ he said.

They’re packed full of agents that fight cancer, protect the heart and reduce inflammation, according to the World’s Healthiest Foods Web site, or whfoods.org.

So, go head and pick yourself a basket of sunshine-filled strawberries, and try some of these recipes.

Jackson’s Executive Chef Irv Miller’s Strawberry Blintzes
Makes 10 crepes
Crepe Batter
1 cup of milk
¼ cup of cold water
2 eggs
1 cup of all-purpose Flour
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Combine the milk, water, eggs, flour, salt and sugar in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 15 seconds, until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
Scrape down the sides of the blender and pour in 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Blend it again for a second just to incorporate.
Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour to let it rest before making the crepes.

Filling
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 lemon zested
1 each egg

Remove green stems from the strawberries, rinse and then slice them thin in preparation for the filling.
In a food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and egg and blend until smooth, fold in the berries. Transfer to a mixing bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for one hour to firm before filling blintzes.

Fresh Strawberry Sauce
2 pints fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 each lemon, juiced
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Shaker confection sugar

Combine the butter, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring up to a low boil and stir gently. Add the rinsed and stemmed whole strawberries and simmer until the berries have become slightly softened.

Assembly:
Preheat the over to 400 degrees

Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese filling along the lower third of the crepe. Fold the bottom edge away from you to just cover the filling; then fold the 2 sides in to the center. Roll the crepe away from you a couple of times to make a package, ending with the seam side down. Brush them with melted butter and place in a non-stick pan over medium heat; cook the blintzes for 2 minutes per side until crisp and golden.
Transfer to a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes so the eggs in the filling cook slightly and the cheese sets. Using a spatula, transfer the blintzes to serving plates. Spoon the strawberry sauce on top, dust with confectioners' sugar and serve right away.

Fish House Executive Chef Jim Shirley’s Strawberry Cobia Salad
The great thing is that most of the major ingredients of this dish are fresh and local — except the bacon, of course, which, as everyone knows, comes from hog heaven.

2 6-ounce cobia fillets
6 strips applewood-smoked bacon
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pint strawberries from
B. J. Farms, sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup toasted pecans
2 bunches fresh spinach
4 ounces Sweet Home Farm blue cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Open a bottle of Gloria Ferrar Blanc de Noir sparkling wine to start off this spring lunch preparation. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Fry bacon in grandma's skillet till crisp and set side. Toss in shallots, garlic and pepper flakes.
Saute on medium high for 2 minutes while you chop the bacon into Í-inch pieces; toss in the strawberries, wine and bacon. Reduce for 4 minutes. Pour mixture into a bowl for a minute while you season the cobia fillets with salt and pepper and place them in the skillet. Cover fish with strawberry mix and shove all that into the oven for 20 minutes.
Arrange fillets on a plate with fresh spinach and crumbled blue cheese, garnish with nuts, pour more of the bubbly and sit down to a great local meal.