In the Kitchen
This Issue Contents | Recipe | Home Plan | Publishers notes
A DRAGONFLY FLITS through the strawberry patch, translucent wings shimmering in the bright sunshine of a hot summer day. A faint breeze whispers across the land in wisps of welcomed coolness. Birds dart, keeping a watchful eye on the activity below.
Here, in the berry patch, the berry pickers stoop low to the earth, plucking summer’s sweetness from hardy plants that have weathered another Minnesota winter. Plunk, plunk, plunk. They move slowly down the rows, berry-stained hands filling buckets or flats to the brim, berry by berry.
Schumacher Smoothie
Mix ingredients in a blender and serve. Schumacher’s Nursery& Berry Farm |
Strawberry Liquor
Fill a one-gallon bottle nearly full with one-third each of strawberries, vodka and sugar. Cover tightly and mix. Shake daily for 30 days, then filter the mixture, saving the pulp for use as an ice cream topping. Serve chilled. Produce Acres |
Strawberry Salsa
In a bowl, combine the strawberries, green pepper, onions and parsley. Stir in the salad dressing, hot pepper and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 3 cups. Carter’s Red Wagon Farm Market |
Grandma Henri’s Strawberry Shortcake
Sift dry ingredients. Add liquids and mix well. Pour into a greased and dusted 9-inch round cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15–20 minutes. Split while warm and spread with butter. Cover each layer with sweetened strawberries and stack. Top with whipped cream. Serves 6. Finke’s Berry Farm |
Heavenly Hash
Dice pineapple and oranges and sweeten to taste. Layer diced fruit in a ring on a serving plate, leaving center open for strawberries. Chill. Roll strawberries in chopped nuts, then in granular sugar. Chill. Just before serving, garnish plate with a ring of greens topped by grapes and maraschino cherries. Fill the center with the strawberries. Top it all with the whipped cream. Serve immediately. Great River Gardens |
Strawberry Nut Bread
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar. In another bowl, combine the eggs, oil, strawberries and pecans. Mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the liquid mixture, stirring just to moisten the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into 6 greased 6 x 3 x 2-inch pans or 2 greased 9 x5 x 3-inch pans. Bake at 350- degrees for about 40 minutes for small pans or about 1 hour for large pans. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans. Strawberry Butter
Combine the butter,strawberries and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with bread. Ter-Lee Gardens |
Chilled Berry Soup
Place strawberries in a food processor or blender; cover and process until smooth. Add ginger ale, milk, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Cover and process until blended. Pour into a bowl and whisk in sour cream until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours. For variation, use orange or pineapple juice instead of ginger ale. Yogurt or low-fat or fat-free sour cream may be substituted for regular sour cream. Yield: 4 servings. Guldan Family Farm |
Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese PieGlaze:
In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons water. Mix the ¾ cup water, sugar and Jell-o in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly pour the cornstarch and water mixture into the boiling sugared Jello-water. Cool until thickened. Beat: 4 ounces softened cream cheese ¼ cup powdered sugar Fold 2 cups Cool Whip into the cream cheese mix. Spread in pie crust. Top with 3–4 cups sliced fresh strawberries. Pour glaze over the top. Chill 2 hours before serving. Lorence’s Berry Farm |
Strawberry DessertCrust:
Combine the crust ingredients. Set aside ¾ cup and pat the remaining mix into a 9 x 13-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15–20 minutes. Do not brown. Bake the reserved crumbs separately; baking time will be less, so watch closely. Filling:
Mix the strawberries and sugar together and then fold the berries into the whipped topping. Spread this filling onto the baked crust. Top with the reserved, baked crumbs. Freeze for 6 hours before serving. Sterling Fruit Farm |
Grandma Jude’s Very Strawberry Pie 1 baked pie shell Mix together the cream cheese and sugar and spread in the baked pie shell. 4 cups fresh strawberries In a saucepan, crush 2 cups strawberries. Add corn starch and sugar. Cook, stirring until mixture has boiled for 2 minutes. Fold in lemon juice and 2 cups halved strawberries. Pour into crust. Chill. Whipped cream for pie topping: Combine ingredients and whip until stiff. Schumacher’s Nursery & Berry Farm |
Tim Schumacher’s Strawberry Jam 4 cups strawberries Boil strawberries and lemon juice or white vinegar for 5 minutes. Stir in 4 cups sugar and boil 8 more minutes. Put in flat pans overnight. Reheat and seal next morning or freeze without heating. Good also for ice cream topping by cutting boiling time down a few minutes. Can also be used with raspberries or apricots. Best results in single batches. Schumacher’s Nursery & Berry Farm |
Strawberry Spinach Salad 6 cups fresh torn mixed spinach Combine the spinach, strawberries, feta cheese and sunflower kernels. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Try a poppy seed vinaigrette or one of many other dressings available. Guldan Family Farm |
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam 1 quart Minnesota-grown strawberries Remove stems from berries and crush the berries thoroughly. Measure exactly 2 ¼ cups prepared strawberries into a 6-quart kettle. Finely chop the rhubarb and place in medium sauce pan with ½ cup water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer 2 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. Measure exactly 1 3/4 cup of the cooked rhubarb into the kettle with the crushed strawberries. Stir pectin into the fruit mixture. Add butter to reduce the foaming. Bring to a full boil stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full boil and boil for a full minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with spoon. Immediately ladle into pint jars filling to within 1/8 inch of tops and cover with 2-piece lids. You may freeze the jars of jam or process according to canning guidelines to make them shelf stable. Yield: 8 pints. Absolutely wonderful on fresh, homemade, toasted bread with butter. Guldan Family Farm |
Poppy Seed Strawberry Pie 1 1/3 cup flour Carter’s Red Wagon Farm Market |
Angel Food Torte 1 prepared angel food cake Slice cake into thirds horizontally. Spread topping on each layer, then strawberries, stacking layers. Spread remaining topping over entire cake. Chill until ready to serve. Sterling Fruit Farm |