Today, we drove up the road apiece to buy some fresh strawberries. Now, I'm a city girl (I lived in San Francisco for much of my life, until my midlife crisis at 40, when I realized I'd never seen snow falling from the sky and moved to Duluth, MN. But that's a different story for a different time.) As I started to ay, I'm a city girl and had never eaten fresh strawberries. But once I did, I don't generally eat any other kind. So, off we went, and back we came with a flat. I just made strawberry chocolate Napoleon. And tomorrow I'll make a strawberry-rhubarb pie. But after that, I hit a creativity wall. So, what's your favorite strawberry pastry? Or salad? Or whatever?
This was on my FB feed today and it looked delicious! Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake! 2 pounds strawberries 2 sleeves graham crackers 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk 2 3.4-oz. (4-serving) packages instant cheesecake flavored pudding 3 cups milk 1 12-ounce carton cool whip, divided Clean and slice strawberries (about 1/4 inch thick); set aside. You have to do this first because the cream cheese mixture will start to set up quickly once it’s mixed up. Line the bottom of a 3-quart 13x9 baking dish with graham crackers; set aside. Mine easily fit 6 whole crackers then I had to break up a 7th one to fill in the rest. Combine cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add pudding mixes and milk and continue mixing on low for 4-5 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken. Fold in 2 cups cool whip until smooth. Pour half of cream cheese mixture over graham crackers. Arrange a single layer of strawberry slices over cream cheese mixture. Top strawberries with another layer of graham crackers then cover with remaining cream cheese mixture. Top cream cheese mixture with another layer of strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve*, top with remaining cool whip. Crush remaining graham crackers and sprinkle crumbs over cool whip. food. com
Not being a very creative cook sometimes, we usually just eat the fresh strawberries right out of the carton, but if for some reason we don’t get them all eaten while they are fresh picked, then I make freezer jam from them. Freezer jam is just a simple jam that you make by cooking the strawberries, mashing them a little, and then adding in a carton of strawberry jello. You can also make strawberry-rhubarb jam this same way if you have rhubarb. I love that even better, but rhubarb just does not grow down here, and when you do find it in the store, it is not fresh and is expensive anyway. Another interesting jam is tomato-strawberry (tomato raspberry is even better !). When we go to the farmer market and they have the over-ripe tomatoes on clearance, then I usually make some tomato jam. When you make it with raspberry, they have about the same size of seeds as the tomato seeds, and it all just tastes like raspberry jam.
Good question Michelle...because I have a big punnet of fresh strawberries in the fridge I need to use up.. I can only ever think of adding them to a smoothie, but I need to sweeten them up because they're quite tart, so I'll be interested in the suggestions
My favorite way to eat strawberries is : wash them, put a little bit of sugar in a cup, dip the strawberry in the sugar and eat it. I make strawberry jam to enjoy all year.
That's the way I eat them usually Shirley, but there's wayy too many in the punnet so I need to use them up soon..
Crush them, mix with a little sugar and freeze them. When you want to eat them, let them partially thaw. It's like eating a frozen dessert. I do peaches the same way. Delicious.
If I had enough berries, I would probably make strawberry jam, so it would last longer. But that's just me.
I am boring. I prefer eating them just as they come, but pretty much anything you want to do with a strawberry comes out okay. We picked up a flat of them at the strawberry farm today, and will probably pick up another flat in a few days. Usually, fresh strawberries are available for only about a week and a half.
You can dry them if you have a dehydrator (or an oven if you are careful). Strawberry fruit leather using applesauce as a binder works too. My wife generally freezes them on a cookie sheet so they are separate, then puts them into a freezer bag for use in her smoothies during the winter. Take a few out of the bag and let them Partially thaw, as @Shirley Martin noted above, then put them in the blender with the other ingredients for a cool, refreshing drink that doesn't need ice.
My usual quickie is huge Bisquick biscuits baked and then split open. I put sliced strawberries on top of each of the halves, then whipped cream on top.
Did mention that we should do just that? I know I thought it but didn't think I said it aloud. Or have we now been together long enough that I don't have to say anything?