Fruits of Our Labor

Do y'all have any idea how many strawberries can be collected in two gallon sized buckets?  A whole heck of a lot!  Waaaaay more than a family of four plus Bird and Sister can consume in a week.  So, we froze half of our bounty and have been eating strawberries till we were red in the face. Literally.

Most of the time we ate them raw.

And sometimes we enjoyed with powdered sugar.

But then we got creative!  Here are our top picks:

Strawberry Shortcake
I made my shortcakes from scratch, for the first time, this time (because once I invited bestie S over for homemade strawberry shortcake and she didn't think Bisquick qualified as homemade), but honestly the recipe on the back of that Bisquick box was much tastier.  I macerated my already so-sweet berries in just a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a splash of almond extract.  And, for fresh whipped cream, simply beat a pint of whipping cream and about four tablespoons of sugar on high until stiff peaks form.

Strawberry and Goat Cheese Sandwiches
Spread one side of one slice of bread with red pepper jelly.  Spread one side other slice of bread with softened goat cheese.  Add sliced strawberries, fresh basil and arugula.

Strawberry and Brie Grilled Cheese
Spread one side of one slice of bread with red pepper jelly.  Layer 1/4" sliced brie, sliced strawberries, fresh basil leaves and smoked turkey before topping with other slice of bread.  Coat both outside slices of bread in melted butter and toast in pan.  When I do stuffed grilled cheeses, I also top my pan with another heavy pan to kind of make a panini pressed sandwich.

Strawberry Ice Cream
I have a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker - simply mix 2 cups whipping cream, 1 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract in a bowl.  Pour into frozen ice cream bowl and turn on for 15 minutes.  Add in 1 cup of diced fresh strawberries and mix for 5-10 more minutes.  Move to storage bowl and put in freezer until it reaches desired consistency.  And THEN, enjoy like THIS if you're the PCP and your Aunchie, who loves you dearly and lets you get away with murder, allows you to make your sundae just the way you like it when Mommy and Daddy aren't home :-)

And that, my friends, was the true fruit of our labor.
xoxo

Posted in: