The strawberries are coming, the strawberries are coming! They’re showing up at local farmers markets and grocery stores and a sweet season it is indeed. Although strawberries are available all year round, there is nothing like the taste of local berries in season. I just received my first box of organic produce from Delivery Produce and there, nestled in the middle of the box was a pint of the beautiful red berries. They were not large like the ones you sometimes find at the grocery (and that look like they are on steroids) but oh were they sweet!
Strawberries will be in season locally until the end of June or maybe until early July. The Northbrook Farmers Market, which opens next Wednesday, is sure to have them. Or perhaps you’d like to pick your own. If so, head up to Thompson’s Strawberry Farm in Bristol, WI. Be sure to check the website or call the day you plan to go to make sure they have berries available for picking that day. They may be a bit behind schedule with picking this year due to the cold wet spring.
A friend of mine makes her annual pilgrimage to Plow Creek Farm in Tiskilwa, IL, to pick organically raised berries. It’s a bit of trek, she says, but well worth it. She picks enough to make jam for the year (the recipe is simple and can be found on Epicurious.com) and it is truly delicious!
Or you can purchase your berries at Long Grove’s Strawberry Festival and enjoy the day sampling all sorts of treats like chocolate covered strawberries, smoothies and even strawberry donuts! The signature festival will be held June 24, 25, and 26 this year and is fun for the whole family with music and entertainment along with all of the goodies.
There are so many delicious things to do with strawberries – sliced fresh strawberries are great in green salads paired with a salty cheese like feta or whisked into a strawberry vinaigrette. Of course, they make great fruit salads garnished with sprigs of fresh mint as well. Make strawberry sauce simply by sprinkling sugar over sliced berries and letting them sit in the fridge to create their own juice. The sauce is great over vanilla ice cream or on pancakes and waffles. My son loves fresh strawberry milkshakes and you can make strawberry cream cheese or butter to spread on your bagel or muffin by blending a few of the sweet berries with the cheese or butter in a food processor. For a super simple dessert, cut the stems off large berries, stand them up on a plate and make two cuts almost to the bottom of the berry, quartering it. Then simply take a can of whipped cream and fill the center of each. Serve immediately!
Strawberry shortcake, though, is summer in a time capsule for me. When I was a teen learning to cook in my mother’s kitchen, strawberry shortcake was one of the few things in my repertoire. I used the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box then, but when I moved out on my own, my mother gave me a Betty Crocker Cookbook, (I scoffed at the time, but I still reference it now and again!). I used that recipe for strawberry shortcake, which Betty Crocker described as “The all-time, typically American, favorite dessert.” Well, I know the book is a bit dated, and white flour and sugar are on the endangered species list, but my mother ate this stuff and she’s still going strong at 92, so how bad can it be once in a while?
I’ve since discovered a few other recipes, all fairly similar – and simple - and I’ve played around and come up with my own best shot.
Strawberry Shortcake (serves 6)
4 cups sliced strawberries
½ cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup light cream (or milk)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped (or use a can!)
Preheat oven to 450. Slice the strawberries and place them in a glass bowl. Cover them with the sugar and refrigerate. Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl and then cut in the shortening or butter with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly pour in the light cream until just blended. Drop six large spoonfuls of the batter onto an ungreased, nonstick cookie sheet.( You can cover with plastic wrap at this point , refrigerate them and then pop them in the oven just before dessert – they are best served warm.) Bake for 10 minutes until puffy and lightly browned. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them cross-wise and remove the top. Spoon sugared strawberries over the bottom half and place the top back on. Garnish with whipped cream. InJoy!
Strawberries will be in season locally until the end of June or maybe until early July. The Northbrook Farmers Market, which opens next Wednesday, is sure to have them. Or perhaps you’d like to pick your own. If so, head up to Thompson’s Strawberry Farm in Bristol, WI. Be sure to check the website or call the day you plan to go to make sure they have berries available for picking that day. They may be a bit behind schedule with picking this year due to the cold wet spring.
A friend of mine makes her annual pilgrimage to Plow Creek Farm in Tiskilwa, IL, to pick organically raised berries. It’s a bit of trek, she says, but well worth it. She picks enough to make jam for the year (the recipe is simple and can be found on Epicurious.com) and it is truly delicious!
Or you can purchase your berries at Long Grove’s Strawberry Festival and enjoy the day sampling all sorts of treats like chocolate covered strawberries, smoothies and even strawberry donuts! The signature festival will be held June 24, 25, and 26 this year and is fun for the whole family with music and entertainment along with all of the goodies.
There are so many delicious things to do with strawberries – sliced fresh strawberries are great in green salads paired with a salty cheese like feta or whisked into a strawberry vinaigrette. Of course, they make great fruit salads garnished with sprigs of fresh mint as well. Make strawberry sauce simply by sprinkling sugar over sliced berries and letting them sit in the fridge to create their own juice. The sauce is great over vanilla ice cream or on pancakes and waffles. My son loves fresh strawberry milkshakes and you can make strawberry cream cheese or butter to spread on your bagel or muffin by blending a few of the sweet berries with the cheese or butter in a food processor. For a super simple dessert, cut the stems off large berries, stand them up on a plate and make two cuts almost to the bottom of the berry, quartering it. Then simply take a can of whipped cream and fill the center of each. Serve immediately!
Strawberry shortcake, though, is summer in a time capsule for me. When I was a teen learning to cook in my mother’s kitchen, strawberry shortcake was one of the few things in my repertoire. I used the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box then, but when I moved out on my own, my mother gave me a Betty Crocker Cookbook, (I scoffed at the time, but I still reference it now and again!). I used that recipe for strawberry shortcake, which Betty Crocker described as “The all-time, typically American, favorite dessert.” Well, I know the book is a bit dated, and white flour and sugar are on the endangered species list, but my mother ate this stuff and she’s still going strong at 92, so how bad can it be once in a while?
Strawberry Shortcake (serves 6)
4 cups sliced strawberries
½ cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup light cream (or milk)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped (or use a can!)
Preheat oven to 450. Slice the strawberries and place them in a glass bowl. Cover them with the sugar and refrigerate. Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl and then cut in the shortening or butter with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly pour in the light cream until just blended. Drop six large spoonfuls of the batter onto an ungreased, nonstick cookie sheet.( You can cover with plastic wrap at this point , refrigerate them and then pop them in the oven just before dessert – they are best served warm.) Bake for 10 minutes until puffy and lightly browned. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them cross-wise and remove the top. Spoon sugared strawberries over the bottom half and place the top back on. Garnish with whipped cream. InJoy!
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