Strawberries.
Oh these lovely berries, this symbol of summer. How we long for the first ripe berry among the leaves.
For the purpose of this blog, I'll speak of the two berries as one unit, as they can be used interchangably in almost any recipe.
Strawberries, sliced over cereal, eaten whole with a little cream and sugar, or over ice cream. Or just grab a few as you walk through the kitchen. We're eating them constantly, morning to night.
We put them in our pancakes.
We put them in our cocktails.
3 cups strawberries, 1 cup rum, 4 tbsp lime juice and plenty of ice. Three minutes in the blender and you've got a lovely strawberry daiquiri.
And still there are hundreds of strawberries waiting to be enjoyed.
So we try some new ideas. Today we sauteed some chopped strawberries in balsamic vinegar and a little sugar, then served it with warm brie and crackers.
Quite tasty! I've heard balsamic roasted strawberries are good with chicken too, though we've yet to try it. I have recipes for strawberry sangria and chocolate-dipped strawberry cookies also to be tested. I fear I may tire of strawberry recipes long before the season is over. But one thing I'll never tire of...
Mmmmmm....
Oh these lovely berries, this symbol of summer. How we long for the first ripe berry among the leaves.
But one month into the season, the hundreds of ripe berries waiting to be picked can create a feeling of panic.
What are we going to do with all these berries?
This is a typical harvest for one day. One day. And another 5 liters are waiting to be picked 2 days later. To date we have picked 40 liters, and that's not counting the smultron, their wild cousins.
Smultron are planted as ground cover here. They spread like wildfire and yeild fruit during the entire summer, unlike their cultivated cousins, which generally have a 4-6 week season. We've picked tons of these, but it's difficult to estimate how much the plants actually yeild, as we can't count all the berries kids are constantly stuffing in their mouths. When we have guests over, their children take their plates directly to the smultron patch. I'm not kidding...
For the purpose of this blog, I'll speak of the two berries as one unit, as they can be used interchangably in almost any recipe.
So what does one do with so many berries? Jam, obviously. Two liters of berries mashed with 475 grams jamming sugar, simmered for 10 minutes, the foam spooned off, and chilled in jars.
Three batches put up so far.
Strawberries, sliced over cereal, eaten whole with a little cream and sugar, or over ice cream. Or just grab a few as you walk through the kitchen. We're eating them constantly, morning to night.
We give away liters of strawberries to anyone who comes visiting. Or invites us to dinner. Or gives birth to a baby. Or pulls into our driveway to turn around... But still the majority of these berries is left for us to eat.
We put them in our pancakes.
We put them in our cocktails.
3 cups strawberries, 1 cup rum, 4 tbsp lime juice and plenty of ice. Three minutes in the blender and you've got a lovely strawberry daiquiri.
And still there are hundreds of strawberries waiting to be enjoyed.
So we try some new ideas. Today we sauteed some chopped strawberries in balsamic vinegar and a little sugar, then served it with warm brie and crackers.
Quite tasty! I've heard balsamic roasted strawberries are good with chicken too, though we've yet to try it. I have recipes for strawberry sangria and chocolate-dipped strawberry cookies also to be tested. I fear I may tire of strawberry recipes long before the season is over. But one thing I'll never tire of...
Mmmmmm....
Week after week of finding things to do with strawberries can start to wear on a person, but one thing keeps me going.... The last smultron will be picked in another month or so, and then it is an excruciatingly long autumn, winter and spring with none. So with that thought in mind, I still rejoice at the sight of that perfect berry among the leaves.
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