Strawberries just make my day
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
It’s getting to be strawberry season! My mother used to take my brother and me up to the tiny little town of McRae, Arkansas to pick fresh berries every spring.
I think we ate as many as we picked, but it was such a great treat and a good time, filling quart after quart to bring back home for freezer jam and shortcakes. Nothing tastes better than produce right out of the local field! These days, it seems like the “local” field is in Chile.
Strawberries are fragile fruits, and you have to treat them nicely to get the best result. They need to be kept cool once you get them home, and don’t wash or cap them until you’re ready to use them.
One cup of sliced strawberries has only 50 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, and almost 4 grams of fiber! California is the nation’s largest strawberry producer, followed by Florida. Did you know that each strawberry has an average of 200 seeds on it?
Everyone loves a hot muffin for breakfast. Evidently, the Native Americans used to mix wild strawberries with their cornmeal for a special fry-bread treat. Carry on the tradition by baking up some strawberry muffins this weekend. When the season is over substitute blueberries, cherries or chopped peaches.
FABULOUS
STRAWBERRY MUFFINS
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped
Additional sugar for topping
Preheat oven to 400° F. Put 12 muffin cups in your tin. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and stir until well blended. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla, then stir in the strawberries.
Using a large spoon, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moist. Spoon the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with about 1/2 teaspoon sugar, if you like, and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
The Florida Strawberry Growers Association has a lot of nice recipes, and I thought this one was particularly delightful.
ICED STRAWBERRY TEA
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups cold tea
Ice cubes
1/3 cup sugar
Wash and cap the berries. Set aside several for garnishing. Puree remaining strawberries in a blender and strain them into a pitcher. Stir in the tea, sugar and lemon juice until the sugar dissolves. Chill. Serve over ice and slip a few strawberries in on top for looks!
Blake Eyman brought by a whole handful of good-looking recipes. I thought this one was kind of unique. Blake says its perfect for making a day ahead.
BLAKE’S STRAWBERRY PRETZEL DESSERT
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups pretzels, crushed
3/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 8-oz. package whipped topping
8 oz. of cream cheese, softened
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 6-oz. package strawberry gelatin
2 1/1 cups boiling water
10 oz. strawberries (fresh or frozen)
Mix the sugar, pretzels and melted margarine in a 9-x-13-inch pan to make a crust (spread evenly). Bake 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Blake says it will look bubbly. Set aside to cool.
Cream the cheese with the powdered sugar, then fold in the whipped topping. Fold in the marshmallows and spread this over the crust.
Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, stir in the washed, capped and sliced strawberries and chill until slightly thickened. Spread this over the cream cheese layer and chill the whole dessert thoroughly before serving.
Another of Blake’s sweet treats is this lovely cake. The last time I had a strawberry cake was my 13th birthday. My mother made it in a bombe shape and stuck a Barbie doll in the middle of it (Only it must have been Steffie because she had brown hair). The whole thing was iced to look like a Southern Belle in hoop skirt and all, complete with a little toy parasol and straw hat. It was very special!
GRANDMOTHER’S
STRAWBERRY CAKE
1 white pudding cake mix
1 pkg. strawberry gelatin
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup strawberries
Icing:
1 lb. box powdered sugar
1 stick margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and creamy. Pour into three 9-inch cake rounds and bake according to the cake’s directions.
Make the icing by beating the three ingredients together until glossy, adding additional powdered sugar as needed. Frost the layers and, if you have some extra berries, you can make little “fans” to press into the sides, or use the slices to build flowers on top — its creative time!
Next week we’ll have some luscious lamb recipes. Easter is coming up quick, so why don’t we put out the call for egg dishes? I’m including Eggbeaters and egg substitutes in that as well! Whether it’s a breakfast burrito, casserole or double-rich ice cream: What’s your favorite recipe using eggs?
I’ll be waiting to hear from you at murphysmenu@yahoo.com or The Emporia Gazette, P.O. Box C, Emporia, Kans. 66801. Let’s get cooking!