Never Too Many Strawberries

June for me always meant strawberry time. When I was young strawberries were sweeter, smaller, and juicier than today.  I made jam in a large gray kettle, inhaled the aroma, scraped the foam from the luscious concoction, and shared it with the children. The finished product was canned in half pint jars and kept in the cellar for winter.

Recently my daughter Becky came to visit and made strawberry jam. It was delicious, took much less time to make and is now stored in the freezer. We don’t have wild berries, but it certainly brings back memories when poured over ice cream, or spread on toast.

A couple of weeks ago we went shopping at Costco and got a huge crate of strawberries. We got creative and made strawberry bread from Heaven’s recipes. (Recipe found on this blog). There were so many berries we didn’t have room to store them in the refrigerator. So I rinsed and froze most of them in two cup portions and thought of ways to use them: smoothies, muffins, jam, and a recipe for a strawberry fruit cake that I invented.

This is a variation of a Mexican fruit cake that I have been making for years. The recipe originally came from my daughter-in-law Stacey. The difference being I substituted a package of frozen strawberries for crushed pineapple. Try this extremely moist cake while strawberries are still available at a reasonable price.

                                                     Strawberry Fruit Cake

 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

4. Combine eggs, sugar, and chopped strawberries in medium mixing bowl.
5. In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking soda.
6. Add contents of medium bowl to flour, sugar mixture and combine thoroughly. Then add nuts.
7. Grease bottom of oblong cake pan and pour batter into pan.
8. Place into preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake until golden brown about 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Ice with this cream cheese frosting recipe while still hot.
10. Cool on wire rack and refrigerate until ready to serve.

                                              

                                              Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened

1 stick softened butter (no substitute)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

While the cake is baking, cream the softened cheese and butter (no substitute). Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat with mixer until ingredients are well combined. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven pour the icing over the cake. Cool on rack and then refrigerate until ready to serve. This iced cake with the frosting is very rich. Cut it into small pieces and it will serve a large crowd. Let the children help with this project. They love to mix and of course lick the bowl. Have fun cooking with the kids.

Surprise Oatmeal Pancakes

I got this basic recipe during the 1970’s from a Chicago friend of ours named Mike.  He was a traveling salesman and visited our area about once a month and usually spent the night.  One morning while he was there we were about to make breakfast when he decided to help out.  He made these wonderful oatmeal pancakes that were so delicious we adopted them for our own.  We’ve turned them into a Sunday brunch tradition at our home.  They never get boring because we change them by adding everything from blueberries to nuts and chocolate chips.  Let the children or grandchildren help out with this project.  They love making choices and adding their own  favorite ingredients.  

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tbsp. canola oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
½ cup milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup whole wheat flour
1½ cups old fashioned oatmeal

Optional: ½ cup chopped apple, a sprinkling of cinnamon, chocolate chips, blueberries, sliced strawberries, sliced almonds, chopped pecans, applesauce or anything else you or your assistants have chosen.

Directions: Preheat griddle to 350 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl whip egg with oil.  Add salt, cinnamon, honey, yogurt and milk.  Mix thoroughly and then add wheat flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and soda.  Add the optional ingredients of your choice or those of your assistants.
Pour batter onto a warm preheated griddle and cook until beginning to set.  Turn pancakes over and continue to cook until springy in center.  These pancakes burn easily so keep temperature lower than recommended by griddle manufacturers.  Place on platter when done and keep warm in oven until ready to eat.  I promise your family will love these.  Serve with maple syrup, your favorite jam, or fruit.  Turn off the TV and telephone, sit at the table and have a conversation with your family.  What a treat!

Strawberry Pickin’ Time

My daughter picked me up early one sunny Sunday morning, Fathers’ Day to be exact. “Let the dads sleep. We’re going strawberry picking,” she said. My two and four year old grandchildren were squirming in the back seat. Dressed in farmer clothes, they were ready for action.

We followed the river and drove down a dirt lane to the farm fields. Old red barns surrounded with fertile fields and farm equipment rested in the grass. We rushed to the strawberry stand, picked up two cardboard crates and walked through the straw strewn field. The kids were so excited—my grandson, about the tractors and plows, and the strawberry princess about the bright red fragrant berries.

Now these berries were like the strawberries I remember from my childhood, almost like wild ones. They were juicy and sweet all the way through and smaller than the ones you find in the grocery. We walked across the rows picking at random and even when the crates were full, it was hard to stop. Every time I saw another juicy cluster I stooped for just a few more.

The next day, I cleaned the berries, crushed them with a potato masher, and made delicious strawberry jam. Boiling the berries with sugar and Sure Jell in grandma’s big jelly kettle took me back to her steamy kitchen. Patiently stirring the chunks of succulent berries with their bright red color and intense flavor reminded me that you can’t find commercial jam like this today. Sealed in half pint jars the jam now waits contentedly for cold weather, and Grandma’s toast and biscuits.

While the berries are still in season, make Heaven’s Strawberry Bread with you grand kids. It will bring joy to your family and guests, especially those that helped make it. If you’ve missed the strawberry season in your part of the country, you can still make it using frozen berries. It may not be as perfect as these sweet soft berries of the gods, but it can match banana bread any day. And don’t forget, the best strawberries are those you pick yourself at the peak of ripeness in June, about Fathers’ Day.

Heaven’s Strawberry Bread (or cake)

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups cooking oil (may substitute half with applesauce)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. salt
1 ½-to 2 cups fresh strawberry—with juices (sliced and sprinkled with sugar and allowed to set until juices are released or over night in the refrigerator.)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Flour and butter for greasing loaf pans (or use baking spray with flour.)
Directions: Mix oil, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Then add mixture of dry ingredients: flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt, alternately with the strawberries. Last fold in the nuts and stir just until blended.

Pour into two prepared loaf pans. (9”X5”) and bake 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack and serve.

Hint: for cake: Pour all batter into one fluted bunt pan and after baking and cooling, drizzle with cream cheese icing. Garnish with fresh strawberries, mint and/or nuts.