Strawberry Insanity

It's been a whole lot of strawberries up in here lately.  The last time we went strawberry picking was 2 summers ago, Finn couldn't walk and it was a hot Iowa day.  Needless to say, we didn't last long in that patch.  We tried to go last summer before we left Iowa, but by the time I got myself organized and had carved out some time in the midst of packing, we were too late.  It's just as well, I wouldn't have had time to do anything with those strawberries last summer anyway, I was just being optimistic.

This year was different and our bounty was 10-fold what we had two years ago.  I've got a board devoted to all things strawberry on my Pinterest page and I can't wait to try a few new recipes.  I managed to make 3 batches of jam.  I used this recipe from The Pioneer Woman because it's really easy and because it's in her new cookbook, which my husband gave me as a surprise "just because" gift last spring, so it was readily accessible.  The pages are now slightly sticky and stuck together.  Try not to shudder at the 10-1/2 cups of sugar per batch.

I've got a list a mile long of what I want to make with all of these strawberries - and considering I have about 5 gallon-sized bags in the freezer, it will surely take me through the winter.

• Strawberry Popsicles are top on my list (although we've been hovering in the high 60s, low 70s, so it hasn't really been hot popsicle weather up here).
• I want to make some more Strawberry Syrup for ice cream and for pancakes and for waffles (and really, anything else I can think of to throw some strawberry syrup on - oatmeal, vanilla pudding...).
• I really want to make some biscuits to go with the jam, and if I'm making biscuits, I might as well make some Strawberry Shortcake - or an alternative, Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.
• Last summer, to celebrate Julia Child's birthday, I made Strawberry Millefuille, which I will totally be making again because it was so light and amazing. 

I have been using this strawberry ice cream recipe for a couple of years.  It's easy and really, really good. Especially paired with the lemon ice cream that I made a couple of weeks ago.

Uriah requested that I make my mom's Strawberry Glaze Pie, so I did.  It doesn't take a lot of arm twisting to get me to make pie, and since he requests sweet things so infrequently, I like to oblige when I can.  I think my love language is food.

If you find yourself with a plethora of strawberries and need something to make - this pie is a summer staple. Clearly we couldn't even wait to dive into it!  You wouldn't necessarily have to use whole strawberries, although my mom always says it makes for a prettier presentation and I tend to agree.  A simpler solution would be to fill the pie crust with sliced strawberries and pour the glaze over them.

• Baked pastry shell for a 8-9" pie
• 1 cup strawberry juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablepoons cornstarch 
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups (or more) strawberries

To make the juice:  Measure 1 cup of strawberries, crush them, and add enough water to measure one cup.  Simmer for about 3 minutes; strain, discarding the strawberry pulp and keeping the juice.  Add water to the juice if necessary to measure 1 cup.

To make the glaze: Cook the juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick.  This part takes a bit of patience because it takes time for it to get to a thick syrup consistency.  Cool the glaze.

To assemble the pie:  Slightly wash and hull 2 cups (or more) of strawberries.  Arrange in the baked pie shell.  Coat with glaze and chill 2-3 hours.





Could someone please tell these two to stop growing?  2011 and 2013:

It's been a whole lot of strawberries up in here lately.  The last time we went strawberry picking was 2 summers ago, Finn couldn't walk and it was a hot Iowa day.  Needless to say, we didn't last long in that patch.  We tried to go last summer before we left Iowa, but by the time I got myself organized and had carved out some time in the midst of packing, we were too late.  It's just as well, I wouldn't have had time to do anything with those strawberries last summer anyway, I was just being optimistic.

This year was different and our bounty was 10-fold what we had two years ago.  I've got a board devoted to all things strawberry on my Pinterest page and I can't wait to try a few new recipes.  I managed to make 3 batches of jam.  I used this recipe from The Pioneer Woman because it's really easy and because it's in her new cookbook, which my husband gave me as a surprise "just because" gift last spring, so it was readily accessible.  The pages are now slightly sticky and stuck together.  Try not to shudder at the 10-1/2 cups of sugar per batch.

I've got a list a mile long of what I want to make with all of these strawberries - and considering I have about 5 gallon-sized bags in the freezer, it will surely take me through the winter.

• Strawberry Popsicles are top on my list (although we've been hovering in the high 60s, low 70s, so it hasn't really been hot popsicle weather up here).
• I want to make some more Strawberry Syrup for ice cream and for pancakes and for waffles (and really, anything else I can think of to throw some strawberry syrup on - oatmeal, vanilla pudding...).
• I really want to make some biscuits to go with the jam, and if I'm making biscuits, I might as well make some Strawberry Shortcake - or an alternative, Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.
• Last summer, to celebrate Julia Child's birthday, I made Strawberry Millefuille, which I will totally be making again because it was so light and amazing. 

I have been using this strawberry ice cream recipe for a couple of years.  It's easy and really, really good. Especially paired with the lemon ice cream that I made a couple of weeks ago.

Uriah requested that I make my mom's Strawberry Glaze Pie, so I did.  It doesn't take a lot of arm twisting to get me to make pie, and since he requests sweet things so infrequently, I like to oblige when I can.  I think my love language is food.

If you find yourself with a plethora of strawberries and need something to make - this pie is a summer staple. Clearly we couldn't even wait to dive into it!  You wouldn't necessarily have to use whole strawberries, although my mom always says it makes for a prettier presentation and I tend to agree.  A simpler solution would be to fill the pie crust with sliced strawberries and pour the glaze over them.

• Baked pastry shell for a 8-9" pie
• 1 cup strawberry juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablepoons cornstarch 
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups (or more) strawberries

To make the juice:  Measure 1 cup of strawberries, crush them, and add enough water to measure one cup.  Simmer for about 3 minutes; strain, discarding the strawberry pulp and keeping the juice.  Add water to the juice if necessary to measure 1 cup.

To make the glaze: Cook the juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick.  This part takes a bit of patience because it takes time for it to get to a thick syrup consistency.  Cool the glaze.

To assemble the pie:  Slightly wash and hull 2 cups (or more) of strawberries.  Arrange in the baked pie shell.  Coat with glaze and chill 2-3 hours.





Could someone please tell these two to stop growing?  2011 and 2013:

Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn & Avocado Salsa - and also, some nostalgia.

When we got back from Kansas City last weekend, our cupboards were bare - as in, I put Old Mother Hubbard to shame.  I had obviously done a great job of cleaning everything out of the refrigerator before we left, and Uriah obviously did a great job of eating frozen pizzas for a week.  So immediately after unloading every single thing from my over-stuffed car, I sat down to figure out what we would be eating this week.

I knew Uriah would be grilling at least once or twice (because again - frozen pizza. For a week.), so I wanted to take full advantage of the hot coals. I planned for Fiesta Grilled Chicken Salads with Creamy Jalapeno Dressing (I'll blog this little darling later this week - it also utilizes the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa), Grilled Veggie Sandwiches, and Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa.

Corn on the cob - or "corn on the bob," as Finn calls it - was on sale this week and I stocked up.  It's pretty easy to grill, just peel back the corn husk layers so you can remove all of the silky inside corn hair (what is that stuff called?  I'm sure there's a technical term for it...).  Then just put the layers of corn husk back around the cob and stick it on your grill (on indirect heat, a term I learned from my husband - it means not right over the coals.  I feel smart when I talk in grill-lingo.), turn occasionally, until you get some nice charred parts to the kernels.  I have heard that some people put butter or a little bit of olive oil on the corn before peeling the layers back up, but I don't.  I think it grills just fine and I really didn't want to add an extra fat to my meal.  You also wouldn't necessarily have to use grilled corn for the salsa, I've done it with frozen corn, that I've thawed, too.  I have never used canned corn.  I do not cook with canned vegetables.

So, anyway...this is seriously the easiest dinner ever.  In the time it took the oven to preheat and my tilapia fillets to bake, I made the corn salsa (using previously grilled corn).  I served it with a big bowl of chopped up summer fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, pineapple) and it was perfect and light.  Everything was done within a half an hour.

• Grilled Corn Salsa Recipe (I did not have a jalapeno in the house, so I omitted that this time, but it does give the salsa a little extra kick)
• 4 tilapia fillets - about 4 oz. each
• Olive oil
• Chili powder
• Chipolte powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 8 Fajita-sized flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Place tilapia fillets on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lightly with the chili powder and chipolte powder.  If you want a spicier fish, use more chipolte, but keep in mind, a little goes a long way - I only seasoned one side of the fish.  Bake in oven for 6-10 minutes, or until fish turns white.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile make the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa using this recipe.  

To put together your tacos, warm the tortillas in the microwave at 20 second intervals until warm but not hot.  Place 2 warmed tortilla on a plate, roughly chop or break apart one tilapia fillet and place half on each of the tortillas.  Put 2 tablespoons of the corn salsa on top of the fish and roll.  Repeat with remaining tacos and fish.

A look back:  Little piggies at almost a year old | June 2011

When we got back from Kansas City last weekend, our cupboards were bare - as in, I put Old Mother Hubbard to shame.  I had obviously done a great job of cleaning everything out of the refrigerator before we left, and Uriah obviously did a great job of eating frozen pizzas for a week.  So immediately after unloading every single thing from my over-stuffed car, I sat down to figure out what we would be eating this week.

I knew Uriah would be grilling at least once or twice (because again - frozen pizza. For a week.), so I wanted to take full advantage of the hot coals. I planned for Fiesta Grilled Chicken Salads with Creamy Jalapeno Dressing (I'll blog this little darling later this week - it also utilizes the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa), Grilled Veggie Sandwiches, and Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa.

Corn on the cob - or "corn on the bob," as Finn calls it - was on sale this week and I stocked up.  It's pretty easy to grill, just peel back the corn husk layers so you can remove all of the silky inside corn hair (what is that stuff called?  I'm sure there's a technical term for it...).  Then just put the layers of corn husk back around the cob and stick it on your grill (on indirect heat, a term I learned from my husband - it means not right over the coals.  I feel smart when I talk in grill-lingo.), turn occasionally, until you get some nice charred parts to the kernels.  I have heard that some people put butter or a little bit of olive oil on the corn before peeling the layers back up, but I don't.  I think it grills just fine and I really didn't want to add an extra fat to my meal.  You also wouldn't necessarily have to use grilled corn for the salsa, I've done it with frozen corn, that I've thawed, too.  I have never used canned corn.  I do not cook with canned vegetables.

So, anyway...this is seriously the easiest dinner ever.  In the time it took the oven to preheat and my tilapia fillets to bake, I made the corn salsa (using previously grilled corn).  I served it with a big bowl of chopped up summer fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, pineapple) and it was perfect and light.  Everything was done within a half an hour.

• Grilled Corn Salsa Recipe (I did not have a jalapeno in the house, so I omitted that this time, but it does give the salsa a little extra kick)
• 4 tilapia fillets - about 4 oz. each
• Olive oil
• Chili powder
• Chipolte powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 8 Fajita-sized flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Place tilapia fillets on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lightly with the chili powder and chipolte powder.  If you want a spicier fish, use more chipolte, but keep in mind, a little goes a long way - I only seasoned one side of the fish.  Bake in oven for 6-10 minutes, or until fish turns white.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile make the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa using this recipe.  

To put together your tacos, warm the tortillas in the microwave at 20 second intervals until warm but not hot.  Place 2 warmed tortilla on a plate, roughly chop or break apart one tilapia fillet and place half on each of the tortillas.  Put 2 tablespoons of the corn salsa on top of the fish and roll.  Repeat with remaining tacos and fish.

A look back:  Little piggies at almost a year old | June 2011

Chocolate Chip Hash Bars

My husband feeds my love of cookbooks and a few weeks ago he came home with a new one that he snagged for a few dollars at an antique store - 1963 Favorite Recipes of Friends from St. Elizabeth's Church, Duluth, MN.  I read the recipe titles out loud and the ingredient lists to Uriah one night and we were laughing so hard.  I am going to have to try some of these recipes because they are too weird to be terrible!  For example: Party Lunch, submitted by Mrs. Wm. Ritchie includes hot milk, tuna, hard boiled eggs and pimentos, among other savory ingredients.  Sounds like a party to me...maybe.  Or Roadside Potatoes, submitted by Mrs. Robert Bubalo, includes, obviously potatoes, but also green pepper, onion, Amercian Cheese and covered in hot milk "so the potatoes don't turn black."  The hot milk is a curiosity to me; it shows up in a lot of recipes.

Anyway, one of the recipes we came across was for Chocolate Chip Hash Bars, which, since the cookbooks was from 1963, we had our doubts about the original origin, but the ingredient list was all legal, so I proceeded to make them for Father's Day.  Those church ladies sure do know their bars!  These were amazing and if you have to bring something to your Fourth of July picnic next week, might I suggest these?    The original recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate chips, but my husband is a fan of butterscotch chips, so I did one cup chocolate and 1 cup butterscotch.  Ever the loving wife, I am!

Happy almost weekend!  Do you have big plans or are you saving up for the weekend after the 4th?  I think it's so strange when holidays fall in the middle of the week, so instead of partying either the weekend before or the weekend after, we are utilizing the whole week by heading to the dirty, dirty South to stay with my sister.  Right now we are busy packing and cleaning in preparation.  Everything I try to fold and organize, Finn tells me he needs to "sort" (read: throw all over the room.  Very annoying.  I currently have him "packing" his books and toys).

I am packing this cookbook because I'm sure I will be making these bars at some point next week!

Crust:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour

To make the crust, mix and make a crumb mixture.  Press into a 9x13" baking pan, reserving 3/4 cup for topping.  Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1-1/2 cup coconut
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup butterscotch chips

Beat the eggs and vanilla.  Add brown sugar, baking powder, flour and beat until mixed and smooth.  Stir in the coconut and the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture evenly over the bottom crust layer.  Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture on the top and return to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool and cut into bars.  Dust with powder sugar.

Thanks for submitting this one, Mrs. Harold R. Evens!

Favorite Recipes of Friends | 1963 | St Elizabeth's Church, Duluth MN 

My husband feeds my love of cookbooks and a few weeks ago he came home with a new one that he snagged for a few dollars at an antique store - 1963 Favorite Recipes of Friends from St. Elizabeth's Church, Duluth, MN.  I read the recipe titles out loud and the ingredient lists to Uriah one night and we were laughing so hard.  I am going to have to try some of these recipes because they are too weird to be terrible!  For example: Party Lunch, submitted by Mrs. Wm. Ritchie includes hot milk, tuna, hard boiled eggs and pimentos, among other savory ingredients.  Sounds like a party to me...maybe.  Or Roadside Potatoes, submitted by Mrs. Robert Bubalo, includes, obviously potatoes, but also green pepper, onion, Amercian Cheese and covered in hot milk "so the potatoes don't turn black."  The hot milk is a curiosity to me; it shows up in a lot of recipes.

Anyway, one of the recipes we came across was for Chocolate Chip Hash Bars, which, since the cookbooks was from 1963, we had our doubts about the original origin, but the ingredient list was all legal, so I proceeded to make them for Father's Day.  Those church ladies sure do know their bars!  These were amazing and if you have to bring something to your Fourth of July picnic next week, might I suggest these?    The original recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate chips, but my husband is a fan of butterscotch chips, so I did one cup chocolate and 1 cup butterscotch.  Ever the loving wife, I am!

Happy almost weekend!  Do you have big plans or are you saving up for the weekend after the 4th?  I think it's so strange when holidays fall in the middle of the week, so instead of partying either the weekend before or the weekend after, we are utilizing the whole week by heading to the dirty, dirty South to stay with my sister.  Right now we are busy packing and cleaning in preparation.  Everything I try to fold and organize, Finn tells me he needs to "sort" (read: throw all over the room.  Very annoying.  I currently have him "packing" his books and toys).

I am packing this cookbook because I'm sure I will be making these bars at some point next week!

Crust:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour

To make the crust, mix and make a crumb mixture.  Press into a 9x13" baking pan, reserving 3/4 cup for topping.  Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1-1/2 cup coconut
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup butterscotch chips

Beat the eggs and vanilla.  Add brown sugar, baking powder, flour and beat until mixed and smooth.  Stir in the coconut and the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture evenly over the bottom crust layer.  Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture on the top and return to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool and cut into bars.  Dust with powder sugar.

Thanks for submitting this one, Mrs. Harold R. Evens!

Favorite Recipes of Friends | 1963 | St Elizabeth's Church, Duluth MN