Strawberry Season -- A Remembrance and a Recipe

After a long winter and an odd spring, there is nothing like the arrival of strawberries to scream "Summer Is Here!"

 

I love these sweet red berries and when they arrive -- the real, picked-from-a-local-garden kind -- there is cause for celebration. I'd happily live on a diet of strawberry-based foods all season if I could. Alas, it's a short season and that wouldn't be too wise!

 

At my house, you'll find strawberries in a tasty green salad, with a cheese like gorgonzola, blue or feta, and spiced nuts! And, I'm happy to throw them into my morning yogurt or make a fruit salad with whatever fruit is at hand. 

 

Or, crush them into a sauce for ice cream, or chop up a banana to enjoy with them as a snack. 

 

Dip them in chocolate, if you feel ambitious! (Or decadent!)

 

Or, just eat them by the handful!

 

My home strawberry crop has been meager at best this year. My overwhelming sweet pea, planted in a different spot, has "migrated" and between that and the black-eyed Susans, the berry plants have been largely covered over, leaving little room for sun to let the plants produce their berries. There were so many pretty berry blooms before the rain came and the weeds, sweet peas and Susans took over the space. I'm still counting on a few more!

 

But when you don't have berries at home, you go to the berry farm. There was a time when I picked them. Now, I just buy them!

 

I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, from the time I was very small. When I was old enough to be a "picker," I was put to work. My short little-kid legs were made for being close to the ground. Ah, that was then, this is now! Her old journals tell of a time when they picked and sold the berries, one haul being 55 quarts. 

 

Longtime Gypsy readers may remember my saying that when strawberries arrived at my grandparent's farm, we would have a shortcake dinner -- and by that I mean only strawberry shortcake on grandma's homemade baking powder biscuits, and as much as we wanted.  Nothing else. I haven't made "her" shortcake this year -- there's still time. 

I had signed up for dessert at Cork Poppers, the theme being Red, White and Blue (though that ended up not happening, with the exception of a few things!) Still, I thought, "Let's do a seasonal, individual dessert" Regular strawberry shortcake, served on a bowl or plate, wasn't an option. But what about a "portable" version,  easy to eat while standing and chatting or sitting.

I had 13 Bonne Maman jam jars. I save these for holiday gift giving -- just the right size for nuts or other treats. Why not bring shortcake in a jar? (This is about as basic as it can be but you can ramp this up with other flavors as well, or make it a mixed-berry dessert.)

 

Here's How I Did It 

• First, I made the strawberry part. (These measurements are to do 13 jars; adjust accordingly.)

• In a large bowl, rinse and hull two quarts of strawberries, plus a few handfuls more, and crush them. (The best way to do this is with clean hands, squishing them through your fingers. It fully crushes them but leaves them a little chunky.)

 

• Then add sugar to taste. For that quantity -- enough to make 13 jam jars -- I added about three or four tablespoonsful, stirring it in well. 

• Since I was doing this the day before and wasn't ready to assemble, I put them, covered, in the fridge 

• I knew making Grandma's biscuits might not work for the small jars. Instead, I picked up an angel food cake, this was a small one, shaped like it was done in a bread pan. I cut it into cubes and put those in a plastic bag for overnight. 

• The next morning, I lined up my jars and put several big cubes of cake in the bottom of each cup. Then I added between an eighth and quarter of a cup over them (give of take -- it was easier for me to use a cup with a handle and that was the size I used.)

• Then I added another round of cake cubes and another scoop of berries, making sure to get some juice in each. (If you have ever made trifle, this is similar -- but with no layer of pudding or cream filling.)

• I filled the jars about three-quarters full to allow guests room to squirt whipped topping over it, and put a pinch of chopped mint on the top. Then they were covered with the cute gingham jar lids and gave them a shake to be sure the berry juice made its way to the bottom.

And they were a hit!

 

I still want to make Grandma's biscuits but this was a great solution and would work well for large or small quantities, great for a picnic of a July 4 celebration!

(And, another July 4 treat are these tomato/mozzarella/basil skewers. I made these for Corkies too, and was glad there were a few left over for my snacks! (Front left, below!)

Now that I have come up with one recipe for Summer in a Jar, I'm going to work on some other ideas -- orzo salad would be terrific!

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