EDITOR’S NOTE: May might be “Strawberry Month”, but many varieties are known as “June-bearing” – and the berries from the valley have only been available for the past week. Look for berry vendors at the Farmers Markets, and locations around Tillamook, including Flavors on First, next to Kimmels and at Tillamook Co-Op, on Hwy. 101. Check the Tillamook County Pioneer Facebook page – we try to share their updates, etc.
Now here are some great strawberry recipes from The Kitchen Maven that are berry, berry good.
By Judith Yamada, The Kitchen Maven
May is Strawberry month. And since May is over – and the strawberries are just arriving – I decided to hurry up and post a couple of delicious springtime recipes. Of course, they are also quick and easy.
Last year, in my little garden, on the Oregon coast, I was the first person I knew with enough ripe strawberries to do more than just gobble a handful. This year, mine aren’t quite ripe yet – but yours might be. So, with that in mind, here are a couple of good ones your family will love. I posted them a year ago, but in case you didn’t catch that article, here they are again. Enjoy!
Although, I can’t say who created the recipe, varieties of it can be found on several sites, including the following: cleanfoodcrush.com, thebusybaker.ca, babyledfeeding.com and eatingbirdfood.com
Here’s the recipe I used:
STRAWBERRY CHIA JAM
1 pound ripe organic or home grown strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
¼ cup raw honey
2 Tablespoons white chia seeds
In a medium sized saucepan, heat the sliced strawberries and honey on medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the berries soften and release their juices. Lower heat to medium-low, if needed. At this point, using a potato masher, mash the fruit a bit. When the mixture begins bubbling well, stir in the chia seeds. If you haven’t done so already, now lower heat to medium low, but keep the mixture bubbling. Stir constantly, but slowly for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow jam to cool. Pour into a very clean pint jar and cover tightly. Refrigerate. This would also be delicious in tiny pastry shells as a not too sweet dessert or teatime treat.
STRAWBERRY CREAM SCONES
These don’t require that you cut in butter. Instead, using cream makes these scones a snap.
400 degrees F.
Line baking sheet with parchment
In large bowl, combine:
2 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon. baking powder
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (yellow only)
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Whisk dry ingredients together.
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
¾ cup coarsely chopped fresh ripe strawberries
2 Tablespoons coarse sugar (optional)
Mix together cream and vanilla extract. Drizzle over dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Stir in strawberries, evenly. Knead a few times, into an 8-inch round. Cut into 8 wedges and separate them by 1-inch. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
. Bake 20-25 minutes
Strawberry Rhubarb Springtime Pat in Pan Pie
Whisk together the following:
3 cups (12 ¾ ounces) King Arthur all purpose flour (or white whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2-teaspoon baking powder
In a separate bowl, whisk together the following:
2/3 cup oil: canola, vegetable, olive, peanut, your choice; or melted butter
6-7 tablespoons cold water
Pour the oil mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir with a spatula or fork until the dough is evenly moistened.
Dump 2/3 of the dough into a 9 inch pie pan, reserving 1/3 for the top crust. Pat the dough across the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides. A flat-bottomed measuring cup or glass helps smooth it out.
Crimp the edges of the crust, or flatten with the tines of a fork. Prick bottom and sides of unbaked pastry, and refrigerate at least 15 minutes.
.
Set oven rack to middle position
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine:
3 cups coarsely chopped ripe strawberries
3 cups sliced rhubarb (1/2 inch slices)
2/3-cup light brown sugar
1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup quick tapioca
In a large bowl, combine and stir together all filling ingredients. Allow filling to sit 15-20 minutes to release juices. Stir again before filling pastry. After pastry has chilled, place it on a baking pan, fill with fruit mixture, crumble the last 1/3 of the pastry over top of fruit, like a streusel topping, and place on middle rack of preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Without opening oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake another 30 – 35 minutes. Check doneness of crust edge after the additional 25 minutes to prevent burning. Cover edge with foil or crust protector if the edge is browning too fast. Pie will be done when the filling is visibly bubbling and the crust appears nice and golden. Remove pie from oven; remove it from the flat baking pan to a cooling rack. Best to cool completely, but cool at least one hour before cutting so slices hold together.
Crust is adapted recipe from King Arthur’s Flour website.