Moscow Food Co-op Recipes
All in Good Time:
Seasonal Cooking with Strawberries
Strawberries—fragrant and fresh! Biting into the season's first perfectly ripe strawberry is about as good as it gets, and on the Palouse, June is the height of the strawberry harvest. Pick early in the morning or later in the day, when the fruit is coolest (but keep the stems on, as they help keep the strawberries fresh longer).
In my household, the only jam worth making it seems, is strawberry. It's the only one that sells on cream cheese toast or PBJ sandwiches, anyway. And my kids like nothing better than smoothies made from strawberries, bananas and milk. Good thing strawberries are such a great source of potassium, fiber and Vitamin C. Finally, after three years of cultivation, I have enough strawberries in my small patch to make jam for the entire year, with plenty left over to use in cakes, salads and my latest strawberry discovery - salsa.
Strawberry
Salsa
This salsa is certainly the prettiest I've ever made, and quite possibly the tastiest. I like to serve it as a side dish with avocados, or with grilled chicken. It would probably be divine on a chip, too!
1 cup finely chopped strawberries
1 fresh Serrano or jalapeño chili, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. May be made several hours ahead and chilled, covered.
Another summer favorite is strawberry soup, which makes a great picnic item. You can treat it as a dessert, or just part of the meal.
Strawberry
Soup
1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
1/4 cup orange juice
4 cups fresh strawberries
1 Tbs. Honey
1/4 cup Cointreau (or other orange liqueur)
Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor with steel blade. Blend until smooth and serve chilled. You can garnish with fresh strawberry slices, mint sprigs, kiwi slices or whipped cream.
And finally, I include this strawberry cake recipe which I discovered several years ago. I make it in a small bundt pan and it's a perfect summertime treat. You can top it with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, but it stands alone just fine.
Fresh Strawberry Cake
2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp b. powder
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup fresh, crushed strawberries
Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Combine butter, sugar, eggs & vanilla in bowl. Beat with electric mixer for total of 3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl once or twice. Add flour mixture alternately with strawberries. Blend into the creamed mixture and then beat for 2 minutes.
Robin Ohlgren-Evans cultivates the offspring of generations of dazzling Palouse strawberries — a tribute to my friend Babette and the notion that strawberry fields are indeed forever. Your comments are welcome via email.
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