strawberry elderberry ice cream.

We love to make cold treats in the summer. Granita, sorbet, ice cream, frozen custard...all have their place. My favorite quick make ice cream recipe is really just that - quick and easy to make. It is not the mild fruit flavor of most ice creams - this is triple the fruit and 100% of the flavor. It isn't too sweet either, and it really tastes more like frozen strawberries and cream than ice cream. Perfectly delicious.

::ingredients::

1 pound hulled strawberries
juice and zest of half a lemon
9 Tbsp raw honey
5 Tbsp elderberry syrup
1 cup whipped cream, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract or scraped seeds from half a vanilla bean
a few grates of fresh nutmeg (optional)


In a food processor* pulse the strawberries, honey, vanilla, lemon juice and elderberry syrup. Don't liquefy, just pulse so that the strawberries are chunky but not huge.
(*You can just macerate in a bowl with pastry cutter or fork too.)

By hand or with a kitchen aid whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.


Fold the puree of strawberries into the whipped cream, including all the liquid. Add the lemon zest.


Pour into your ice cream maker and run for 20-30 minutes. Transfer into a freezer container to set.


This is the most simple ice cream - and has such an intense strawberry flavor (and color!) that nothing can compare. Being such a simple recipe it is super easy to put together and have in the freezer in no time at all. Leaving more time for summer fun.

I used heavy cream for this recipe, but you could use coconut milk too. You won't get the light whip cream air from the coconut, but will still have the nice berry flavor. If you use regular sugar instead of honey let it sit in the bowl with the strawberries/vanilla/syrup/lemon juice for a bit to dissolve before pulsing. If you don't have elderberry syrup you can substitute - rose water would be wonderful - or just leave it out.

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honey balsamic reduction.

Like just about everywhere, we are in the end of the fresh strawberry season. We are not picking enough for any big recipe, but love having a hand full for dessert in the evening. One of my favorite combos is balsamic vinegar, strawberries and whipped cream. It is super simple and so good.

::honey balsamic reduction::
1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp raw honey

Bring these two to a boil in a pot, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by about half (10 minutes or so). Take off the heat - it will thicken as it cools. Drizzle over fresh strawberries.

My favorite whipped cream is done by hand. I think using a big bowl gives you room for a better stroke and it doesn't take as long when using a whisk. I like to whip about a cup of heavy cream in with the seeds from about one half of a vanilla bean. Just as it is starting to thicken, I add a drizzle of honey and finish whipping to the desired thickness. Add a dollop of this over your balsamic strawberries - oh yes, it is REALLY good.

strawberry rhubarb bread pudding.

It has been a long, long time! I took a break from this blog after a busy garden/CSA/canning season to just step away from it for the winter, and come back when growing season was in swing again. I have a lot of ideas and recipes this year - and I'm excited about trying some new things, stretching my food preservation muscles even more, and exploring all the goodness around me.

This week has been the beginning of strawberry season. The garden has been giving us spring greens for awhile, but it really seems like summer is starting when the strawberries are ripe. As we all know, strawberries and rhubarb are quite the duo. I love the preserves and crisps and pies that I always make, but I wanted to combine the flavors of the two with a more comfy cozy dessert - bread pudding. It turned out so good!

I based it on my favorite basic bread pudding recipe, with some tweaks for flavor and ingredients!


::strawberry rhubarb bread pudding::

1 cup chopped rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
4 cups sliced or cubed bread
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch nutmeg
zest of one lemon

1/4 cup grated unsweetened coconut
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350º.

Place your bread into your baking dish. Add the rhubarb & strawberries making sure it is all mixed in between the bread pieces.

In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, honey, vanilla, milk and spices (room temp eggs work best to help mix honey).


Pour the mixture over your bread/fruit mix. Add the zest over the top. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Add the coconut & brown sugar to the top. We don't like things too sweet, so we add only enough brown sugar to mix well with the coconut for a nice topping - if you like sweet you can add a bit more.

Put back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let sit a few before serving.


I'm ready for summer!

whole wheat strawberry-orange muffins.

We have a freezer full of delicious strawberries we picked last June. We have been working our way through them for desserts and smoothies - but there is something extra wonderful about the color, taste and smell of strawberries once January hits. I opened the bag today and the smell was spectacular. Yum.

I used this basic muffin recipe for the base, but tweaked it a bit to add additional liquid so that I could use whole wheat flour rather than all purpose white flour. By using the juice of a mandarin, I got that extra liquid as well as a really good flavor boost. The muffins are so good - the flavor is more like a tea bread...not too sweet. But the texture and crumb is all muffin.


I sprinkled unsweetened organic shredded coconut on top before baking. Nice combination with the strawberries.

::whole wheat strawberry-orange muffins::

ingredients::
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup turbinado (granulated) sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup milk (room temp)
1/4 cup softened butter
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest and juice of one organic mandarin (small orange or clementine would be fine too)
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped frozen strawberries
unsweetened shredded organic coconut (optional)

directions::
Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat together the milk, butter, vanilla, and eggs until creamy. Squeeze in the juice and add the zest.

Toss your chopped frozen strawberries (not cut too small, but not whole) into the flour. Turn to coat. Putting the fruit in the flour first will help keep it from sinking to the bottom during baking.


Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Lightly stir to incorporate. Do not overmix. Let the mix sit a few minutes.

Fill paper muffins cups or a lightly greased muffin tin about 2/3 full. Sprinkle on coconut (optional). Put in the middle rack into your pre-heated oven. Bake about 15-20 minutes...until done.

Makes about 18 normal sized muffins.


If you use normal all purpose flour (and not whole wheat), leave out the mandarin juice (keep the zest if you like) or the batter may be too thin.

strawberry dessert topping.

Fresh strawberries are so delicious on their own - but when we have a large quantity of strawberries, I always make a special batch of strawberry compote, which is a great dessert topping. It is so good drizzled over ice cream, yogurt, pancakes or pound cake.

strawberry dessert topping

1 quart ripe strawberries, rinsed, top greens cut off
3-4 Tbsp sugar, or 2 Tbsp agave or honey (to taste - if you like it sweet, add a bit more)

Put the strawberries in a pot and pour sugar over the top. Mash a bit with a fork or potato masher (don't pulverize, just mash a bit to get liquid flowing). Cook the mixture on medium heat for about 7-10 minutes (stir often!!!). Put a lid on it, turn off the burner, and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.

You can store it in the fridge for a few weeks or freeze it.


Oh - and yes, this is our homemade vanilla frozen custard. It is yellow because our super farm fresh eggs are so golden. Recipe coming soon, I promise!

strawberries:: part 1!

This is a week of strawberries. With over 20 pounds of strawberries, we spent all day Sunday cleaning and cutting and prepping and preserving. We made freezer jam, dessert topping and bagged whole strawberries to freeze for baking and smoothies. Yum! So I think some strawberry recipes are in order.


coconut rice pudding with fresh strawberry mash

1 c. sushi rice
1 can organic coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. brown sugar (or sweeten to your taste preference)
1/4 c. organic coconut flakes (optional)

a dozen or so strawberries
2 fresh lemon verbena leaves
1 tsp honey

Rinse the sushi rice in a strainer for about 1 minute, drain. Measure 1 1/2 cups water into a pot. Add the rinsed rice & vanilla. Cook on med-high until bubbling. Reduce heat to simmer and put a lid on it for about 15 minutes. (Or, follow the directions on the package)

While rice is cooking, mash your strawberries in a bowl with a fork. Finely chop the lemon verbena and mix it in, then add the honey. Stir and let sit to macerate while the rice finishes.

When rice is done (don't over cook - it needs to be able to soak up the coconut milk!), add the coconut milk, coconut flakes and sugar. Stir and let sit (no lid) for a few more minutes until thick and creamy.

Serve warm with the strawberry mixture drizzled over the top.


Why Sushi Rice? Sushi rice has just the right starch balance for a nice creamy texture when cooked and absorbs additional liquid well.

According to the Environmental Working Group's report "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce," strawberries are among the 12 foods on which pesticide residues have been most frequently found. So be sure your strawberries are organic!