The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Strawberry Pecan Oat Bars

In my ongoing quest to spend less at the grocery store and provide my kids with yummy but healthier versions of the treats they like in their lunch bags, I made these.

Actually, I’ve made a few versions now, and this batch is my favorite so far.

Strawberry Shortcake with Rhubarb Sauce

My mother used to make me strawberry shortcake for breakfast on my birthday when I was a kid.  My birthday is in early July, which was at the end of strawberry season around here, but no matter – if she couldn’t get ripe local berries, she’d buy what was available and macerate them in some sugar for a while before making the shortcake.

I also remember that sometimes instead of the traditional biscuit, she’d get those spongy yellow mini-cakes (you can find them near the strawberries in most grocery stores this time of year).  I loved those little cakes.  Light and fluffy, they reminded me of another childhood favorite – Twinkies.  Yep.  Twinkies.  I think my introduction to those has been blamed on my paternal grandfather. 

But I digress….

First Strawberry!

That picture was taken on Thursday – the 19th.  I didn’t pick it then because the underside was still white.  But still – a red strawberry!  May 19th!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

If you've never made jam, and are feeling hesitant about going through the whole cooking and canning process, and you just want to maybe dip your toe into the jam-making pool and see what temperature the water is, then this is the way to do that.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam - The First Two Batches

Alex - the jam afficianado in our house - has pronounced this jam "Not bad...it's actually pretty good."  With two approving nods of his head.  So I'm thinking I got about an A-.

As I'd mentioned after my trip to the Farmers' Market on Friday, I bought a total of 4 quarts of strawberries:  6 individual pints of berries from one farm, one quart from another farm.  All were gorgeously ripe and red all the way through.  I also bought 2 lbs of rhubarb from the Honey Stick Man.  So I figured I'd have enough for a batch of jam and a pie.  Happily, I was wrong - I got two batches of jam and a pie out of the deal.  Well, nearly two batches.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Strawberry Balsamic Sorbet

According to my son, Alex, "This tastes just like strawberries!" 

I had a lot of strawberries on hand last week - end of the season strawberries that needed something done with them or else they'd start going moldy.

And Speaking of Eggrolls - How About Filling Them With Strawberries?

 

This was just an experiment - I had some leftover eggroll wrappers in the fridge and I had some strawberries.  And I thought - hey - deep-fried dessert! 

Strawberry Soup

Yesterday it was hot and humid - a preview of summer.  I wasn't in the mood to cook anything at lunchtime for the kids, but I wanted to give them something other than the ol' peanutbutter and jelly standby.