Sweet Strawberries

In honor of Saturday’s national holiday (which is National Strawberry Day if you hadn’t already guessed), I’ll share a few memories and my favorite two (yes, two!) strawberry recipes. That way you have time to prepare for your celebration this weekend!

Sweet Memories

First for the sweet memories, which come from a time long, long ago before we could take pictures with our phones. What a crazy thought, right? This morning I had to use my phone to take pictures of actual paper photos, then upload them here. How times have changed, and how old it makes me feel!

Here are my three kiddos on their first strawberry hunt 19 years ago. Of course there had to be some quality control measures in place to be sure we were getting only the very best.

This year my first grandson will be as old as my youngest was all those years ago. I think it’s time for another strawberry hunt!!

Sweet Strawberry Recipes

My family has a thing for sweets, that’s for sure! As if stawberries weren’t sweet enough on their own . . .

Strawberry Muffins

I lifted this recipe from Allrecipes, and tweaked it a bit with suggestions found in the reviews. Thank you, Katie Mae! I usually double the recipe since I live in a house with four men, and 8 muffins just aren’t enough for all of us.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• Cinnamon sugar for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oil an 8 cup muffin tin, or use paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, and egg. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, white and brown sugars, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.
3. Fill muffin cups, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Now that we’ve made breakfast, it’s time to start on dessert for dinner! This is an absolute must-make several times each summer in our house. Thank you to my trusty Good Housekeeping cookbook, yet again!

If “woven lattice” pie crust sounds intimidating, it’s easier than it sounds. Check out Baking a Moment for a step-by-step walk-through, and you just may be ready to try it!

Ingredients:

• 2 pints strawberries, each cut in half
• 1 pound rhubarb (without tops), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Pastry for a 9-inch 2-crust pie
• 1 Tbsp. butter, cut into bits
• Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1. In large bowl, with rubber spatula, gently toss strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, flour, tapioca, vanilla and salt to mix well. Let mixture stand 30 minutes to soften tapioca, stirring occasionally so tapioca will be evenly moistened.
2. Prepare pastry for 2-crust pie. Line pie plate with pastry; trim pastry edge, leaving 1-inch overhang. Spoon fruit mixture into piecrust; dot fruit with butter.
3. Preheat oven to 425^o F. Use remaining pastry to make a woven lattice top crust.
4. Bake pie 50 minutes or until fruit mixture begins to bubble and crust is golden. Cool pie on wire rack 1 hour; serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Sharing is Caring!

Now it’s your turn . . .

What is one of your favorite strawberry recipes?

Do you have any strawberry memories from days gone by?

Share with us in the comments below!

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Featured photo by adrianna geo on Unsplash