Strawberry Lemonade Iced Tea, Cold-Brewed

This ratio came out tasting rather well. Though, I wonder if it's better to add all the sweetener (in this recipe, just organic granulated sugar) when mixing the base or after the fact and just sweeten per serving. This write-up reflects the latter. I had half a quart (2 cups) of Strawberry mash in the fridge. I was going to make more strawberry ice cream with it but after a week of it just sitting in the fridge, this is what it went into.

There are actually four recipes on this page. Stop and go wherever you'd like.

Ingredients - Strawberry Syrup Mash

1 lb fresh strawberries, core/stem removed
1/2 c sugar

Mash the strawberries, use an immersion blender, or blend it all together in a food processor.

(optional) Add 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice if you want to preserve the red color of the strawberries.

At this point, you could skip the lemonade part of this recipe and add a 14-oz can of coconut milk to make coconut strawberry ice cream. But, that's an experiment for another day.

Ingredients - Strawberry Lemonade

1/2 fresh lemon juice from 2 large lemons

Directions

Add the lemon juice to the strawberry syrup mash. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For one 12 oz serving:

add 1/2 c Strawberry Lemonade base
fill mug with filtered water (or cold-brewed iced black tea for a Strawberry Arnold Palmer)
add sweetener, to taste (for this I added 1 tbsp organic granulated sugar)

Cold-brewed Black Tea

4 tsp English Breakfast tea (or 4 black tea bags)
4 cups of water
1 quart mason jar w/ lid

Combine in the mason jar and let sit overnight in the fridge.

Side note: 

You can use a vegetable peeler to peel just the yellow part of the peel from the lemon and put the peels in a clean jar filled with vodka.. to make lemon extract. You can then add a simple syrup to that extract (1:1 ratio) to make limoncello. Then compost the peels when all that is done.

Two Ingredient Strawberry Ice Cream

You know when you've spent too much time on Instagram or Pinterest when your tired brain thinks that Buzzfeed's Tasty videos are onto something with their "2 ingredient' ice cream recipes. Then you actually try them out and find that the ratio of dairy to everything else is too high. This strawberry ice cream tasted a lot like strawberry-infused cream than an actual strawberry ice cream, despite having mixed in 2 lbs of strawberries into the batch.

The Foodening Blog - Two Ingredient Strawberry Ice Cream

While this is a no-churn recipe, you do need a food processor or blender.

Tasty's recipe ratio:

1 pint heavy cream, beaten to soft peaks
One 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk

And, strangely, that is it for their "two ingredients". I put in more than their suggested amount of mix-ins into this batch. Tasty only uses 1 cup of chopped strawberries. I can't imagine how bad their ice cream tastes.

To this, I added 1 lb frozen strawberries (coarsely chopped in the food processor) plus 1 lb fresh strawberries, an additional half cup of organic granulated sugar to balance out the tartness of some of the strawberries.

And even with that, it didn't really have that strong strawberry flavor.

The flipside to this is to make an actual churn-based recipe and make a vanilla custard base, like what Alton Brown would suggest.

This batch made 2 quarts. While just tasting like frozen strawberry-infused ice cream, it lasted less than a week. What can I say. I really like ice cream.

Kitchen Notes: Canning Unsweetened Fruit Juice

I thought about making a mixed berry jam using the berries that have been in the freezer; but my pantry currently suffers from a glut of uneaten jams. To convert this into the base of a drink spritzer, take an equal amount of a basic sugar syrup (1:1 ratio of sugar to water, boiled together and volume reduced by half) and add it to the juice. Then add up to a 1/4 c of the juice mixture to a glass with ice and sparkling water (or sparkling wine).

TheFoodening Blog - Unsweetened Mixed Berry Juice

I just needed to free up some freezer space for my dumplings. Anyhow. Onto the process.

This batch had a lot of seeds! OMG. So many tiny seeds to filter out. I batch strained the solids 2-3 times (the -3rd time was the thick goo leftover in the strainer and I let it drip out overnight in the fridge in a bowl).

1/2 lb boysenberries, from the farmers market - big, ripe and not really sweet
1 lb strawberries - uhh, I froze them whole so the stems were still there
1 qt blueberries - these have been in the freezer for a while, a couple years; picked at Majestic Farm Blueberries a few miles away

I am not sure why I tossed in the remainder of an opened jar of Fonseco port, but a bit more than a cup of port is also in this "juice".

Crock it all together in a slow cooker for a few hours on LOW.

Made: 5 half pints

Strawberry Shortcake

One of my favorite places to get dessert recipes is Southern Living magazine. Those southerners really know desserts. If only I could read and bake at the same time. The shortcakes would have tasted like little airy cakes if I had remembered to mix in the baking powder. Alas, these little pucks are a bit dense but still edible and presentable.

TheFoodening Blog - Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Layer Ingredients

a pint of strawberries, de-stemmed and quartered

1 tsp almond extract

up to 1/2 c organic granulated sugar

Shortcake Ingredients

2 3/4 c all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 c organic granulated sugar

3/4 c cold butter, diced

2 eggs

8 oz sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract 

a batch of whipped cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 F

1. Combine strawberries, almond extract, and sugar (depending on sweetness of the berries) in a container. Shake covered until mixed and set aside for at least an hour.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract. 

3. In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, sugar, and butter together until the mixture resembles crumbs with bits of butter.

4. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Dough will be sticky.

5. Use a 1/3 cup measure to form little cakes. Place cakes 2" apart on a baking sheet.

6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tops are light golden brown.

7. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.

8. To make the shortcakes:

Cut the shortcake in half. On the bottom half, spoon 2 tablespoons of the strawberry mixture, followed by a dollop of whipped cream, and cover with the top half of the shortcake.

You can also make these shortcakes more adult by adding a tablespoon of a sweet wine or hard alcohol to the bottom half before you add the strawberries. I used the peach wine that I made earlier in the summer; though other alcohols that would be nice are muscat wine, bourbon, sake, gin, or rum.

Strawberry Port Wine Jam

This was the first jam of the year. I'm still learning the differences between jams, preserves, and compotes. I prepped the entire half-flat of strawberries from the farmers market and decided to make two different strawberry jams since this recipe only called for 2.5 cups of prepped strawberries.

I should also note that I tried to be extra clever and put a teaspoon of fresh strawberries into the hot jam, hoping for some texture; but alas, nature has thwarted my efforts. The jar with fresh strawberries added did not set properly and looks a tad runny when I tilt the jar. All other jars have set firmly, well, as firm as pectin-laced jam can get. And, because I only prepped six half-pint jars, the seventh cup is in the fridge.

The recipe ratio is from Southern Living magazine, June 2003 issue; but my inspiration for making this came from the A Flock in the City blog. I chopped the entire batch of strawberries in a food processor. Maybe this is why the strawberries disintegrated into liquid when I cooked them.

Strawberry Port Wine Jam made with Fonseca Port

Makes 7 half-pint jars

Optional equipment: candy thermometer, food processor

Ingredients

2.5 c fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and chopped
1 1/2 c port wine
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 package powdered pectin (1.75 oz)
4 c organic granulated sugar

Directions

In a large saucepan, stir together strawberries, port, lemon zest, nutmeg, and pectin.

Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add in sugar and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Bring this back up to a rolling boil (bubbles don't go away when stirred) and boil for an additional minute.

(optional) I used a candy thermometer and brought the mixture up to 220 F. This is just shy of the temperature needed to make candied syrup threads.

Remove from heat and skim off the foam.

Fill jam into hot, sterilized jars. Wipe the rim with a paper towel moistened with hot water. Place lids and secure the bands.

Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. (Meaning, after you put the jars in the water needs to come up to a full boil again and then start the 10-minute timer).

Kitchen Notes: Strawberry Season

Depending on where you are, or how your grocery stores source their not-local produce, strawberry season can start as early as December (as was the case when I last visited southern California) where advances in agriculture methods have yielded seasonal crops in shorter grow cycles with larger production. I'm not sure when harvesting season is in southwest Washington/Portland since farms as far out as Yakima valley (east of the Cascade mountains) show up in the Portland metro area farmers markets. This year, warmer and drier weather started in March. Off-season prices range from $2/lb to $5/lb for commercially grown strawberries, up to $6/lb for local or organic strawberries. 

Is this a lot of money? It depends on what you're going to do with them: eating, paired with wine or desserts, making preserves, etc. Gone are the days when strawberries could be found at the grocery store for $0.99/lb. And, both farms and grocery stores don't really fall into any standard of weights and measures when it comes to selling to consumers. Some do it by visual cues, selling by the pint (visual volume not by weight) and others sell by the weight. Personally, I'd rather buy my produce by the pound than its visual volume (as is the case with rhubarb stalks, where you have to estimate how much usable rhubarb you'll have after trimming the ends of the stalks).

Last weekend at my local farmers market, I picked up a "half flat" (visual volume) of fresh strawberries which were smaller than what you'd find at a grocery store, but looked really red (an indication of ripeness and sweetness). Of the three or four booths that were selling strawberries in "half flat", I went with the cheapest booth at $10/half flat. When I got home and weighed what I bought, it came out to be 2 lbs 12 oz or roughly $3.63/lb.

Fresh rhubarb stalks at the farmers market also has a wide range of pricing, typically $2.50 to $4.00 per pound. The stalks are redder, thicker and healthier than what can be found at the local produce market. But, is it really worth double the price?

Strawberry Basil Preserves

I picked up a basil plant from Trader Joe's about a week ago and its tall stems were flopping over. Originally, I wanted to use the fresh basil to make margherita pizza (basil, tomato, mozzarella); but our weather has turned back to the Pacific Northwest norm of below 60 degrees F and not enough sun (not good for making pizza dough). Basil seems to go well with red fruits and this is to see if basil goes well with strawberries.

The basil might overpower the strawberry flavor in this batch, as I used more than 1/4 c of basil leaves. I added a few more whole strawberries to the remainder of the prepped half-flat to bring the total fresh weight to 2 lbs.

One jar didn't seal properly so it is in the fridge. Now I have two cups of jam to eat. Do you know what that means? More exercise.

Strawberry Basil Jam, ready for its hot water bath

Makes: 5 half-pints

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and chopped
1/2 c filtered water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 c organic granulated sugar
1/4 c roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

In a large saucepan, add strawberries and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to medium heat and continue to boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a food processor, combine sugar and fresh basil leaves. Whirl together until no large bits of basil remain and the sugar turns to a pale green color. Set aside.

Remove lid from the saucepan and stir in lemon juice. Add sugar gradually, stirring to incorporate. Boil for 5 more minutes. Skim off any foam that rises. 

The jam is ready for jars when the volume of liquid has reduced and the jam has thickened.

Pour jam into hot, sterilized jars with a 1/4" headspace. Wipe the rims, lid and tighten bands on jars before processing in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Simple Syrup

It wasn't until I had a rhubarb infused hard cider at a cider fest earlier in the year that I started to appreciate the culinary aspect of this plant. Behold! Strawberry-rhubarb syrup for cocktails and soda drinks. I saw this recipe on my RSS feed from Smitten Kitchen. It is a very simple recipe that smells fruity and has a tangy sour-sweet taste. 

Also this was my first time using rhubarb in a recipe. Should you happen to buy the stalks fresh, trim and discard the ends as you would with a stalk of celery. Then chop or dice as normal.

Yield: 3 cups

Usage: 2 tbsp per 6-8 oz of chilled sparkling water or sparkling wine

Strawberry Basil Spritzer

This summer, the sun has been awfully harsh with wanting to be in the sky for 16 hours at a stretch. At least the solstice has passed and the days are starting to get shorter. This beverage can be kicked up a couple notches with the addition of vodka, but is good enough on its own without alcohol.

Ingredients

4-5 organic strawberries, washed, stemmed and halved
8 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 oz simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled and reduced by half)
juice from 1 lime
club soda or sparkling water
3 oz vodka (optional)

Directions

In a pint jar, combine strawberries, basil leaves, simple syrup, and lime juice. Let chill until ready to use. Scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture per serving, into a tall glass with ice. Add enough club soda or sparkling water. Stir briskly then serve.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

If you see strawberries at the supermarket, they are probably from California or Mexico, because there they are in season. Our Pacific Northwest strawberries usually don't become sweet until we see a lot of sunlight, and that can come as late as June. This nice light salad with fruity tones.

The Salad

The estimate to serve four adults is one bunch of spinach (approx 1 lb); likewise for eight adults, use two bunches of spinach.

In a large salad serving bowl, combine baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries. Toss with vinaigrette and top with toasted sesame seeds.

The Dressing

1/4 c organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (pomegranate flavored)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then whisk in paprika and olive oil. 

Sweetened Cream Scones

Once you have a decent base recipe, making additions to it is easy enough. This particular recipe calls for a lot of sugar. While it isn't as ludicrously sweet as the scones you can get at a Starbucks, it has a noticeable amount of sugar that is more than what you'd get out of a standard cream-based scone at an English tea shop. It can easily be turned into a savory scone (aka a biscuit) with the omission of the sugar. It's the combination of cold butter and cold heavy cream that make these scones light and crumbly. Moisture is a big deal in a scone like this. Depending on your climate (here it is very humid during the winter), you may not need an entire cup of cream.

Sweet Cream Scones with Rosemary and Strawberry Jam

Basic Cream Scone Ingredients

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. organic granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
up to 1 c. organic heavy cream

This batch's additions:
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
strawberry jam

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a food prep, pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and any additional fresh herbs until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. With the food prep running, slowly add heavy cream until the dough comes together.

3. On a lightly floured surface, turn dough out and knead into a ball. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour then roll out the dough to 1/2" thickness. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes and place them at least an inch apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

4. If using a fruit jam, make an indent in the center of the scone and put up to a half teaspoon of jam in the middle. I used a wine cork for this step; but you could easily use a thumb or index finger too.

5. Bake scones for 18 minutes. Let cool before storing. If you're using jam in this recipe, you should store the scones in a sealable container in single layers separated by wax paper. That way the jam doesn't bleed onto other scones.