Even my little plants have produced 4 berries for Diego and I to enjoy!
So what did I do with this bounty of berries? Well of course I bought 8 pints to make pies and jams!! :)
I also went a little CRAZY with the rhubarb...I mean really what better combination in a pie or jam? or on their own in muffins or a cake? Let's just say I was a little busy on Monday evening...
I made a batch of delicious rhubarb muffins using this recipe that I posted last year...YUM! I also made some strawberry-rhubarb jam which turned out really dark but is very tasty...especially as a natural sweetener for my homemade yogurt...or an ice cream...or on buttery toast...or anywhere you might want to use jam!!Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam
4 cups of rhubarb, cut in small pieces
8 c. sugar
8 cups of strawberries, washed and hulled
8 c. sugar
8 cups of strawberries, washed and hulled
Sprinkle pieces of rhubarb with sugar, let set 12 hours. Bring to a boil, add strawberries. Boil until thick, and seal in sterilized jars. Place filled jars in water and boil for 10 minutes for long term storage.
I also discovered a recipe for fresh strawberry pie in my cookbook entitled Cook Great Food by the Dietitians of Canada. There are a number of really good recipes but this one by far takes the cake...or pie to be exact. I have already made it twice (and we ate it all without sharing... shameful I know). This is THE BEST PIE EVER! Go right now and make it, you wont be disappointed!
The recipe calls for a pre-prepared graham cracker crust. I did not have one on hand so instead I made a shortbread and vanilla cookie crust using a recipe in the same book for a gingersnap crust for a pumpkin cheesecake (I am thinking Thanksgiving for this recipe!).Crust
1.5 cups of cookie/cracker crumbs of your choice
1/3 cup of melted butter
3 tbsp of brown sugar
Combine all the ingredients and press on the bottom and sides of the plate. Refrigerate.
The filling
5 cups of washed and hulled strawberries
1/3 cup of cold water
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
4 tsp of cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp of cold water
Puree or mash 1 cup of the strawberries, you should have about 3/4 cup of puree. Here instead of using a potato masher or pastry cutter to puree the berries, you can combine them with the water and sugar in the blender. If you haven't already, combine the puree with the water and sugar and blend well. Place the mixture in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk in the cornstach mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened (~1 min). Remove from heat. While the sauce is cooling place the remaining berries stem down on the crust. I used whole berries for the bottom layer, then cut the rest in half to line the sides of the plate and fill in the holes between the whole berries. Pour the sauce evenly over the berries and chill until the sauce/glaze is set (~3 h). To make it easier to cut and remove from the plate, take the pie our of the fridge ~ 20 min before you are going to eat it. Top with whipped cream and your taste buds will melt!
I still have lots of berries (and rhubarb) left for strawberry jam and strawberry-rhubarb pie. I made lots of pie crusts now I will fill them and freeze them! I also have plans to buy more berries to freeze whole for some mid winter snacks and maybe another of these pies! Don't wait to make this one...only you may not want to tell anyone about it because you will HAVE to share! :) ENJOY!
Holy yum. I've never made a crust with cookies before but now I will. I'm going to make this pie in celebration of Canada Day (red and white).
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