Strawberries

When you do something 3 years in a row, does that mean it is a tradition? This is our 3rd year picking strawberries now & we really enjoy it. I had the most fun remembering years past. Jacob's 1st time was with our friends who had come to NOLA & we went to a farm with a petting zoo. Jacob was 2 & acted as if he had grown up on a strawberry farm, right at home! The strawberries that year were the best. 

Last year I was "great with child" & wondered if I would squat to pick a strawberry & have Logan right there in the field!

This year was Logan's first time & he was a little frustrated that he could not climb around the strawberry vines. We also found out his latest ear infection was not completely cleared up so maybe that was a reason he was a little unsettled too.

We had lots of fun with Mema & had a picnic afterwards. Who would have thought we would need a jacket in May but it was windy!

My other favorite thing is what you do with the strawberries! Here are a couple of our favorite recipes:

Strawberry Pie

(Grandma Lois' recipe)

1 pint of fresh strawberries

2- 9 inch pie shells (cook according to instructions)

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

dash salt

1 (3oz) pkg strawberry gelatin

cool whip

Wash, hull & cut strawberries in half. Drain well. Place in prepared/cooled pie shells. Combine water, cornstarch, salt & jello in sauce pan. Place over med flame & cook until clear, stir constantly. (OK, it near turns completely clear for me-but just look for the jello to dissolve & look not as cloudy) Cool. Spoon over strawberries. Chill until firm & top with cool whip.

I used a very deep pie pan & used one pie shell but put the entire recipe in one.

Beth's Strawberry Bread

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups sliced strawberries (or pulsed several times in the food processer?)

1 1/4 cups pecan

1/4 tsp lemon extract (I am going to use a couple of squirts of lemon juice because I don't have this right now, I think I did that before & it was fine)

1 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & sugar. Add the beaten eggs, strawberries, pecans, lemon extract & vanilla. Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans. Bake @ 350 for 60-70 min or until tests done. cool in pans for 5 minutes.

This morning I halved this recipe & it made 12 muffins. They were a hit!