May 14, 2010

Strawberries, Jellies, and Pies... oh my!

We had some late-comers to the Love My Library party, so go on over and show them some comment-love! It's not too late to link up your own post; the party goes through Saturday, as does my latest GIVEAWAY. Become a follower and comment here to enter for a chance to win a gift certificate to Just For Me Sewing!


I mentioned yesterday that we took the kids strawberry picking. I was the only one who did any real picking. E was busy finding three spiders and six grasshoppers, and A was preoccupied stuffing her face with berries. I, however, managed to pick 8 lbs of gorgeous, sun-ripened strawberries.


The tricky thing about fresh picked berries is that they spoil in about 48 hours. I know, those California berries last for over a week in the fridge, but our Virginia variety will over-ripen as soon as you turn your back. This means you've got two days to freeze, preserve, or consume 8 lbs of strawberries!


Freezing is easy. Just hull, wash, and pat dry your berries. Then place them upright on a cookie sheet and pop in the freezer for 24 hours. Once they are fully frozen you can store in a gallon ziplock bag for 2-3 months in the freezer.


Jelly takes a little more time, but is so worth it. Strawberries taste best fresh, so use this simple freezer jam recipe: 1) Buy a package of Sure-Jell. 2) Follow the directions. Yes, it's that's simple. If you really need a step-by-step pictorial, you can visit my sister's blog. And if the 4:2 ratio of sugar to berries scares you, just buy the lower sugar variety of Sure-Jell (although it won't be quite as yummy).

One batch will take about an hour of your time - a great way to spend the afternoon with your adorable assistant!


While your jam is setting up, you have just enough berries left for this easy pie.


No-Bake Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3 T strawberry jello
- 3 T cornstarch
- 1 t lemon juice
- 1 prepared Keebler's shortbread pie crust
- several cups of strawberries

Wash and hull the strawberries, filling the pie crust. Stir the sugar, water, jello, and cornstarch in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice. Pour mixture evenly over the strawberries and place in fridge. Allow at least an hour to set. Then watch it disappear!


My pie and jelly were a success, but I'm afraid I failed at finding more strawberry-themed books. I admit I dislike Jamberry, and while I love Blueberries for Sal, it's a blueberry book. Where are all the books about strawberries? I can find dozens on apples and pumpkins. Why is summer fruit so under-represented? Do you know of any good strawberry books I missed?

8 comments:

  1. The pie looks delicious! I think everyone is enjoying this time of year. We're making strawberry ice cream tonight with our leftover strawberries. We're going back for more next week and I think I'll try your pie.

    I searched our library's catalog and there is a book called "Molly and the strawberry day" by Pam Conrad that looks cute. We haven't read it before, so I can't attest to whether it is good or not.

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  2. Those strawberries look wonderful! Our berries are still just blossoms, and they are a very tiny, but tasty, mountian variety, so it takes a lot of them to make jam - but we usually manage one batch every summer - so good!

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  3. love the picture of her cooking, way too cute.

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  4. the original Strawberry Shortcake books were really wonderful.

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  5. I wish I knew about the 48 hour thing sooner… I had to throw away about 5 or 6 lbs of mine!!! :(

    And thanks for sharing how to freeze them! I never knew. I would’ve ended up with one giant strawberry glob with my next batch.

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  6. I loved Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski when I was little. It's a chapter book about a farm worker family in Florida in the 1940's. I haven't read it for a long time, but your 5 year old might like it! It also won a Newbery Medal.

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  7. I know a strawberry book that my kids adore...(it has a long title) it is: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Stawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audry Wood. I will admit I am a big fan of these authors. Their writing and pictures are brilliant.

    Thanks for the pie recipe. I will have to try that. I am sad I am too late for the party. Maybe next time...

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  8. These sound like such yummy ways to enjoy your freshly picked strawberries.

    You would think that there would be more books about strawberries and strawberry picking.

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