Ah! Strawberries!

As much as I wanted to do strawberry picking earlier this season, especially since they came in early this year, life just wouldn't allow it.   So today, I literally had an hour and a half to squeeze a memorable moment of picking in.  I grabbed my two oldest helpers and headed over to Brad's Produce.  Strawberries are coming to an end at Brad's but we were still able to pick 5 quarts for $1.75 a pound in about an hour.  Lohrs, Harman's and Sunny Hill all still also have strawberries for pick you own.  So there are lots of options even if you are a late picker, like me.

I came home and made a quick batch of strawberry ice cream to enjoy after dinner.

The recipe I used was from the Cuisinart recipe book that came with the ice cream maker.

You can find it here.  This recipe contains lemon juice which adds a light, fresh note to the strawberry ice cream that I love. They actually say that you can add food coloring if you want a more pronounced pink color to the ice cream but there is truly no need for that.  It is a lovely delicate pink and very, very tasty!

After the kids went to bed, I set to making a double batch of strawberry freezer jam.  For all other jams and jellies I make them cooked but for some reason, maybe because my mom did it, I use the easy, freezer jam recipe for strawberries.  I think it maintains the bright strawberry flavor the best but that could be bias.  In any case it truly is easy to make but the process took about an hour.  I had picked 4 quarts of strawberries exactly for this purpose.  I washed and hulled them in a big bowl of water and with so many little, sweet berries, this step took longer than usual.

My preferred recipe is the low sugar Sure Gel recipe you can find here or inside the box of the low sugar Sure Gel pectin.  You use 3 c. of sugar per batch and since I made two batches that is 6 cups.  And yes, this is less sugar than the original version.  I find, again, that the strawberry flavors are more pronounced with using less sugar plus sugar is the most expensive ingredient in jam.  

For this recipe I used Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Sugar because it was what I already had in the house.  I do try to purchase things like tea, chocolate and sugar in their fair trade versions since they come from places that I can't personally ensure the farmer is being supported and well treated.  You can learn more about fair trade through research such as Wikipedia.org

Whenever making jams and jellies be sure to always measure carefully. I will double a recipe but that is it (never triple or more) you run the risk of ruining the food or it just won't set because not all recipes multiply well.

Now that these jams are finished, they will set on my counter for 24 hours and then store in the freezer for up to 1 year.  And with that my season of preserving has begun.

Asparagus Soup and Fresh Bread

I love that fantastic, healthy food does not have to be complex.  On a recent grocery store trip my littlest one had the choice between cookies and bananas.  She chose bananas.  We have them infrequently and they are treat.  Mostly, we don't keep them in the house because they are so coveted that my little one can plow through three large bananas in 1 day.  But what a wonderful testament to fantastic, healthy food when a young child chooses it over cookies  (I probably would have a hard time making the same choice!).  Now that spring is upon us and summer is just about to burst forth what wonderful simple snacks will you choose?  Strawberries, snap peas, fresh asparagus and dip?

Cooking for a family of five with young children in the house means that meals have to be quick and easy on most nights. Still we stay away from the prepackaged as much as possible and focus on in season local foods.  If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend that you look into joining a  CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) you can find out more on LocalHarvest.org  We are members of Sunny Hill's CSA for the summer and often join an early spring share with Brad's Produce.  Once you start looking you will find there are lots of options out there and more appearing each day.

As I said, I love simple, healthy meals.  So last night I made Quinoa Bread and Cream of Asparagus Soup.  It is always a toss up knowing whether the children will dig in or turn up their noses on any given night.  But last night, my eldest went back for thirds.  The quinoa bread came from   I have now baked 3 batches of bread from this book and it is really simple.  One day you mix the ingredients then another day you pull off enough dough to make a loaf.  As long as you have time for the rising and baking there is very little else you spend time on.   I found this tub today, which I purchased to make the storing of the dough easier but that is just because I wanted my soup pot back. 

For the cream of asparagus soup I chose a very simple recipe that I had used before from epicurious.com.  I skipped the step of making a garnish since that nicety would be lost on my wee ones and they gobbled it up anyway.

Every week I plan meals around the following main dishes: eggs, beans, beef, chicken, fish, pork and ... pizza?  Well, maybe eating out.  We often spend 1 night a week enjoying a meal with our neighbors or family so  for those we are either pitching in to a meal financially or with a side dish.  In the winter, one meal a week is soup based.  In the summer, one meal a week is salad based.  It just makes it easier to take advantage of the cooking styles and foods that are most available during a particular season. The children have not noticed we eat less meat and doing so allows us to afford the local, grass fed meats we prefer.

Tonight, I picked up half a pig that I ordered earlier this year from Rumbleway Farm and a fresh chicken that was processed on Friday.  I'll put an order in for a quarter cow soon.  You'll hear about the chicken tomorrow but once you go fresh...you can never go back!

Eat Well!

PS if you are looking for the books and products that I recommend check out my list here.