What's for breakfast...

Strawberries are in season... this is perhaps my favorite recipe for them!

Strawberry Bread

Perfect for breakfast... or great with a cup of tea in the afternoon...

for recipe click HERE!

You will not be disappointed!

via The Entertaining Kitchen

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I think I'm making up for my months of absenteeism! The oven has been on non-stop and the mixer and mixing bowls and spatulas have had more use this weekend than they have the past few months!

I went strawberry picking with the kids on Friday and came home with what seems like 10 pounds of strawberries that are going to turn quickly if I don't do something with them... fast! I made strawberry scones this morning. (Recipe to follow shortly) and a Strawberry Tea Bread. This barely made a dent in my strawberry population.

Jam uses a lot of strawberries. I have never made jam before. I just recently learned of Freezer Jam. Essentially it's a no cook jam. Easy. Brilliant, I thought I would give it a try. I went to the store and bought some pectin, measured out 4 cups of strawberries, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, then mashed the strawberries and added the sugar and pectin and stirred the soupy stuff for 3 minutes as indicated on the package. When my time was up I poured it into jars that I let rest out on the counter for 30 minutes to set and solidify.

Still too many strawberries left over, so I repeated the steps above and made another batch. I'll have lots of jam stored up in my freezer. Unless I can find lots of friends who like home made strawberry jam!

I did notice that one package of pectin (Ball) was specifically for freezer jams. The other was not. I will let you know if there is a visible difference in appearance or taste or texture.

Ingredients:

4 cups of strawberries, cut and stems removed
1 package of pectin (preferably that for freezer jam -- by Ball)
1 1/2 cups of sugar

In a bowl combine pectin and sugar
In a separate bowl mash strawberries. When well mashed add the pectin-sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes.
Pour into desired containers.
Let sit out for 30 minutes before placing in the refrigerator or serving.

Note, this is a very sweet jam. I added some salted butter to my toasted freshly made bread. My toast was divine! I do love the fresh strawberry flavor as opposed to the flavor of cooked berries from most jams.

(For more strawberry recipes please see my side-bar. Thank you!)

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

In keeping with what's fresh and local I decided to pick up some rhubarb. Strawberries are not quite yet in season here, but I managed to get some at the store for a steal! I wanted to use strawberries and rhubarb together but wanted something lighter than a strawberry rhubarb crisp or pie... This was the perfect treat! This cake is light and airy and, because it is made with yogurt, is incredibly moist. This would be lovely served warm with a lovely cinnamon or vanilla ice cream, or with a cup of tea in the afternoon or even with your morning coffee!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 C yogurt
2 1/4 C unbleached flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 C rhubarb, cut into small pieces and coated with 1 tbs sugar, set aside
1 C strawberries, hulled and cut into small pieces
Optional -- 3 Tbs granulated sugar OR 3 Tbs Powdered sugar OR  3 Tbs Cinnamon sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees
In mixer beat together eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt and vanilla until well blended.
Add baking powder and flour and mix well.
Fold in rhubarb and strawberries.




Grease a Springform pan with butter or non-stick spray and pour batter into pan.
If desired* sprinkle granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar over the top. Or sprinkle with powdered sugar once the cake has been baked and cooled.
Bake for 1 hour.
Let cool 20 minutes prior to serving.


*To make cinnamon sugar simply mix 3 Tbs of granulated sugar with 1 Tbs of cinnamon.

Strawberry Tea Cake made with Greek Yogurt

Springtime is here and fresh, ripe strawberries are in (the grocery stores) abundance. I find myself buying new batches before we can even finish what we have. Today was such the case so I decided to chop up the older berries and put them to good use in a cake. I had no idea how on earth this was going to come out, but it was fabulous! I love the texture and the flavor that the Greek yogurt added. Light, fresh and a perfect Spring or Summer day snack with a cup of tea. I would even serve this for breakfast. And when blueberry season arrives and blueberries are in abundance I will use them instead of the strawberries... and then when peach season comes... You get the idea!

1 1/2 - 2 cups of diced strawberries
3 eggs
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of Greek yogurt (I used Trader Joe's 2%)
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup of canola oil
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl beat together eggs and sugar, slowly add the oil and mix well. Add yogurt and vanilla mix well. Gradually add the flour and mix well. Fold in strawberries.

Add the batter to a greased (I use Pam) tube pan and bake for 1hr.

The Official Preppy Cocktail?

It's as good as it is pretty!

Light and refreshing... a perfect drink to be enjoyed out on your porch, deck or balcony on a warm summery day. Prepare a large batch ahead of time and bring some with you to Polo, the beach or to a neighborhood block party!

1 shot of vodka, I used Absolut
1 shot of limoncello (I used the medicine cup and filled it to the brim, so roughly 3 tbs)
1 strawberry cut into pieces and placed in glass
2 basil leaves, chiffonaded and placed in glass with strawberry

A couple of basil leaves for garnish
1/2 cup of pink lemonade
1/2 cup of seltzer

If you have the time you can marinate the strawberries and chiffonaded basil leaves in the pink lemonade for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and garnish with the basil leaves.

This drink needed some green and I do not like the flavor combination of strawberry and mint. Basil actually has a sweet, herby flavor and it lends itself beautifully to this drink.

Cheers!

Strawberry Apple Breakfast Loaf

If you think strawberries and apples do not seem a likely pair -- think of strawberry applesauce. It's pretty tasty. This is even better. We added raisins to our because my youngest was baking with me. He has to add raisins to everything. If you wish to leave the raisins off your list of ingredients feel free to do so, but they were wonderful!

I am baking up a breakfast storm. Cooking up (and freezing) pancakes, muffins, breads, French Toast, etc so that starting next week I can pull something out of the freezer and heat it quickly. Mornings are crazy as it is and my daughter won't eat eggs or cereal. Toast is boring. So I am baking up batches of breakfast goodies now so that I can use them later.

One of the items I baked today was this breakfast loaf. We all had a small sample and it was deelish!

2 Cups unbleached flour

3 large eggs

1 1/2 Cups of sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 Cup of canola

1/2 pt strawberries, cleaned, hulled and diced

1 Cup spiced apple chunks or chunky applesauce

1 Cup raisins, optional

Preheat oven 350

Mix eggs and sugar
Add vanilla, baking powder, mix well

Add flour and oil, mix well

Fold in fruit and pour in to loaf pan

Bake 1 hr, 15 minutes until nicely brown

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes or so before removing from pan -- Let cool further once removed from pan as it will be easier to slice when cool to the touch.

Strawberry Tea Bread

My mother makes this a lot in the summer using fresh local berries and serves it with tea in the afternoon. If it is a particularly warm day, iced tea replaces the hot beverage. Freshly frozen berries work wonderfully as well, making it a lovely year-round treat. We don't have "Tea Time" at home the way my parents do. We're rarely home that time of the day. But because my children love the bread, just mildly sweet and fruity, I will bake a couple of loaves early in the morning to serve for breakfast. A tall glass of orange juice or ice cold milk is a perfect accompaniment for the children, the adults in this family, however, perfer theirs with a pot of freshly brewed coffee.

Recipe makes 1 loaf -- this is rarely enough and you may want to double it!

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. flour

3/4 C. sugar

1/2 Tsp. baking soda

1/2 Tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2/3 C. of canola or vegetable oil

1 1/4 C. cut strawberries

Sift flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set asside.

Mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil

Slowly add dry ingredients while mixing

Grease a 9 inch loaf pan

Bake 1 hour

Let cool about 15 minutes before serving