Economy

I was going to garden today but strawberries were on sale at ACME. I couldn't pass up the deal so I bought four pounds of very pretty and fresh berries. As you know, strawberries are no bargain if they spoil before use. So there I was with four pounds of strawberries that needed immediate attention. The garden would have to wait.

Now I do have a large strawberry patch that has begun to flower but won't see fruit till June. So I have some fav. strawberry recipes. I made a Strawberry Cake to serve for breakfast the next morning. I also made my Gramma Kellogg's recipe for a frozen desert called Strawberry Delight and I froze a couple of pounds of strawberries for future use. Finally I saved a few for just eats. In order to freeze strawberries you simply hull them and place them in a freezer container cover with water and then into your freezer. Thaw for later use. My two favorite strawberry recipes follow:

Strawberry Cake

6 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. plus 1 T. sugar

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1 lb strawberries hulled & halved

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 10" pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a med. bowl. Put butter & 1 c. sugar in bowl & mix at med. speed until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes) Reduce speed to med. lo; gradually mix in flour mixture.
Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 T. sugar over berries.

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Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 325 Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on wire rack. Cut in wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered for up to two days.

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Strawberry Delight

1 c. flour

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c. nuts

1/2 c butter

2 egg whites

2/3 c. white sugar

2 T. lemon juice

1 c. whipping cream

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Mix first four ingredients in shallow pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Mix with fork while baking. Sprinkle 2/3 of crumbs on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Save the rest for the top. Put whites, berries, lemon and sugar in bowl. Beat at high speed for 10 minutes. Whip the cream and fold in. Spoon over the crumbs. Freeze for 6 hours.

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Left over egg yolks may be added to a custard recipe:

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Egg Custard

2 1/2 c. milk

4 eggs plus any leftover egg yolks

1/2 c. sugar or agave nectar

pinch salt

1/2 t. vanilla

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Scald milk, sugar and salt. Remove from heat just before it boils over med. heat. Separate eggs beating whites slightly. Add yolks and beat slightly. Add milk mixture to eggs and mix thoroughly. Pour into pie plate or individual ramekins. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.