Our local Strawberry Stand
OMG! It’s strawberry season again and I can’t even begin to tell you how sweet and delicious our local strawberries are. They are simply…divine. Beginning early July, we, here in Sonoma are treated to the best fresh strawberries in the world.
What do we do with them? Well, I gave you one dessert recipe for my 4th of July post. Here are a couple of others that are tried and true stand by’s over the summer:
No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
image and recipe courtesy of Woman's Day
Crust
- 6 whole lowfat honey graham crackers (2‑squares each), crushed to fine crumbs
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted, and mixed with 1 Tbsp honey
- Filling
- 1 box (3 oz) strawberry-kiwi flavor gelatin
- 2⁄3 cup boiling water
- 1 tub (16 oz) 1% fat cottage cheese
- 2 bricks (8 oz each) fat-free cream cheese, softened
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp strawberry extract or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 pt (about 12 oz) fresh strawberries
- 2 Tbsp strawberry jelly, melted
- Garnish: small mint leaves
Recipe Preparation
- Coat an 8 x 3-in. springform pan with nonstick spray.
- Crust: Mix crumbs with butter mixture until evenly moistened. Press firmly over bottom and 3⁄4 in. up side of prepared pan. Place in freezer.
- Filling: Dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a 1-cup measure. Purée cottage cheese in food processor until creamy. Add gelatin, cream cheese, sugar and extract; process until smooth. Pour into prepared crust; smooth top. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours, or until set.
- Topping: Wash and dry berries; remove stems. Quarter each lengthwise and place in a bowl; add jelly and gently toss to coat. Remove sides of springform pan; place cheesecake on serving plate. Spoon on berry mixture; sprinkle with mint leaves.
Planning Tip: Can be made, without the strawberry topping, up to 3 days ahead. Refrigerate covered. Prepare Topping just before serving.
Strawberry Mojitos
image and recipe courtesy of White on Rice Couple
adapted from The Berry Bible
- 1.5 ounces of simple syrup
- about 3 fresh strawberries
- about 4-5 fresh spearmint sprigs (chopped if you prefer smaller mint pieces in your cocktail)
- soda water
- 1/2 lime
- 2 ounces of light rum
1. In a chilled glass (about 10-12 ounces), muddle the simple syrup, strawberries and mint leaves together with the back of a spoon or muddler. Crush the strawberries and mint leaves well.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lime into the glass, add the rum and stir well. Fill glass with ice and top off with soda water.
3. Garnish with mint sprigs or strawberry slices. Makes 1 drink.
Simple Syrup Recipe
- 2 c Water
- 1 lb Sugar
Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool. After cool, store in refrigerator until ready to use.
And then of course, there is just plain old strawberries, with or without vanilla ice cream!
Saturday night dessert-recipe courtesy of Mother Nature, here in Sonoma County!
What’s your favorite way to eat strawberries? I’d love to share your recipes if you leave in the comment section below. Cheers!
