While Gammie and Blair (my 11 year old 2nd cousin) were visiting we went to Berry Patch Farms to pick strawberries and pie cherries.
It was so much fun, but OH so hot. Sweet P did a great job picking cherries and dropping them in the bucket, but didn't contribute much to the strawberry pile. She was too busy eating the fruits of her labor!
Note the strawberry remnants on her chin!
We came home with 10 (yep 10!!!) pounds of strawberries and close to the same amount of cherries. After we finished washing 20 pounds of fruit, we got to work. I found a strawberry bread recipe at Cate's World Kitchen and made a few minor changes. This recipe can be used with strawberries or cherries and it is delish!
The Recipe: Strawberry or Cherry Bread
What you need:
2 organic eggs
1/4 c plain yogurt
1/4 c olive oil
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c sugar (use 1 c for cherry bread)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c fresh strawberries or pie cherries (cut into pieces)
1/3 c + 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs in a small bowl until well combined, but not fluffy. Add yogurt, oil and vanilla and stir until combined.
Pour in flours, sugar, baking soda and baking powder and mix until moistened.
Fold in strawberries/cherries and 1/3 c walnuts. Pour into a well-greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp of walnuts on top. Bake for 50 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Allow to cool (or don't) and dig in!
I used 1 cup of sugar with the cherries because they are so tart, but I'm sure 2/3 c would be fine if you want to avoid too much sugar. I can't wait until we have our own strawberries from the farm and I'm hoping to go pick blueberries with Sweet P once this heat dies down!
Recipes to look for:
Strawberry muffins
Strawberry and cherry popsicles
Cherry Almond Scones
Cherry Cobbler
What do you do with your strawberries?
