So Many Strawberries

My neighbor and I went strawberry picking at the Sussex Country Strawberry Farm. An annual event which yields TONS of ripe, delicious strawberries! They even have some great recipes on their website.  You can also follow them on Facebook.

My plan for the berries, so far, is freezer jam, bread and a pie. I like to make several breads and freeze them and then as much jam as I can with the leftovers.


As far as the jam, I'm not a 'canner'.  Trying the traditional method of canning turned out to be a disaster and a WHOLE LOT of wasted berries, hence the practice of freezer jam was learned!  And honestly, it's a quarter of the time spent and I successfully freeze all kinds of jams for at least a year.



Let me say, I love my house.  This is our 4th house (in 27 years) and by far the best!  It has plenty of DIY projects needed that will happen eventually and 3 acres of privacy, but since it's now summer, basically all of my free time will be spent in the Kitchen.  This is the only downfall of my dream house. Being a cook-from-scratch and bake-from-scratch Homesteader, I envy all those big, beautiful Kitchens all over the internet. The actual work space in my kitchen is in a 10x10 area with about 6 feet of working space.  Not ideal, but I make it work!

So, without further adieu.. here's everything I need to make some pretty awesome Strawberry Breads..

I used the recipe from Simply in Season, my favorite summer cookbook.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour                                         
• 1 1/4 cups strawberries (mashed)      
• 2/3 cup oil                                         
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon             
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Mix together in a large bowl, stirring until just combined. Pour into greased 8-inch loaf pan and bake in preheated oven at 350F  until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour.

• 1/2 cup / 125 ml whole wheat flour 

• 3/4 cup / 175 ml sugar 

• 2 eggs 

• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

**Changes I made;  I used 1.5 cups freshly milled flour and added a Tablespoon of ground flax

I used one full box to make 3 breads and 1 pie
and strawberry water.




I definitely take the easy way out in making jam.  Strawberries, sugar and Instant Pectin, that's it.

Follow the directions on the Pectin container, let it sit 30 minutes,
then refrigerate or freeze.

My son and I  crushed one full box and prepared all this in less than an hour! And if we're talking dollars and sense, it's about $4 per pint.  Not bad considering limited ingredient, organic jam will run you around $4 per half pint!