The Strawberry Days of Summer

Something I look forward to at the start of summer is all the fresh fruit! The thought of fresh berries, cherries and melons gets me so excited as well as in the mood to get in the kitchen! This past weekend, I visited a local fruit farm and delightfully picked over seventeen pounds strawberries! These strawberries will be use for a variety of recipes including freezer jam, desserts and cocktails. We will put about half of these strawberries in the freezer for use later in the year when strawberries aren’t in season.

Once picked, paid for and home… I soaked the strawberries in water with a cap full of Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak. This stuff works wonders and helps to get all the dirt and bugs off your produce. I let the berries soak for about ten minutes, tossing them with my fingers a few times. After a good rinse, they were ready for the freezer, ready for jammin or ready to eat (I did all three).

Click here for my favorite strawberry freezer jam recipe! I’ll be making this freezer jam this week to keep up stocked for the next year!

*update- when using the recipe above, cut the sugar in half and use the ripest of strawberries. I promise, it'll be sweet enough without the sugar rush!

Look here for the best Strawberry Shortcake recipe, from The Magnolia Table Cookbook.

There are other ways I like to use strawberries, especially in the summer time, the first being, cocktails! I love a good Strawberry Margarita, especially for taco Tuesday.