9 Easy Things To Do With Strawberries

Photos by: Steve Giralt

Strawberries have been one of my favorite fruits since I was a little girl - I still dream of once again having my very own strawberry patch to grow 100's of berries in each Summer to then create fabulous recipes like the ones we found over at DASH.

1. Fruit Butter: Beat2 sticks softened butter, ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, and ¼ tsp saltabout 1 minute, until light. Fold in ½ cup chopped berries. Servechilled.

2. Sweet Citrusy Mesclun Salad

2. Sweet Citrusy Mesclun Salad (pictured right): Whisk1 Tbsp white-wine vinegar with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Season with salt andpepper. Toss 2 cups sliced berries with 1 chopped pink grapefruit, 4cups mesclun greens, and ½ cup feta; drizzle with dressing. 


3. Chocolate Bites: Dip 1 lb berries into 8 oz melted semisweet chocolate. Roll in chopped nuts. Place on parchment. Chill.


4. Vinaigrette: Combine 1 cup berries, 1 tsp sugar,and 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar. Chill 1 hour. Liquefy. Add salt, pepper,and 2 Tbsp olive oil; blend.

 5. Lemonade: Mix 1 can each lemonade concentrate and water. Add berries to taste; mash with a spoon. Add seltzer.

6. No-Cook Ice Cream (pictured above): Add 3 cupsberries and juice of ½ lemon to food processor; blend. With a mixer,whip 1½ cups heavy cream and 2 tsp vanilla extract until soft peaksform. Slowly add 14 oz sweetened condensed milk; whip until very thick.Fold in berry mixture. Seal and freeze until firm.

7. D.I.Y. Preserves: Put 2 lb hulled berries and 1Tbsp lemon juice in saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, on low for20 minutes or until juices release. Stir in 1 cup sugar. Boil overmedium; cook until 210°F. Skim foam. Refrigerate in an airtightcontainer.

8. Topping: Drizzle 3 cups berries with 2 Tbspbalsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar. Let rest 1 hour. Spoonover pound cake. Add cracked pepper to taste.

9. Breakfast Tarts (pictured below): Click here for the quick recipe and our step-by-step how to.