Strawberry Muffins

Well, strawberry season has come and gone again, and Meredith was very busy making all sorts of stuff. There were several evenings where dessert was strawberries and cream, and there was, of course, pie.

Meredith took the little guy strawberry picking as well, and he had quite a good time. You can see him surveying the area during coffee break here.

...and sampling the haul. I think he was weighed on his way out at the register (just kidding, he only ate two or three, and promptly wiped his hands on his shirt :-)



The day after the excursion, I read an email with a recipe and was told to get ready to take a photo when I got home. To my delight, I arrived home to some yummy strawberry muffins Meredith had made using whole wheat flour. It's mostly based on a recipe she read earlier that week.

Strawberry Muffins

2 eggs
1/2 cup mango apple sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup fresh sliced strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees and line a 12-muffin tin with paper inserts.
2. Using a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs, apple sauce, oil, sugar, vanilla and bananas.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon and slowly add to the banana mixture.
4. Stir in the strawberries by hand and spoon batter into muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the top.
6. let muffins cool on a wire rack.

recipe inspired by allrecipes.com.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Berry Crumble Pie

With friends coming over for dinner on a Friday in March, and the dinner being one of our standards, Meredith felt that it was time to try out an experiment she had been mulling over for a while. She had the basics for a graham cracker pie crust and was working an idea for a berry filling as well.

It came together, and stayed together incredibly well, and tasted amazing, of course. Unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture of a slice of the pie (it didn't last long enough) so you'll have to just believe me that the pie didn't fall apart.

Berry Crumble Pie

Part 1: Crust

1-1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and oats.
3. Add butter and mix in until crumbly.
4. Press mixture into a 9-inch pie plate bake for 6 minutes.

Part 2: Filling

3 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon juice

1. Combine berries and half of the water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 2 minutes stirring frequently.
3. In a small bowl, stir together remaining water, cornstarch and lemon juice.
4. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into blueberry mixture and continue stirring blueberry mixture for about 30 seconds or until mixture thickens.
5. Pour filling into pie crust.

Part 3: Topping

2 tbsp oats
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter

1. Mix all ingredients together until it reaches a crumbly texture.
2. Sprinkle on top of filling.
3. Bake pie for an additional 15 minutes.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

The strawberries will never end.

The day after Meredith made the second strawberry pie, I had assumed the strawberries were gone. I should never assume.

There they were: two more containers of strawberries in the back of the fridge - and they were going to spoil if we didn't use them soon. I decided to puree the rest of them and find some uses for it. Some of the puree was mixed in with banana for Jeremy's desserts (and promptly frozen in ice cube trays).

The rest was turned into a salad dressing. I don't often eat fruity salad dressings, so one of the bottles made it to our neighbours, who have also benefited from the other spoils of the strawberry windfall.

And this is really, truly, the end of Strawberrypalooza. There ain't no more.

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 2 cups strawberries
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon honey

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Strawberry Crumble Pie

There were leftovers from Strawberrypalooza in June/July. I really didn't think we had that many strawberries. I was clearly wrong.

Wanting to get rid of the last of the strawberries before they deteriorated into mush, Meredith decided to make one more pie. This pie would be a more traditional baked pie with a crumble topping. Meredith had a recipe for a rhubarb pie that she was able to adapt to get the results she wanted - the most significant change being reducing the amount of sugar.

Strawberry Crumble Pie

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 cups strawberries, diced (about 1/2 inch)
• 1 9-inch pie crust

Topping:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter

1. Preheat oven to 425-degrees.
2. In a small bowl, stir eggs and melted butter.
3. In another small bowl, combine sugar and flour and stir into egg mixture until well combined.
4. Place strawberries in a large bowl and mix in flour and egg mixture.
5. Prepare the topping by mixing the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter (using a mixer or pastry cutter) until topping looks like coarse crumbs.
6. Transfer strawberry mixture into pie shell.
7. Sprinkle topping evenly over the top and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Reduce oven temperature to 350-degrees and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until filling is set and topping is light-to-medium golden-brown.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes
 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

This is the final post for Strawberrypalooza at the Haggis and the Herring. The final recipe was the only one I specifically requested. Meredith was just about to make a sorbet when I suggested frozen yogurt. I was already picking up a container of yogurt for the muffins, so Meredith didn't mind the slight change in plans.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

• 1 pound/450g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped into small pieces
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup plain balkan yogurt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Toss strawberries in a bowl with the sugar until the sugar begins to dissolve.
2. Cover mixture with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for two hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Transfer mixture to a food processor and add the yogurt and lemon juice. Pulse mixture in food processor until smooth.
4. Transfer mixture to refrigerator for at least one hour, then process in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions, adding chocolate chips slowly near the end.

Based on David Lebovitz's recipe.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Sweets for Saturday

Strawberry Pie

Continuing Strawberrypalooza, Meredith was determined to duplicate one of my aunt's pies. This pie is basically whole strawberries set in a fairly solid jelly. My aunt only made it on special occasions and I was always excited when it landed on the dessert table.

Strawberry Pie

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 package raspberry Jell-O powder
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 baked or packaged 9" pie shell, cooled
• 5 cups strawberries, hulled

1. Mix sugar, dry Jell-O powder and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and gradually stir in water.
2. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Let cool for ten minutes.
3. Fill pie shell with strawberries and cover with jelly glaze.
4. Let refrigerate for at least three hours to set.

Mostly from Kraft's Glazed Red Berry Pie recipe.


Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

More of Strawberrypalloza!

Meredith's next project was some muffins. not surprisingly, she found a recipe on Strawberry-recipes.com that looked good - so she went for it. The result was a tasty and moist muffin that really showcased the flavour of the strawberries.

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 stick butter, melted and cooled
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1-1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and cut into small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees and prepare a 12-muffin tin with paper cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add milk, yogurt, vanilla, and melted butter and continue to whisk gently.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add to milk mixture and stir until flour is completely absorbed. Gently stir in berries.
4. Spoon batter evenly into muffin and bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool before removing from muffin tin.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Bizzy Bakes
Muffin Monday
Cast Party Wednesday

Strawberry-rhubarb Dessert Topping

It's the beginning of Strawberrypalloza at the Haggis and the Herring. Yesterday, we went strawberry picking at Whittamore Farms, and it was a bumper crop. We were placed at a remote end of the field where, apparently, nobody has ever picked strawberries before. We weren't even there for 30 minutes before we had a giant bucket full of beautiful strawberries!

With a trip to the farmer's market, we also picked up some rhubarb and other goodies before heading home. Meredith spent the rest of the day making three different strawberry-based recipes and prepping a fourth for the next day... and that didn't stop her from taking a few work-related calls in between. The first recipe, a dessert topping, turned out so very, very tasty. The original recipe called for far more sugar and red food coloring. Neither were necessary for these excellent results.

Strawberry-rhubarb Dessert Topping

• 4 cups rhubarb, chopped
• 10 oz fresh strawberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
• 3/4 cup sugar

1. In a large microwave-safe dish (e.g., Corning), combine the rhubarb, strawberries, water and tapioca and let stand for five minutes.
2. Cover and microwave on high for six minutes. Stir and cook for an additional four minutes or until the rhubarb is soft.
3. Stir in the sugar, recover and microwave for an additional two minutes.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes