Strawberry Merlot Vinaigrette

I shared our recent Strawberry Picking trip yesterday.  We brought home about a gallon of fresh berries and lots of ideas of what to do with them all.  Since I had just gotten a new Merlot Vinegar at the Farmer's Market on Thursday, I thought that the vinegar mixed with the berries would make a great summer salad dressing.

Ingredients:

6-8 Strawberries hulled

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Merlot Red Wine Vinegar (Or a red wine vinegar of your choice)

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dried basil

pinch of sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Put the strawberries, honey, vinegar, oil, basil, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until it is liquefied.  It's really that easy.  Add more honey if you want it sweeter.  You could use fresh basil too, I just didn't have any on hand. 

Pour over your favorite salad and enjoy!  

Those are carrots, not cheese;-)

Even my kids loved this dressing, and usually the only kind they will eat is ranch. This is definitely one that we will be making a lot this summer!

Weekend Recap

I don't normally do weekend recap posts but we had such a fun weekend that I couldn't resist!  We started the weekend with our first harvest from our early spring garden.  We were very pleasantly surprised with what we got.  The red cabbage and broccoli obviously isn't ready yet, but I got quite a lot of leaf lettuce and kale. I know it looks a bit crowded but we are doing the square foot gardening method and it's working beautifully.

We didn't get a large amount of kale this time, but just enough to make some spicy kale chips to go with dinner the other night.  Those will definitely be shared soon!

The lettuce we used on burgers one night, and then used the rest in a salad.  I don't know why but lettuce out of my own garden just tastes so much better than lettuce bought at the store!  

Saturday we got up bright and early, ok maybe not bright, but definitely early, and headed out to the Lacrosse field for a game.  I love that my daughter has found a sport she enjoys so much! I just wish this spring had been a tad warmer!  It's been so cold and windy at most of her games this year. The rest of the day was spent surrounded by kids, watching movies, and dodging rain drops.


Sunday we made up a big family- Belgian waffles, bacon, and fresh fruit- and then we packed up our  kids and headed out to go strawberry picking. We did this last year for Mother's Day and the girls loved it so much we couldn't wait to do it again this year!

   Half the fun of where we go to pick is getting there.  We have to take a ferry across the river. It was a bit chilly this year, but the girls all had a great time anyway.

 

We let the girls do most of it on their own this year since the were old pros from last year.  My Middle Daughter got her own basket and quickly got to work finding the prettiest berries she could. She was so very proud of herself!

 The Little One enjoyed picking berries too, but along the way she got distracted by a new little friend- a Ladybug.

 We were a bit nervous that the rain the previous day, the lack of sunshine, and the cooler temperatures would mean there wouldn't be a lot of berries ready to be picked.  That was not at all the case!  There were tons of gorgeous berries- so many it was hard to convince the girls to stop picking!  The cooler temperatures also kept the bees away, which is very helpful!

I think the Littlest One's favorite part was the ferry ride!  Both going over and coming back she was all smiles and giggles.  Of course as soon as we got back in the car for the drive home she was out!

We have already used a lot of these berries- we topped pancakes with them this morning, I made a vinaigrette out of them yesterday (recipe coming tomorrow!) and today we plan to freeze some and make some into ice cream.

This is definitely one of my favorite activities of the year, and we already can't wait to go back!

Have you entered the GoodBelly Giveaway yet?  

Taste of Summer- Fresh Strawberry Pie

When I was a kid my family used to go to Shoney's to eat on occasion (back when Shoney's was actually good- either that or my expectations of food were much lower). I have fond memories of their all-you-can-eat salad bar, the Sunday breakfast bar, and their strawberry pie. My Mom loved their strawberry pie! Sometimes after a day out and about we would stop by Shoney's for a slice of pie as a treat.
I have always wanted to re-create that pie for myself, so since I had 2 gallons (now down to 1) of fresh picked strawberries in my fridge, this was a great time to do that!

The recipe is pretty simple, but does take a little time to make. But it's totally worth it! The crust is a graham cracker crust, and instead of using strawberry gelatin, you make your own sauce from a puree of the strawberries.

Graham Cracker Crust:

8-10 Graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup dairy free margarine



Directions:
Melt the margarine slowly over low heat on the stove.


Meanwhile, put the crackers in your food processor and pulse until they are reduced to crumbs.




Pulse in the 1/4 cup of sugar until well blended.
Add the melted margarine and vanilla extract and pulse until the crumbs are moist.


Press the mixture into a 9inch pie plate- make sure it is even all the way around.


Bake in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges are browned.



Remove and let cool before adding the strawberry filling. I put mine in the fridge to make it cool faster.

Strawberry Filling:
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled, and pureed. (Will equal 1 cup liquid)
roughly 2-3 cups whole strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced in half
3/4 cup sugar ( white granulated works best)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
Puree 1 and 1/2 cup whole strawberries until they turn into liquid.


Combine the puree in a sauce pan with the sugar, water, and cornstarch. Using a whisk to combine, heat on medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil.


Let boil for about a minute or so, then remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Whisk slowly for about 5 minutes, as the mixture cools. It should thicken up nicely.


Arrange the sliced berries in the cooled pie shell.


Pour the puree mixture over the berries, making sure to cover them all evenly.


Cool in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours, or until it sets.


Enjoy!

Mother's Day Weekend- Berries and Ferries and S'mores Oh My!

Mothers Day has always been an important day in my family- my Dad always made it that way for my Mom. And I am so lucky that my husband is keeping that tradition for me as well. This year marked my 8th Mother's Day as a Mommy myself.



Last year I was pregnant with our 3rd child on Mothers Day with only 2 weeks to go until my due date.



This year my wonderful husband decided the entire weekend should be Mothers Day Weekend, not just 1 short day. All weekend he made sure I didn't have to do many "mommy chores"- he stepped in and did them so I could have time with the girls or just relax. Not that he doesn't always help out- because he is awesome at that anyway, but this weekend he went above and beyond and made sure I didn't really have anything to worry about. And for that I am so very thankful to him.

Saturday we did something I have been wanting to do for a long time- we went strawberry picking. The farm we went to was across the river from us so we had to take a small ferry to get there. I had done this with my parents when I was young and I was so excited to get to share it with my own girls.





This was their first time on a boat of any kind and they had a blast!

The farm we went to was a small farm, but it was just the right size for my 2 oldest girls to enjoy themselves.

When we got there we checked in at the barn, got our 2 gallon baskets, and set to work picking berries. Luckily the weather was PERFECT- not a cloud in the sky, not too hot, couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day! And the berries- oh my! There were so many beautiful, ripe berries waiting to be picked. The girls set to work to find the biggest ones they could- and they were pretty successful in finding what they were looking for!















It didn't take long to fill up our baskets and before we knew it there wasn't anymore space in our baskets. So it was time to head back.


After all that hard work in the strawberry field the girls had earned a special treat- homemade strawberry ice cream! The middle one was so very excited so practically ran all the way back to the barn, yelling at us to hurry up if we stopped to pick just one more berry.


Of course I couldn't have any ice cream (so sad because strawberry is my absolute favorite kind of ice cream) so I settled for a Pepsi and some almonds I had packed instead.

After our strawberry picking adventure, we headed back to the ferry and enjoyed the short ride back to our side of the river. The girls were sad to see that part of the day end, and are looking forward to getting to do it again soon.

Sunday I got to sleep in while my family was busy in the kitchen making me breakfast and homemade cards. My husband made scrambled eggs and vanilla waffles with fresh strawberries that were so good! He was going to blog it for me, but wanted to try and get breakfast ready before I got up so I could have it in bed. I woke up before I was supposed to and ruined that part of the surprise-Oops. So instead we all sat together and had a delicious breakfast. I also got my gift from my hubby- he had made coupons for various activities. My favorite was to be used specifically on Mothers Day- a shopping spree at a kitchen store of my choice!!

The others I will cash in this summer- they are for a boat ride (we are going to rent a boat for the day and take the girls out), a jet ski ride (will use that on vacation), and a Kayak trip -super excited about that one!

For my shopping spree I had a hard time deciding between Williams Sonoma and Macy's. His original plan was to go to the Williams Sonoma store in Colonial Williamsburg, but then I saw that Macy's was having a Kitchen sale, and I had a coupon so I chose to go there. (We will still go to WS for a couple items that I can't get anywhere else).

The girls had a great time helping me pick out things we needed and wanted- it was a family effort. We ended up getting a couple of fun things, and a few things I needed to get to replace older items.



I got: a cupcake tote ( I was in desperate need of one of those), new spatulas of all sizes, new measuring spoons, glass prep bowls, a pastry blender, microplane zester, dishtowels and cloths (I know- so exciting), mixing bowls,a new colander, and my two favorite items that I can't wait to use:

My new Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Maker attachment: Can't wait to make some dairy free strawberry ice cream with this!








.
And my OXO Mandolin slicer- I already have plans for french fries! I know there are more elaborate brands out there, but I like OXO and wanted a simple one to start with.

After our shopping adventure we met up with my parents for dinner at one of our favorite local Italian restaurants- Al Frescos. Every time we eat there they are so great about catering to my dietary needs. I usually get a dish called Salmon Salsa Bianca- which is salmon sauteed with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and julian carrots in a white wine sauce served over fettuccine. It is one of my favorite dishes. I even get to have their bread there! Our waiter (who waits on my parents every time they go there) made sure I had a whole basket. Last night was the first time in 3 YEARS I had been able to eat the bread before dinner at a restaurant. It was heaven! The girls also enjoyed their meal of penne pasta with broccoli. Once we were all sufficiently stuffed on bread, salad, wine, and pasta we came back to our house for dessert- angel food cake with strawberries and s'mores around our fire pit.

Have to get the marshmallow just perfect!













Perfection! Nothing beats s'mores around a fire with my family. It was the perfect ending to a perfect Mothers Day Weekend!











Thank you to my wonderful husband for making this weekend so very special, my 3 little girls for making me the luckiest Mommy ever and to my own Mom for teaching me how to be a Mommy, a Mom, and a friend.