More Strawberry Delights

Thanks to Ozark Gardens, a plant nursery in Ripley County, I have enjoyed eating strawberries from my six ever-bearing plants. (No snickering, please. With my weird summer schedule I wasn't sure I could keep them alive, but I did, so now I see a strawberry patch of my own in 2021). Right now it is a consumption competition between a turtle and me...I am hoping it's the turtle I see now and then elsewhere in the yard. There are hazy recollections swirling in my gray matter of sultry strawberry-pickings on trips to the country as a kid. I loved the strawberry shortcake that was at the end of the chore, so helping pick the tasty bounty and sporting red fingertips for a while seemed appropriate. Back then the turtles were a REAL problem for this city child. They were more prevalent in the wild blackberry patches I tiptoed through 'helping' with that chore, again because blackberry cobbler would be in my immediate future.

Perhaps because strawberries are on my mind, when I looked through the tattered pages of my mother's Better Homes and Garden Cook Book - you know, the one with the red and white checkered tablecloth pattern on the cover - my eyes and fingers seemed mysteriously drawn to several recipes using this seasonal fruit. These recipes are not the ones printed on the book's pages, but ones handwritten by Mom, my paternal grandmother, my sister and me on all sorts of now aged and food-stained sheets. A few are on the backs of Doniphan's First National Bank deposit slips where Mom (Evelyn Pearson) worked for years as a teller. Several looked as though I typed them with my portable Smith & Corona typewriter in the blue case received as an eighth grade graduation gift. High school and college papers were typed - last minute of course - on that prized possession. I have never since met a challenge quite like typing a research paper (footnotes and all) on one of those. The behinder I was the more often I had to re-type a page because I misjudged the space needed for footnotes. Another topic for another day.

In honor of this scrumptious seasonal fruit and to celebrate finding within minutes both halves of the recipe on yellowed strips in different sections of the cookbook, I am sharing one we prepared often at home for family, for church fellowships and for club meetings. With a bit of time, I probably could have remembered the entire recipe.

STRAWBERRY SODA CAKE
1 pkg yellow cake mix. Bake as a sheet cake according to directions.
2 pkgs of strawberry jello mixed with 1 cup boiling water and 1 cup strawberry soda.
As soon as cake is done, punch cake all over with a fork from top to bottom. Immediately pour all the jello mixture over cake.
Topping
Mix 1 pkg of instant French vanilla pudding and 1 1/2 cups cold milk.
Fold in 1 small carton of Cool Whip. Spread over cake and refrigerate before serving.

Where are the strawberries, you ask? Just from the flavor of the soda in this recipe but slice some freshly picked strawberries to place over the topping and voila! Perfect summertime dessert to enjoy during these dog days of summer. For those of you who prefer pies, here is a quick one.

STRAWBERRY GLAZE PIE
1 cup tap water
1 cup sugar
2 tbs cornstarch
2 heaping tbs strawberry gelatin
1 quart small whole strawberries
1 9-inch baked pie crust or graham cracker crust
Whipped cream
Putting it all together
Mix the sugar and cornstarch then add the water.
Bring to a boil until thickened.
Add the gelatin and set aside to cool for at least 30 to 40 minutes.
Place the strawberries on the crust and pour the cooled liquid over them.
Refrigerate for at least one hour then put the whipped cream on top. For something a bit fancier, try the following.

STRAWBERRY PINEAPPLE CUP
1 14-oz can of pineapple pieces or small chunks
3 cups hulled strawberries
2/3 to 1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped mint leaves
Layering
Drain the pineapple.
Layer in sherbet glasses.Start with pineapple.
Sprinkle with sugar before adding a layer of strawberries. If the berries are sweet, this might not need sugar.
Alternate pineapple, suger and berries till full.
Sprinkle mint over the top. Chill thoroughly. Fills 6 glassses. A slightly heavier fruit dessert follows.

STRAWBERRY SOUR CREAM
2 6-oz pkgs of strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water
2 10-oz pkgs frozen strawberres thawed - Wouldn't fresh work in season?
2 medium bananas - mashed
1 cup chopped nuts
1 pint sour cream
Creating the dish
Dissolve the jello in the boiling water.
Add everything except the sour cream.
Pour half the jello mixture in a jello mold, large bowl or those sherbet glasses might work here, too.
Chill for 1 hour.
Spread the sour cream over the chilled layer.
Pour the remaining mixture over the sour cream.
Chill before serving.

Can't feature a strawberry festival without a punch to go with everything! Here is a refreshing punch for any summer occasion.

STRAWBERRY PUNCH
3 qts of strawberries
3 cups sugar
Juice 12 oranges
Juice 12 lemons
3 qts cold water
What to do
Wash, hull and mash 2 of the 3 quarts of berries.
Add 1 of the 3 cups of sugar.
Let stand for 1 hour then strain.
Add the juice from the oranges and lemons.
Add the water and the remaining 2 cups of sugar.
Pour into a large punch bowl.
Add the remaining quart of whole strawberries. Serves 15 to 20.

Tips to consider: (1) Freeze the whole straberries to be added to the punch bowl. (2) For adult enjoyment, add wine of choice for a grand strawberry sangria to enjoy during the August heat. (3) Google the 1910 murder mystery "August Heat" by W. F. Harvey. Since school starts in August, when I taught 9th grade English, this short story was almost always my first literature assignment.