Strawberries

Strawberry season is one of my favorite times of the year.

I've loved strawberries my whole life and have found joy watching my children and now my granddaughter take delight in biting into a fresh strawberry grown in Wilson County soil.

I've picked strawberries several times this season and bought them from two area strawberry farms. The ones I purchased at Saturday's farmers market are almost gone, so I'll be back to a farm before the week is over to stock up again.

My family loves to eat strawberries unadorned, but we also enjoy them in salads and desserts. And I love that my daughter takes strawberries to school with her lunch.

I've especially enjoyed eating unsweetened strawberries with lite whipped topping and angel food cake this spring. I got the idea after eating the dish at Wilson Medical Center's cafeteria. I don't feel guilty when I mix this treat to take back to work for my afternoon snack.

Sunday afternoon, I mixed up a smoothie using some of my fresh berries. I tried the smoothie with lemonade this time instead of orange juice, which I normally use. It was very good and not too sweet, although you might want to add a teaspoon of sugar if you want it more like a milk shake. I thought at the time how good it would be for breakfast.

If you haven't tried our locally grown berries this season, I urge you to support our local farmers and drive out to one of the farms and give the strawberries a try.


Strawberry Smoothie

• 6-7 large strawberries
• 6 oz. container strawberry yogurt, frozen*
• 4 oz. lemonade or orange juice

Place ingredients in blender and blend until combined.
*It was not easy to remove the frozen yogurt from the container. I let it sit in a bowl of hot water briefly so it could thaw enough to come out of the carton. Next time I might let the juice be the frozen ingredient.


Easy Strawberry Treat

• Angel food cake
• Fresh strawberries, sliced
• Lite whipped topping

Break up angel food cake into bite-size pieces. Add a little whipped topping. Top with strawberries. Add a little more whipped topping to cover. Stir if desired or eat with layers.
Make this recipe according to how many servings you need. I’ve made it as a single serving in a small bowl and for the family in a glass dish.
This dessert is a better if it sits for about 30 minutes. (But I usually can’t wait that long to eat it!)