Aside from the sweltering heat, Saturday’s Depot Town Strawberry Showcase was genuinely fun. There was a lot of good food and I even met a few cool people.
I initially went with the intention of buying a bushel of berries and making something that is quintessential Michigan summer. Unfortunately, my “on time arrival” wasn’t on time enough. By the time I’d arrived, all traces of the old girl had been swindled away by Ypsilanti’s finest dream killers.
Although I didn’t get to live out my hipster, foodie fantasy, I did find inspiration for the recipes in this week’s Kitchen 101. I got so much inspiration that I had to make this a special double recipe edition, featuring the incomparable Ms. Berry, if you’re tasty, center stage.
The first of the two recipes is strawberry salsa. I actually lifted the idea from Harvest Kitchen, one of the stops in the DTSS. I’d never even heard of it but now, I’m in love! This particular recipe is of my own creation, but I do have to give Melanie at Harvest Kitchen a big thank you for the tips.
Although I didn’t know how I was going to make it happen, I knew the second recipe would be a dorm room approved version of strawberry cheesecake. I didn’t want to use a purely boxed solution, but I honestly had no idea where to start. The final product didn’t turn out like cheesecake at all, but it’s still ridiculously delicious. Sometimes, mistakes make magic and this was definitely one of those times.
Keep it tasty,
Jerome
Strawberry salsa
Information
Prep time – 10 minutes
Servings – 8
Serving size – 1/4 cup
Calories per serving – 26
Net carbs – 5.1
Ingredients
1 lb. strawberries
1 jalapeño pepper
1 tsp. fresh cilantro
¼ red onion
½ lime
1 Tbs. sugar
Salt, black pepper
Procedure
1. Rinse strawberries under cold water to remove any dirt or debris.
2. Take off tops of strawberries with a small knife.
3. Cut strawberries into small pieces. Make sure not to mince or mash berries.
4. Place chopped strawberries into bowl.
5. Sprinkle sugar over the strawberries and toss to coat.
6. Finely chop cilantro, red onion and jalapeño then add to strawberries.
7. Juice lime half over strawberries.
8. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss once more to combine.
Notes
With 1 jalapeño this recipe is mild, with two it’s hot, with three you’ll be in pain.
If you let this chill for an hour or two, the flavors will have more time to meld and your salsa will taste better.
Strawberry pudding pie
Information
Prep time – 10 minutes
Rest time – 1 hour
Servings – 12
Serving size – 1 mini pie
Calories per serving – 150
Net carbs – 20
Ingredients
1 pack vanilla instant pudding (5.1 oz.)
¼ lb. strawberries
12 mini graham cracker pie crusts
2 cups milk
1. Rinse strawberries under cold water to remove any dirt or debris.
2. Take off tops of strawberries with a small knife.
3. In a bowl with a fork or masher, mash strawberries.
4. Take ½ cup of mashed strawberries, along with milk and put in a separate bowl.
5. Sprinkle pudding powder over milk and whisk until smooth. Make sure to combine all powder.
6. Once powder has combined, let sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly.
7. Spoon equal portions of pudding mix into crusts.
8. If you have any extra mashed strawberries top pies with them now.
9. Refrigerate pies for one hour.
10. Serve cold.