6/17/11

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER...OR AT LEAST 'TIL THE END OF JUNE



"You won't find a better-tasting strawberry in your supermarket!" boasted local berry farmer, with arms folded behind his back, as if he were about to address the parliament.

His farm, a barren expanse of dirt, just weeks before, is now a canvas of perfectly red strawberries, that would rival a Cézanne painting.


As I merrily romped across the field, basket in one hand and camera in the other, eager to welcome the berries much-awaited arrival, I noticed my guys, 'J' and Mr. Man-pants, avoiding eye contact with me, and following not-so-closely behind. Strange people.

Trivial bothers aside, I came home with enough berries to please everyone. Some of the fruit was turned into an intensely-flavored strawberry sorbet, and the rest went into this strawberry soup.


I've never been a big fan of the color pink, but I may have to reconsider.


Too girly? You bet.
It is undeniably pink, and proudly so. Its clean, bright taste, captures the singular essence of summer.
But call it a smoothie, and I will give you such a pinch.

For the record, dear husband will gladly admit — with face pixelated and voice altered — that he likes it too.

Strawberry Soup

3 cups fresh strawberries
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1½ cups water
½ cup Rosé wine*

Slice strawberries, reserving some for garnish. Macerate strawberries and sugar a few hours or overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.
Place all ingredients in a blender, and purée until smooth. Put mixture through a fine strainer. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled before serving. Yield: 4 servings.

*Feel free to substitute a favorite, dry white wine for the crisp Rosé.







For the sorbet, it's important to taste the fruit before you begin, as you may not need all of the simple syrup called for. My MI. berries were so sweet, I left out the ¼ cup of syrup.
I also recommend straining the berry mixture, for a silky texture to this cool treat. If you don't mind the tiny seeds, omit this step.

Another tip: I like to use an immersion blender to aerate the fruit mixture prior to processing. It is not an essential step, but I think it makes a lighter product. Forgo this step and you'll still have a sorbet to sing about.

Strawberry Sorbet

2 pounds fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1¼ cups simple syrup, recipe follows

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and purée until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove all seeds.

Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly. Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturer’s instructions.


Simple syrup

1½ cups sugar

Combine sugar with one cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, and cook until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool completely before using. If not using right away, keep refrigerated until needed.




Wishes for a weekend full of romping, because trudging through life ain't fun.






Joining:
Designs by Gollum's Foodie Fridays

Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday

36 comments:

  1. Gorgeous recipes! I really like that soup. A great idea and a perfect dessert when it's blazing hot outside...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Beautiful photos! I love strawberry soup. It's like dessert for the first course.

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  3. We both have a J..

    How could you not be crazy about pink with these pinkalicious pic?:)

    I love the old board..I keep looking by roadsides..

    None yet..I have an old picnik table though..

    I can just picture you in the field..like Julie Andrews in The Sound O Music...that joy...

    Un billet superbe.

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  4. Add another J here to the ranks of quizzical husbands :)

    Gorgeous photos, Sol! Your strawberry soup is downright beautiful and I'd love to try making the strawberry sorbet. I can just imagine how fresh it must taste!

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  5. What a lovely post Marysol! when I saw the Strawberry Soup, my mind immediately went to something salty :)) beautiful recipes and photos as always! Have a lovely weekend!

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  6. Gorgeous, Sol, just gorgeous, the berries, the sorbet and the soup. I don't even have a wisecrack because that pic takes my breath away, the flower and the soup!

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  7. What a great treat! I love strawberry season.

    I hope you'll stop by and share your recipe with Sweet Tooth Friday! http://alli-n-son.com/2011/06/16/midnight-craving-cupcakes/

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  8. Oh wow. I saw this linked up over at Foodie Friday. That soup is beautiful. And so is your blog! You've got beautiful photos and presentation. I am your newest follower :)

    Check out my blog and follow back if you like!

    http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com

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  9. Rosa, we had such blazing hot temperatures when I made these, that, for one millisecond, I considered sticking my whole face in the soup bowl. It's cooled down since, thank goodness.


    Julie, you're right. It is like dessert as a first course. And I'm in the "life is short—eat dessert first" camp.


    Dear Monique, when I romp, I look more like Julie Andrews' uncoordinated sister. The one Hollywood turned away.
    Btw, I knew you'd like the board. It is actually a very old table I'm in the process of refinishing.
    I had no idea, when I started stripping the yellow-painted table, that all those colorful layers were hiding underneath.
    This one came from an estate auction.


    Susan, I didn't realize how many Js there were in our lives, and each one as sweet and kind as the next!

    Alina, even I can't wrap my head around a sweet, fruity soup. I think, next time, I'll serve it in a champagne flute, and call it parfait.:)

    Carol, you know I can't get through the day without at least one of your wisecracks. But I love you, so it's easy to forgive you.

    Thank you Alli!

    Desi, your blog title is making me hungry. Thank you for dropping by!


    Thank you all very kindly! Have a good weekend my friends—see you Monday!

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  10. Sol, there is nothing better than just picked ripe, sweet strawberries. I don't know how you made it home with any to spare. As always, your pictures are gorgeous. Your posts give me a few minutes of respite from a hectic life. Thanks!

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  11. Aww I wish I had a beautiful bowl of strawberries like that in front of me! They look delicious! :D

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  12. My sweet J will be happy I stopped by your blog this morning. Strawberry sorbet is going on the Father's Day menu tomorrow, and I won't even drag him to the strawberry field to pick the berries ;o) Everything is beautiful about this post Sol! Enjoy your weekend.

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  13. I love strawberries as sweet treat and juices especially in summer.. Wow! yummy.

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  14. I love strawberries too & this soup sounds amazing!

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  15. so beautiful pictures!!!!!

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  16. I swore I wouldn't give in the the high price of the local strawberries, but I did. 6.50, way too much for me, but I wanted them for Father's Day Brunch.
    Your soup and sorbet look heavenly. These Long Island strawberries better be fabulous! :)

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  17. Dear Marysol... your strawberry soup spells genius with a capital G! I would love to taste it! And your elegant presentation is impeccable, as always. ♥

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  18. Alas, no local strawberry patches from which to harvest. I'll have to settle for the Farmers' Market. Thankfully, I now have two wonderful recipes to make the most of my pre-picked acquisitions. Merci, mon amie!

    (Of course, I can't leave without lavishing praise on your photography skills and presentations. *sigh* I so do want to be you when I grow up...)

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  19. From the fields to all these lovely tasty creations...how sweet and wonderful! :)

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  20. ¡Qué fresas mas bonitas!
    Beautiful as usual Sol. We're also eating them daily, but they're locally grown and from the supermarket. I just slice them into a bowl of mango yoghurt. Too hot here now to work in the kitchen, but I love to see your new creations. Un abrazo amiga. :-)

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  21. This looks great! We’re hosting an online seasonal potluck and June is strawberry month! If you’d like to link your recipe, we’d love to have you http://​bit​.ly/​e​L​l​gG2

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  22. Dear Cotehele, I didn't mention the extra basket of berries the guys and I fought over on the way home, because we still have our dignity and class. Burp!


    Lorraine, if it were possible, I'd ship strawberries to you. But with the distance between us, the berries might resemble an Andy Warhol painting, on arrival. Certainly not the red berries we've grown accustomed to [G]


    Debbie, I hope your sweet J enjoyed his sorbet. And I'm sure not being forced to work for his supper, or rather, dessert, made it more special.


    Hi Notcathy, and thank you!


    Marla, the soup is refreshing; I hope you'll give it a try this summer.

    Martina, thank you kindly!

    Kathleen, that is a hefty price to pay for strawberries. I've been paying half that, and the price is still higher than my local supermarket's.


    Sarah, your comment is sweeter than the fruit featured! Thank you my friend!


    Lori, thank you! I also rely on the farmer's market, mostly because I lack a green thumb. The only fruit thriving in my backyard (with no 'help' from me) is a raspberry bush that's grown by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, the wildlife is just as quick, and gets to them before we do.


    Hi Aarthi, and welcome!


    Tigerfish, I like the way you put it!

    Querida Sharon, mango yogurt topped with strawberries sounds like heaven in a bowl!
    Temps are steadily climbing here, and I have all the components to recreate your summer treat! Thank you for the inspiration, my friend.


    Thanks Betsy, I may just take you up on that!


    And thank you all for helping me welcome this awesome season!

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  23. Be still my pink loving heart! That soup is just too gorgeous for words. I recently bought some strawberries that were as sweet as sugar. I rarely find them this yummy. Sadly, they didn't make it into anything as lovely as your soup. I washed them and popped each juicy berry into my mouth until they were gone. I was quite an oink!

    Nancy

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  24. Who wouldn't become a pink convert after looking at those photos and tasting those treats. The soup would be so welcome on a hot summer day.

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  25. I love this - looks so good! I'm looking for a recipe to make for a Strawberry Fest Recipe Contest at a local produce farm. This might just the be one!

    I thought you might like my latest post - a very simple (but fancy looking) Strawberry Cream Cake : http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/2011/06/strawbe...

    I hope you have a chance to look at it!

    Jenny Steffens Hobick http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com

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  26. Dear Nancy, I think about all the things you would've created with a surplus of strawberries, and my heart skips a few beats.

    Linda, I've belonged to the anti-pink campaign for so long, it's going to take a while to learn to embrace this color. But I'm certainly working on it :)

    Jenny, thank you! Btw, your cake sounds absolutely delicious!

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  27. Strawberry sorbet sounds yummy! I will try it. I just bought a lot of berries from Amish country. Fresh, sweet...mmm

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  28. Lovely photos....love strawberries and welcome new ways to devour them!

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  29. Beautiful photos you take! I love strawberries (who doesn't??) and what fun recipes you have. Yummy!
    Thank you for visiting my blog and for your sweet comments!

    ~Shanon

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  30. Wow! Both of these recipes look fabulous! I would like to give both a try. Beautiful photos as well!!!

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  31. Anonymous27/6/11


    oh.. so nice post.)
    Love your blog.))

    I now spend a survey of bloggers with such questions.
    1. Why did you create a blog?
    2. For whom you taking him? Want to be popular?
    3. How long will it keep going?

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  32. The soup and sorbet are both great colors! The pink of the soup is amazing. Both sound positively delicious made with those farm fresh berries.

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  33. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  34. Thank you all very kindly; happy weekend!

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  35. I adore strawberries too and have had to cover mine with netting so the birds don't eat them all. Everything is beautiful and looks luscious! We just love strawberry soup. Yours is gorgeous.

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  36. Beautiful photos! I love juicy strawberries especially prepared like this.

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