Strawberry Sparkle Juice

Amidst my cookbook habit and penchant for Pinterest recipes, sometimes I need to take a step back and remember what this blog is all about. Food is always on my brain. I love trying out new recipes and sharing old family favorites here on Kid Cultivation. I get all worked up over taking a truly decent food photograph. But really, truly, when it all comes down to it, the reason this blog exists is because of three inquisitive, discerning, droll little beings, none more than 4 feet tall.

Bean received this sweet cookbook for her birthday last month. And it is a cute book, conveniently partitioned into age-based sections with varying degrees of recipe complexity and likelihood of flesh wounds and third degree burns. She was immediately drawn to a cheery pink fruity beverage and wanted to make it. Now.

And here's the ugly truth. I didn't want to make it. 

All it involved was hulling and crushing strawberries to a pulp, pouring in some orange juice, a splash of seltzer and stirring. Any reasonable and not otherwise occupied parent, I'm sure, would have succumbed immediately to the sweet request which came complete with a please and a smile. But it was the witching hour...homework to be done, laundry to be folded, dinner to be made, piano to be practiced, lunchboxes to be unpacked, washed, and repacked. I didn't feel like splattering strawberry juice all over the counters.

But I did. I fought my very grown-up (and totally not fun) urge to pull out the blender and whip it up in 20 seconds for her and instead pulled out the bowls, measuring cups and potato masher. And of course she loved every second of it. Sometimes practical and efficient are not the words of the day. Sometimes we just need to make a mess. Thanks for the reminder, Bean.

Hulling some berries

Strawberry Sparkle Juice
adapted from Cook School

2 cups fresh, ripe strawberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup seltzer (or plain water for the bubble-averse)

Rinse the berries and place in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to grind them to a pulp.

Use a sieve to strain the strawberry juice into a pitcher or second bowl.

 Pour in the orange juice and seltzer (or water). Stir gently and pour into glasses. Drink her down!

Once I got over myself, Bean's project turned out to be the perfect after school activity. I mean, just check out Roo's enthusiasm.

Forget two thumbs up, that's two arms and two legs up!! They were so excited and pleased with themselves for doing it all on their own. Totally worth the 15 minutes of mashing and washing dishes.

Go ahead. Make the mess. Your kids will thank you.

Tempted By the Fruit of Another

A few weeks ago we went strawberry picking. After strawberry limeade, shortcake, and five pounds in the freezer, I was pretty sure I had my fill of bulk strawberries for the season. Then I stumbled upon these little beauties at our local farmers market.

Go ahead, try one, the berry mistress taunted. So I did. Thirty five dollars later I boasted eight more quarts of the best damn strawberries I have ever tasted in my life. Hands down.

I paraded them through the market like the Pied Piper, their heady aroma my magic flute, surrounded by throngs of hungry children and parents seeking out samples from my flat.

Home was no better. Note the look of pure ecstasy on both Bean and Roo's faces.

But, as if often the case with the tenderest and tastiest of berries I had to work fast if I wanted to preserve this perfect burst of summer. And preserve I did. Meet my new canner.

Before I give it to you, a few notes about my recipe. The original Better Homes and Gardens recipe called for whole pink peppercorns not crushed black pepper. I had a couple of issues with pink peppercorns, the first being that our "close" grocery store didn't have any and after purchasing the berries, the canner, accessories, and jars, I wasn't particularly motivated to seek them out. Second, I don't think I really want to bite into a whole peppercorn in my jam, but that's just me. Hence the cracked black pepper. The lazy woman's substitution worked quite nicely in my opinion and gives the jam a subtle kick.

Canning, like baking, is precise. I am by no means an expert canner but I took my chances by also reducing the sugar by one cup. The thing is, before I made the balsamic pepper-laced jam, I made some plain strawberry jam from the same berries using the full seven cups of sugar the original recipe called for. Even my six-year-old deemed it way too sweet. So, throwing caution to the wind, I reduced the sugar here and lo and behold, the jam still set beautifully.

If like me, you're somewhat new to canning, here's some great basic canning info to get you on your way.

Balsamic Strawberry Jam with Cracked Pepper
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Can It!

12 cups strawberries
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1.75-ounce package regular powdered fruit pectin
1/2 tsp butter
6 cups sugar
1 tbsp cracked black pepper

1. Place about 1 cup of berries in a large bowl and crush with a potato masher. Continue to add berries and mash until you have 5 total cups of crushed berries. Place berries in a large heavy pot. Stir in vinegar, pectin, and butter. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar all at once. Return to a boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a spoon. Stir in cracked pepper.
2. Ladle hot jam into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe any goop off the rims and place the lids and rings.
3. Process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes timing from when the water returns to a full boil. Remove jars from canner and cool on wire racks or a dish towel for 12-24 hours. Makes about 10 half-pints.

Strawberry Picking

'Tis the Season. Strawberry season, that is.

This weekend we made the trek to Olive Berry Acres in Mazon, IL, where despite our kooky Midwest spring of 80-degree March and frosty April, they have fields bursting with ripe berries and plenty of buckets at the ready! At least they did this past weekend. My apologies if you missed the show. It happens so fast. 

The farm is a charming spot to spend a summer morning but don't forget the sunscreen. There's not much shade to be found in a strawberry patch. Luckily the munchkins were adequately slathered and hatted and Mufasa is impervious to sun, or so he claims. But I missed a spot on my own shoulder and learned the lesson the hard way.

We managed close to eight pounds of strawberries in about an hour. Not bad considering each and every berry Roo picked required a thorough inspection by mom or dad before going into his bucket. His rules, not mine.

Looly, Bean, and Roo are seasoned strawberry pickers at this point and don't require the coaxing and cajoling I needed to meet my quota as a child laborer in the fields with my mother. They're happy to pick and pluck as long as they can snag a few juicy bites along the way. The raspberries, however, proved a bit trickier.

I'd forgotten the thorns. With no jeans or long sleeves for the troops, raspberries were up to me and I have the Paris Metro map in blood on my forearms to prove it.

And since our city kids don't often experience the thrills of my youth...like being charged by a bull or abandoned by siblings in the middle of a dense cornfield, they thoroughly enjoyed playing farm kids for a day.

Fizzy Strawberry Limeade for Kids and Adults

It was hot here this weekend. Flip flops sticking to asphalt hot.

Mufasa and Bean braved NATO Summit public transportation security enhancements and 90 degree temps to go to the Cubs vs. White Sox game.

Meanwhile, Looly, Roo, and I lazed by the kiddie pool relishing our first sips of summer.

Strawberry Limeade

1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
1 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/4-1/2 cup agave nectar depending on desired level of sweetness
Sparkling water or for the adult version, sparkling wine
Lots of ice cubes

Place strawberries, lime juice, and agave nectar in a blender and process until smooth. Pour a few tablespoons into the bottom of each glass. Fill glass 2/3 of the way with your choice of sparkling water or for you thrill-seekers, sparkling wine. Stir gently. Drop in several ice cubes and garnish away with lime wedges and fresh berry slices.