The Ezine For Every Strawberry Lover!

Issue #60

I hope you have a "berry good time" during this strawberry season !

When searching for new recipes for you, I came across a good old smoothie recipe, with a little twist. Hope you like it.

And my reader Hilda has submitted a great tip on how to unfreeze strawberries.

Strawberry Fruit Smoothie

Strawberries with pineapples and bananas... this might seem like an unusual combination, but taste it and you'll see how delicious this smoothie is.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250g) fresh strawberries, sliced
• 20 ounces (600g) pineapple chunks (go for fresh pineapple if you can!)
• 1 banana cut into pieces
• 1 cup (250ml) skim milk (or normal milk if you wish)
• 8 ounces (250g) fat-free strawberry yogurt
• 1/4 cup (60ml) honey
• 1 teaspoon lime juice

Directions

In a food processor or blender, combine strawberries, pineapple chunks, bananas, milk, yogurt, and lime juice.

Blend until smooth. Add honey to your liking.

Pour into glasses.

Makes 6 one cup servings.

Enjoy!

You're not too late, you can still grow you own strawberries and other small fruits and berries.

Buy only certified, healthy and productive plants at Gurney's.

How to cut strawberries so they won't be mushy when serving:

After strawberry packs are removed from the freezer, I place wrapped package on the top shelf of the refrigerator where they remain up to two to three days - to allow partial natural thawing.

If I plan to cut strawberries that day, I leave in packs on the countertop for 1-2 hours.

Using a sharp paring knife, I cut frozen/semi-frozen strawberries in half, lay both halves flat on a cutting board then cut 3-4 cuts lengthwise and crosscut.

I place berries in a large bowl, add Apriva (Kroger brand sugar) and enough (filtered) water to create a sauce, stirring gently.

I use as little Apriva as possible because we like the natural taste of strawberries. I put strawberries/sauce (juice) in a large glass jar and seal tightly.