Mmm … Monadnock!

I was so very tired of all the rain this week and needed to just Get Away from all the mud and the muck. So I went driving around the area in search of fresh strawberries, even though it really is sort of the end of the season. I found a couple of places on Route 12 over near Charlestown, but in both cases, was only able to get a quart. Boo. I ate them while searching for another place. Finally, on the way home, I stopped at Bershear’s in Alstead on Route 123 and bought them out. So, what to do with 8 quarts of fresh strawberries? Such a hardship.

First, I made strawberry jam and substituted maple syrup for half of the sugar. I also put in a whole vanilla bean and let the strawberries sit in the icebox overnight before I cooked them down. I sort of based it on this recipe, except for the maple syrup bit. I was worried it would set well, but it actually set up really well and the flavor came out just fantastic. The vanilla is definitely there and compliments the strawberries and the maple really nicely. I also really like the color. Success. (Let’s not mention my peach jam from last year.)

I next made some strawberry maple ice cream, sort of like I did last year but more closely following this recipe. I used our own maple syrup and raw milk from Stonewall Farm (6 weeks until Elly delivers and I have my own raw milk again), and our own eggs. It really isn’t as sweet as most ice cream is, I guess because there isn’t as much maple syrup as you would put sugar. So I cheated a bit and added swirls of the strawberry jam just at the end. Much better! Also, pretty.

So I still had four quarts left, what to do? I googled around for strawberry quickbread recipes, and after reading tons, finally settled on this one. It’s pretty fussy, but I already had the stove on since I was baking brownies for the CSA and doing things to keep myself awake past my bedtime. I doubled the recipe, made one loaf and 12 jumbo muffins. I had one for breakfast this morning. Yum. I used almonds for the nuts because that’s what I had on hand, and it worked out well.

I think I’m going to freeze the last two quarts whole. I’m a bit tired of so much time in the kitchen. It’s been a nice change from running fence out in the mud and the muck, though, and I’ll have nice treats for quite a while.