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It’s the season of strawberries…yea!!  Yes, strawberries can be purchased any time in the grocery  but there is nothing like the taste of berries home grown or picked from a berry patch. I checked with the berry patch in Shafer this week and was told that because of the warm/colder weather this spring, normal picking time would be a little later than in the past years, which would be around the 19th or 20th of this month.   I have my “strawberry picking” jeans…..red stained knee pants and I’m set to go.

Oh, oh….In last weeks’ column I said I was going to have different recipes for this week. I sorta  lied.   This recipe has strawberries AND rhubarb in the ingredients. It’s really a delicious treat!     

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STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COFFEE CAKE
 Filling:
1 qt. fresh strawberries, mashed
3 c. sliced fresh rhubarb (1” pieces)
2 T. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1/3 c cornstarch

Cake:
3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. each, baking powder and baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter or margarine, cut in 1/4 –inch pieces
1-1/2 . buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Topping:
1/4 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. each, flour and sugar

In a large saucepan, combine first 3 ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes. Combine next 2 ingredients; stir into saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened; remove from heat and set aside.  

In a large bowl, combine next six ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  In a medium bowl, beat next three ingredients; stir into crumb mixture. Spread half of the batter evenly into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Drop small blobs of filling over batter and carefully spread. Drop remaining batter by tablespoonfuls over filling. For topping, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.

Remove from heat; stir in flour and sugar until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter.       
                                                    
Lay foil on lower rack of oven to catch any juicy fruit spillovers. Place coffee cake on middle rack. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan.  Makes 15 servings.  Note:  If you don’t have buttermilk, put 1-1/2 T. vinegar or lemon juice in a 2 c. measuring cup and add milk to make 1-1/2 c.  Let sit five minutes.

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and it takes a while to make but it’s worth it. Cover any leftover and put them in the fridge; have some tomorrow!

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CREAMY STRAWBERRY DESSERT
4 c. strawberries, divided
1 – 14 oz. can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 -8 oz. container whipped topping (Cool Whip or house brand)
8 chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo) finely chopped (not into fine crumbs)
1 T. butter, melted

Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends extending over sides, about 4-inches on each end.  Mash 2 c. berries in a large bowl (Don’t puree them!)  Add milk, lemon juice and 2 c. Cool Whip; mix well but don’t beat. Pour onto loaf pan. Combine chopped cookies and butter; spoon over Cool Whip mixture. Cover with ends of foil; gently press cookie mixture into Cool Whip mixture.

Freeze six hours or until very firm. Invert dessert onto plate just before serving; remove pan and foil. Frost dessert with remaining Cool Whip. Slice remaining berries; arrange over dessert.  Makes eight servings.  Note: When turning the dessert out, turn it onto a cake cover lined with foil; easier to cut than on a plate. And no clean-up.

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SUMMERTIME FROZEN FRUIT SALAD
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. honey
1-1/2 c. sliced strawberries
2 medium bananas, sliced in 1/2 –inch slices
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 – 15-1/2 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained well
1 c. fresh Bing cherries, halved and pitted (can substitute small red grapes)
1 c. whipping cream, whipped
Extra berries for garnish if you wish

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth. Add honey and beat well. Transfer to a large bowl and gently stir in berries and next four ingredients. Fold in whipped cream.

Spoon mixture into a 9-inch square pan; freeze six hours. Remove salad from freezer about 20 minutes before serving.  Makes nine  servings.  Note: When I drain most fruits from a can, I turn them onto paper towel, cover with another sheet of paper towel and lightly press to get a little more juice from them.

Thought for the Day: Take time to smell the fragrant flowers. If you don’t have flowers growing near where you live and if you can, walk through a nursery and see all the beauty in so many shapes and colors. Take a good whiff and you will be filled with the best of the best fragrances around you. It would be heart-warming for you if you took a homebound friend or an elderly person that you know, perhaps in a health care facility, or even a neighbor, to visit one of our local nurseries to see and smell the beautiful flowering plants. This would be a wonderful experience for them and yourself.

Recently when I was buying some flowers, a young mother and her youngster were walking hand in hand looking at the flowers when the little one said, “Mom, did God really make all these pretty flowers?” How could you not say, “Yes.” God is good!

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