Strawberry Fever
April is raining strawberries. Florida had some bad luck earlier in the year, delaying the normal strawberry season. Now it's annual harvest is overlapping with California's and a rash of fresh bright red berries is reddening up the aisles of grocers across America. I'm toiling all this week to find a cure strawberry fever. First up, cool strawberry ice cubes. Drop one or two into a glass of lemonade and watch it melt into strawberry heaven. The cubes can be stored in freezer bags for 1-2 months, so you can keep that strawberry feeling strong.
Strawberry Ice Cubes
1 qt strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 sugar
1 tblsp orange juice
Set aside 2 big berries. Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and let sit for one hour. The sugar and juice will macerate the berries, making them softer and easier to puree.
Add berries with juices to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Slice up the remaining 2 berries. Garnishes bottom and sides of an empty, clean ice cube tray with strawberry slices. Pour berry puree into trays, laying a few berry slices on top. You may have extra puree, that's terrific on its own as a drink or for another use.
Freeze tray for 6-8 hours or until solid. Pop cubes, and plop into a lemonade. Also let melt into limeade, orange, cranberry, grapefruit, or mango juices. Substitute your strawberry ice cubes in place of regular ice cubes in a smoothie.
I'm so excited to try this! Brilliant!
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