Macerated Strawberries

I love when fresh strawberries are in season.  I don't know about you, but I buy a lot of them.  Inevitably, we sometimes end up with a few berries that don't get eaten as quickly as I'd like.  I'm sure that happens to you too so I'm going to show you how to turn less than appealing strawberries into uber yummy strawberries, and we'll extend their life by a day or two in the process.  It's a win-win!

Alright, remove and discard the stems from your sad looking strawberries and cut them into bite-size pieces.

If your neighbor has chickens, save those trimmings for them.

Place the berries in a bowl and sprinkle on a little granulated sugar.  I use 1-2 tablespoons of sugar for a pint of strawberries, depending on how sweet they are to begin with.  

If you want to be a little fancier, use vanilla sugar.  

I make my own vanilla sugar by saving all my vanilla bean pods and placing them into a large jar filled with sugar. Just rinse the pods, let them dry, then add them to the jar.  Top off with more sugar as needed.  My batch of vanilla sugar is well over 10 years old... maybe close to 20 - and I bet there are 30 vanilla beans in there.  

Ok, back to the strawberries.

Stir the berries and sugar together well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before using. They will last in the fridge for 5 to 6 days, but they're really best eaten within 48 hours.  

And here you can see what they look like after they release their juices.  The technical name for this process is MACERATE, but whatever you call it, can you believe how enticing those sad strawberries look now?  

Use them to make strawberry shortcake, or old-fashioned hot milk cake, make these amazing strawberry muffins, spoon them over ice cream, or put them in a bowl and drizzle a little cream on top.  However you decide to use them, I promise, your family and friends are going to love them.... and you'll love that you didn't have to throw those sad looking strawberries away.  You're welcome.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• vanilla sugar https://amzn.to/3siIyKe

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Macerated Strawberries

makes 1 pint

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut into bite-size pieces

• 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or vanilla sugar)

Directions

1. Place cut strawberries and sugar in a large bowl and stir well.

2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but up to 48 (berries are best eaten within 24 hours).

Anja's Cucumber Salad

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of cucumbers, and I find most cucumber salads are much too sweet, but my friend Anja served this straight up savory cucumber salad recently and I had to get the recipe.  When I made a double batch the following day, my husband said he could eat the entire batch himself.  Will definitely be making this one again and again.   

To begin, slice cucumbers very thinly.  I like to use a mandoline to get perfectly uniform slices.  Feel free to peel the skins off if you like, but I like the way they look when they're partially peeled (as shown above).    

By the way, this is my new favorite peeler.  It never jams or gets clogged - the peels fly right out of it like they're being ejected.  Work better than any other peeler I've ever used. 

Next, mix together the ingredients for a quick and creamy dressing.

That was easy - now pour it over the cucumbers and toss well.

Delish!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• my favorite vegetable peeler (for righties only) https://amzn.to/3seZtgX

• mandolin slicer https://amzn.to/3Gl8wSh

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Anja's Cucumber Salad

makes 8 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cucumbers, sliced thin, about 12 ounces (or 16 ounces mini cucumbers)

• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream (we prefer the yogurt)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Place sliced cucumbers in a large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over cucumbers and toss well to coat.