Strawberry Picking Adventure

 We went strawberry picking with friends of ours in early May.  It was an overcast day, which turned out to be a welcome relief from the sun and heat.  It made for a perfect morning of picking strawberries followed by lunch with our friends had a fun food join near the strawberry patch.

As we left, Kaitlyn asked when would we go strawberry picking again.  Hopefully, we'll make this an annual outing.  

 Charlie, Kaitlyn & Garet after picking and eating lots of strawberries. 

 Madelyn trying her best to find some delicious toddler sized strawberries.  She enjoyed walking through the patch. 

 Garet and Kaitlyn trying to decide if they found a good strawberry. 

The strawberries we brought home.  Both boxes were full, but we already pulled some out of the one box. 

Fresh strawberries in sugar - getting ready to them ready for the pie. 

Kaitlyn checking out the ingredients for the strawberry pie.

Kaitlyn showing off a little, tasty strawberry. 

 Kaitlyn and I mixed the muffin batter and scooped it into the muffin tins. 

Tah-dah - our finished product!

A unique looking strawberry we found in the patch.  

Madelyn enjoying fresh strawberries with her yogurt.  

Kaitlyn eating our muffins straight from the oven.  

Dave showing off all the strawberries we plan to freeze.

After I made the filling, Dave puts it in the pie crust he worked on while Kaitlyn and I made muffins. 

After teamwork between Dave and I, we had a wonderful strawberry pie.  Thank you Cook's Illustrated for the recipe!! 

We decided that sparkling wine would be the perfect accompaniment to the strawberry pie.  We did not finish making it until after the girls went to bed.  

The pie was so good, we let Kaitlyn have it for breakfast.  It has fruit in it afterall!

Madelyn enjoyed the muffins with a little butter.  

Here is the strawberry pie recipe from cook's illustrated:

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients 

Filling  

• 4 pints (about 3 pounds) fresh strawberries , gently rinsed and dried, hulled (see note)
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Sure-Jell for low-sugar recipes (see note)
• Generous pinch Table salt
• 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
• 1 recipe Baked Pie Shell (see related recipe)
• Whipped Cream  
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• One recipe Cook's Illustrate Pie Dough, or store bought pie crust 

Instructions

1. FOR THE FILLING: Select 6 ounces misshapen, underripe, or otherwise unattractive berries, halving those that are large; you should have about 1½ cups. In food processor, process berries to smooth puree, 20 to 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. You should have about ¾ cup puree.
2. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, Sure-Jell, and salt in medium saucepan. Stir in berry puree, making sure to scrape corners of pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with heatproof rubber spatula, and bring to full boil. Boil, scraping bottom and sides of pan to prevent scorching, for 2 minutes to ensure that cornstarch is fully cooked (mixture will appear frothy when it first reaches boil, then will darken and thicken with further cooking). Transfer to large bowl and stir in lemon juice. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, pick over remaining berries and measure out 2 pounds of most attractive ones; halve only extra-large berries. Add berries to bowl with glaze and fold gently with rubber spatula until berries are evenly coated. Scoop berries into pie shell, piling into mound. If any cut sides face up on top, turn them face down. If necessary, rearrange berries so that holes are filled and mound looks attractive. Refrigerate pie until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve within 5 hours of chilling.?
4.  FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: Just before serving, beat cream and sugar with electric mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave trail, about 30 additional seconds. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, 30 to 60 seconds.
5. Cut pie into wedges. Serve with whipped cream.
   
   Here is the link to the strawberry muffins:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/florida-strawberry-muffins/
   
   As always, Bon Appetit!!