So every year, as always, I go Pick-Your-Own Strawberry Picking at Russell Orchards in Ipswich. It’s well documented here on this site, so I won’t go info all the details of the Strawberry Festival and all that. This of course means that I am working on this year’s strawberry treats. First up, this year’s variation on the strawbeey jam… this time with hibiscus which gives the jam a great floral punch. Yum yum!
It’s been a while since I made crumble bars. For a long time now, they have been my “go to” thing to make, to eat “out of hand” (meaning cookie or brownie-sized). They are so versitile: pick a fruit flavor, pick a nut or chocolate type and voila! Crumble bars just waiting to be taken to your next pot-luck!
Here we are, another variation on Strawberry Jam. It seems that every year, I try something new. Sometimes with lemon and thyme, sometimes with port, sometimes mized with other fruit, always yummy. This year, I decided to add blood orange juice (a little bit of a clean, citrus-y note) and freshly grated ginger. The ginger isn’t overwhelming, just a nice warm after taste. Seriously delicious this time. Perfect for gift giving too.
As is usual in later June, usually the first weekend after the summer solstice, I went PYO Strawberry picking today. It wasn’t great weather, and I picked less berries that usual because they seemed smaller, there were less of them, and the impending rain. As usual, I have plans for the berries, so stay tuned. Here is my first recipe: a crumble bar stand-by: Strawberry Almond Crumble Bars. Bursting with fresh strawberry flavor!
‘Tis the season for both fresh local strawberries and rhubarb, so taking advantage of the local, I made my famous (and super easy) crumble bars. They are ready to go quickly and are definitely easier than making strawberry rhubarb *pie* as there you always have to solve the issue of berries being too juicy. Definitely recommend having a go at these!