mother's day.

I got to attend the Mother's Day Tea at Elsa's preschool. The kids sang some songs, presented us with gifts, and then we had some snacks together. Ben was able to watch Oliver and Simon at home so I was particularly grateful for some time with just Elsa.

We got to celebrate Mother's Day with Ben's mom.

One of the best things about Mother's Day are all of the homemade cards and gifts I receive. (Although I'm also loving the Kindle Ben gave me. It's perfect for reading while nursing or holding Simon and the kids don't try and steal it like they do the ipad.)

Some of Elsa's coupons from her coupon book.

I love that Amelia named the boat "The Love Mom."

the fate of the strawberries.

We've picked strawberries the last few years and I always make strawberry jam and a few of my favorite strawberry desserts. But this year I wanted to try some new recipes. I was excited to discover the deliciousness of strawberry curd and a recipe that combined my love of lemon with strawberry.

Thanks to Amelia's determination to pick as many strawberries as possible, we had plenty (over 13 pounds) to work with. (Read about our trip to Shlagel Farms here.)

This strawberry tart recipe from my friend Sarah is one of my favorites. It's easy to make (which is good since I had to make the crust with one hand while holding Simon). The shortbread crust is delicious. Elsa had fun arranging the berries on the tart.

Strawberry Tart

Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 to 2 lbs strawberries, hulled and halved
1/4 cup red currant jelly

Crust: Preheat oven to 350*. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form. Transfer dough to a 9” round tart pan with a removable bottom. With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10-15 minutes. Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 20-25 min, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan. (Note: The crust really hardens up after cooling, so be sure to not overbake. It will get really hard. It tastes like a shortbread cookie crust.)

Filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan). Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, in tight concentric circles on cream cheese (alternate cut strawberry side with each circle). In a small saucepan, heat jelly on med-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving.

I really loved these strawberry-lemonade muffins. That yummy citrus flavor with bits of strawberries. I found the recipe here.

Strawberry-Lemonade Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour 

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided 

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine flour and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Stir together sour cream and next 4 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold strawberries into batter. Spoon batter into lightly greased 12-cup muffin pans, filling three-fourths full. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over batter.

Bake at 400° for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 1 minute; remove from pans to wire rack, and cool 10 minutes.

I've made lemon curd but never thought about strawberry curd. The process is very similar and the results are just as amazing. It was delicious on muffins, biscuits, pancakes, crepes, and straight from the jar. It would also make a perfect filling for mini tarts.

I used this recipe.

Strawberry Curd

Ingredients:

 

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1/4 cup fresh lime juice 

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

Process strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Press strawberries through a large wire-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, using back of a spoon to squeeze out juice; discard pulp and seeds. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a 3-qt. saucepan; gradually whisk in strawberry puree and fresh lime juice. Whisk in 3 large eggs and 2 egg yolks. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter. Place plastic wrap directly on warm curd (to prevent a film from forming); chill 8 hours.

Anything from Smitten Kitchen is going to be awesome. I loved these Strawberries and Cream Biscuits served warm with a little strawberry jam. Recipe found here.

 

 

I love the sweet/salty combo of strawberry salsa. You can make it any way you want. I combined strawberries, onions, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

Strawberry shortcake was my favorite dessert as a kid. We had just enough berries left to make it. I used my favorite biscuit recipe for the shortcake.

Shlagel berries!

Last week we met some friends at Shlagel Farms in Maryland to pick strawberries. It was cool and overcast, perfect weather for picking berries. The kids loved scouring the rows for the perfect looking strawberries (Oliver was less discerning). Amelia did most of our picking since it was difficult for me to bend down with Simon strapped to me. (And sadly, I completely forgot to take any pictures of him.) Amelia did not want to stop picking and we ended up with 13 pounds of delicious berries! (Next post: the fate of the strawberries.)

When we finished picking our berries, I got to chat with friends for a few hours while the kids played on the little playground. The chickens were also a great source of amusement for the kids.

river farm

We've been enjoying some gorgeous spring weather lately. Sweater weather, no humidity, and no mosquitoes. It's likely to end soon but we've been trying to enjoy it while we can. We spent a morning at one of our favorite spots a few weeks ago, River Farm. Elsa and Oliver were thrilled to be out of the house and free to run and play. Elsa was quick to make friends with the few other kids that were there. Oliver mostly wandered and explored on his own. There were so many beautiful flowers blooming and everything was so green.

Sleeping Simon.