Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Tell About It Tuesday: Berries!

My family LOVES strawberries. I've been buying them at Costco lately (4lbs for $5) and we've eaten 16 (SIXTEEN!) pounds of strawberries in less than two weeks! I spend a ton of money on fresh fruit and veggies in the summer but I'm convinced it's money well spent.

ANYWAY, I can hull four pounds of strawberries in record time because of this handy dandy little tool that I have. 
I've had it for probably 10+ years. It's from The Pampered Chef and honestly, it has wrangled with my garbage disposal more than a few times and has seen better days. It's wonderful, though! (I just clicked on the Pampered Chef site and this tool appears to be discontinued. Maybe there's something similar at a kitchen store?)

I use it to remove the stem and any bruise spots from strawberries. I also use it to core tomatoes, and scrape the seeds out of bell peppers. It gets a LOT of use in the summer months. 


(Forgive my amateur photography skills.)

The only downside to strawberries is that they go bad so quickly. I'm fortunate that ours usually get eaten before they have a chance to go bad, but I read this great tip last summer for a quick vinegar rinse to kill the mold and keep your strawberries fresh a little longer.

I like to wash/hull my berries and store them in the fridge. I've found that it helps to get them completely dry before storing them. If they're wet, they seem go bad more quickly.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes with strawberries.

Smoothies (try pouring any leftover smoothie in popsicle molds for a yummy treat on a hot afternoon!)
Homemade strawberry ice cream
Skinny strawberries Romanoff 

I've been eating them plain because I'm still avoiding sugar. My family hasn't had to sacrifice though. I made this (super quick and easy) strawberry pie for them last week. It took every ounce of willpower not to give in to the sugary sweetness...they said it was good!

Who's hungry?


13 comments:

Kecia said...

I love strawberries and I've had to buy them frozen for the last 2 weeks because the ones from wm were molding so quickly. I'll have to try that vinegar rinse!

Mary said...

I love that little PC gadget! I knew they were being discontinued and bought a backup in case mine gets lost or destroyed in a battle with the garbage disposal. I can't imagine fixing strawberries without it.

Micah Jamie said...

We go through a ton of strawberries each summer. We don't have a Costco nearby, but I recently got 3#'s @ Sam's for $3.98 & they were delicious. I LOVE Strawberries Romanoff...I could literally eat my weight in that stuff, but I'm off sugar too so I won't :). I've got a terrific strawberry trifle recipe if you are interested...It's too yummy for it's own good.

Emily said...

I can't believe that you made a pie for your family and didn't try it... that is willpower I surely don't have!! :) We love strawberries too. We went to a place in Brighton to pick strawberries last week and were disappointed. Do you know of any places to pick around here? We have been getting them at Costco too- you can't beat that price!

Ali said...

I totally agree with spending $$ on fresh fruit and veggies! :) I'm pretty tight but, I think that is money well spent!

~ Ali

Stephanie said...

That pie looks great. : )

We have been going through berries as well - it's nothing to buy six pounds on the weekend at Sam's and have them all gone by Tuesday. We mostly eat them plain around here - they never last long enough to be made into a pie (usually!)

SZM said...

love that tool ;-)

Christi @ Writing the Waves said...

I'll have to try that rinse you mentioned, and some of those yummy sounding recipe ideas! We love strawberries around here too!

*carrie* said...

Yummy! I just picked 14 pounds of fresh Iowa berries at a you-pick farm last night. They are amazing!

Eric helped me crank out a double batch of jam last night, and I'll make a pie today. I discovered we love it better in a graham crust--delish!

Lisa said...

I'm going to try that vinegar rinse...we always have that same problem with the mold! I love all my Pampered Chef things (I have that one too)...they're expensive, but they last and last and I find myself using them over and over again!

Gretchen said...

I've never seen a tool like that. My mom LOVES kitchen gadgets but she doesn't own one of those. Hmm... great gift idea. Thanks!!!

jen medeiros said...

Delicious....and I think your photography is beautiful!
I don't have that kitchen tool...but I do have the garlic presser from
PC and it is a favorite of mine.

Looks like you are having a fun summer.
PS....Feathers are "in" where we
live, too. My sister and niece have them and now my Kate is interested. :)

Miss G said...

Meredith, when I received this set as a gift for my wedding I thought it was cute and sweet but I didn't know if it would actually get much use.

http://www.amazon.com/Joie-Simply-Strawberry-3-Piece-Colander/dp/B0018Z3YL8

It has a strawberry shaped colander, one of those little tools like you have (I haven't tried it on tomatoes, etc. I'll have to!) and a strawberry slicer that makes such quick work of it. I love it.

I will have to try some of those recipes. Thanks! Kelly