We’ll take a brief break from the Eating Out in New York (again) Series for a little Friday dessert. 🙂
Oh tiny kitchen, why can’t you fit everything?
One negative aspect of having a tiny kitchen is that you can’t stock up on food. Lack of storage space basically forces me to pay premium prices for smaller packaging. I don’t have a pantry. Instead, my snacks are stuffed in random kitchen cabinets. In general, I try not to buy things in bulk.
Imagine my utter shock when I got a call from the front desk (at 8AM no less!) telling me to come down immediately to pick up a very perishable large shipment.
Bleary-eyed and hardly coherent (yes, she had awaken me from my slumber, after all), I went downstairs and brought the box upstairs. When I opened it I nearly gasped.
There were 8 twelve-ounce cartons of strawberries.
I was thrilled but at the same time a bit anxious as I glanced at my tiny kitchen.
Oh dear.
What was I going to do?
I did try eating some of them plain, and they were delicious. However, strawberries are very, very perishable items and they really don’t last long. I knew there was no way I could eat all the berries. Furthermore, I felt like my refrigerator had been hijacked, stuffed to the brim with these berries.
Then Bryan, the non-cook who saves the day in the most surprising ways sometimes, suggested that I make “sugar strawberries.” Apparently, his mom used to make it all the time when he was a kid, and he actually enjoyed eating them.
Happy to find a way to store my strawberries somewhere else other than the refrigerator, I decided to make sugar-macerated strawberries and then use them to make a fresh strawberry pie that would totally remind me of summer.
Sugar Strawberries
2 lbs strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 T balsamic vinegar
Combine strawberries and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Liquid will come out of the strawberries. Using a sieve or colander, drain the strawberries. Take the drained liquid and combine with balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil in a saucepan and cook until the liquid has reduced by at least 1/2 and has reached the consistency of syrup. Cool and set aside.
If you have a ton of strawberries, you can freeze the sugar strawberry base for future use for making strawberry shortcake, pies, or other desserts! They freeze really well!
Making the Pie . . .
Making the pie is easy, as this is a no-bake pie and can really come together in minutes as long as you have a crust ready to go. In this case, I defrosted one of my larger bags of frozen macerated strawberries in order to make the pie.
The pie crust
If you don’t have time to bake your own crust, you can always buy a pre-baked one in the store. Alternatively, if you make your own, you will need to pre-bake it, since this is a no-bake pie. I used this great recipe (you can see my step by step pictures here).
When baking the crust, be sure to weigh down the empty pie crust with something heavy (e.g., dried beans, pie weights). Otherwise, your crust will shrink (like mine did – oops!!).
Fresh Strawberry Pie with Sweet Balsamic Reduction
Pre–bake a pie crust (check out this excellent tutorial). Spread the Greek strained yogurt on the bottom layer of the pie crust. Top with sugar macerated strawberries. Finally, drizzle with the balsamic-strawberry reduction.
Serve!
Yumm . . . this fresh pie tastes so much like summer. It’s absolutely delicious.
I personally love how the thick, creamy yogurt, which is just a bit tart, balances out the fresh and bright tasting strawberries. The deep balsamic sugar sauce adds just enough sweetness to round the entire dessert out.
Here’s looking forward to summer really really soon . . .
Giveaway!
California Giant Berry Farm is the company that kindly sent me the strawberries. They currently have a website called Put Some Spring Into Your Step with creative tips on how you can use berries. One cool tip I liked was to freeze strawberries and using them as ice cubes in lemonade. Hee hee, maybe I could even used my frozen sugar-macerated strawberries!
In the spirit of promoting good health through food and exercise, California Giant Berry Farm has generously offered to give away the following to ONE lucky winner:
1) One shipment of fresh berries and
2) a $25 gift certificate to Academy.com (they sell sports equipment)
In order to enter, please comment below and tell me your favorite way to enjoy berries in the summer! For second and third chances to enter, please tweet and/or write about the promotion on facebook. You must link back to this post. For example:
Giveaway! Win a shipment of fresh berries plus $25 gift card to academy.com @tinyurbankitchn http://bit.ly/jYnqZ1
For tweets, please mention @tinyurbankitchn. For facebook entries, please mention @Tiny Urban Kitchen.
Giveaway ends next Wednesday, June 1 at Midnight EST.
Good luck!
Disclaimer:
Time to time I receive free products, meals, etc. as a food blogger. I do not receive any payment for blog posts/reviews nor am I required to write a post when I receive free products, meals, etc. The views expressed in this post are completely my own. The strawberries and the giveaway are paid for by California Giant Berry Farm. The balsamic vinegar was provided for free by Star Fine Foods.
All Rights Reserved
A nice smoothie! 🙂
I love berries and have many fabulous ways of eating them. however, I have to say, my favorite as well as the Boyfriend’s is freshed dipped in homemade whipped cream. D’lish!
While I love a good berry-rhubarb pie and take my excess berries and make berry jam (or berry-rhubarb) jam and can them (canned jams make great gifts!) my absolute favorite way to enjoy them is just putting them in a bowl with a little cream and sugar. This is the way my grandmother used to serve us berries. Sometimes, she’d put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
This recipe is really very nice I am so excited to eating berry-rhubarb pie and It is really very testy and good for health. There are do many beat way to eating that.
__________-
Fitted kitchen
My grandmother makes the best strawberry rhubarb pies and jams EVER. I also love making strawberry-grapefruit smoothies. Mmm!
I’m envious of your shipment!
Int he summer we love to drive up to Verrill Farm in Concord, buy a flat or two of strawberries, and make something very similar to your recipe for a strawberry rhubarb crisp. This year, I am planning on making jam as well!
I love whipping up a quick and easy marscapone cream topping to dollop on top. But when I have to bring a dessert to summer parties I love a good pretzel salad – layers of carmelized pretzels, whip cream, and strawberry jello with strawberies inside. yum!
http://lachapstickfanatique.blogspot.com
Strawberry Shortcakes are definitely the first thing I think of when using strawberries! But this pie may rank high on my list too – looks delicious =)
I like it fresh and once it gets a bit wrinkly I will make strawberry pie out of it.
Though fresh berries in summer are great baked, my favorite way to enjoy them are with freshly whipped cream.
I enjoy berries by itself, or in yogurt 🙂
I enjoy my berries in cocktails. haha. Also in desserts! I’m not a huge fan of eating them plain, especially the non-strawberry berries since they can be rather tart.
that is such a cute/funny photo of you with all the berries! As a kid we always ate berries n cream, sprinkled with sugar. So instead of cereal and milk it was raspberries and cream, blueberries and cream. I know, so healthy to eat a bowl of cream 😉
What a great giveaway! I just used strawberries to make strawberry cheesecake ice cream!
I tweeted!
i like eating berries straight when they’re perfectly fresh and ripe. 🙂 it always seems like kind of a waste to cook or bake them, though i’ve done that too….
That pie is absolutely stunning! Makes me wish I baked more often…
I love using strawberries in salads, and to add a little sweet kick to savory dishes. Sometimes I top grilled scallops with them; I’ve also made a sweet-and-spicy guacamole with them, which was awesome!
I love strawberries with whipped cream. I crumble graham crackers on top and a few chocolate chips. AMAZING!
Overnight oats with strawberries! Or strawberry shortcake, it never gets old!
i love eating the berries straight up. my other option is to give them to my roommate to make ice cream with them!
I love berries with homemade whippped cream! YUm!
I love eating berries in overnight oats, for breakfast. Mm.
I’ve always eaten mine plain growing up but I like mine with a little bit of whipped cream.
strawberry ice cream!
I love eating strawberries with brown sugar and creme fraiche. 🙂
i love to use berries in a bit of sugar and add to my watermelon smoothie to go with refreshing meals in the summer and safe the rest in ice pops
I love mixing berries in yogurt or putting them in oatmeal for breakfast. Mmm!
I love to make strawberry jam! Great giveaway!
I enjoy berries mixed with full fat plain yogurt for instant healthy parfait 😀
I posted this giveaway on my FB
I tweeted this giveaway
Strawberry shortcaaaaaake! I just made loads with my sister a week or so ago, and still want more. And sometimes I just dunk them in my tub ‘o Nutella for a snack.
this post has me so excited for the upcoming berry season! YUM! i’ve already started seeing rainier cherries at my local farmer’s market although they’re not quite as sweet as they could be yet. my favorite way to eat berries is to toss them lightly in a simple syrup and serve them over a freshly made crepe.
I love my strawberries with a little freshly whipped cream!
I love them plain. Or with melted chocolate! no, wait, as pie! So hard to choose!
btw, Smitten Kitchen has an awesome strawberry shortcake recipe. I highly recommend it for your sugar strawberries!
We love strawberry and yogurt popsicles in the summer!
Love love love strawberry shortcake!!
I really like cobblers!
Strawberry crisp with an oat topping and vanilla ice cream on top! It’s the beeest!
This post made me smile. I lived next to a strawberry field for a period growing up, and I used to sneak over and steal as many berries as i could hold in my shirt. I’d fold it up and try to climb back over the fence. The owners always knew what I was doing but never stopped me! 🙂 I love strawberry-balsamic ice cream in summer, but to be honest, I’m a bit boring. I usually just eat strawberries with a bit of sugar (usually some nice vanilla sugar) and some cream or milk. There’s nothing more satisfying as a summer dessert, but I am going to try this pie! Thanks.
Straight out of the freezer or blended up into smoothies with some coconut milk!
Straight out of the freezer or blended up into smoothies with some coconut milk!
Straight out of the freezer or blended up into smoothies with some coconut milk!
Straight out of the freezer or blended up into smoothies with some coconut milk!
Straight out of the freezer or blended up into smoothies with some coconut milk!
I love eating them all by themselves! They’re the best =)
I love my berries in smoothies and pies!
I like to eat them straight up during the summer because they’re so ripe and delicious this time of year!
We love to eat them plain, but they’re great in yogurt and on salads too!
I love fresh berries in a buttermilk cake, like this one: http://doublyhappy.blogspot.com/2011/05/diary-of-secret-housewife-buttermilk.html
But I’m excited to try out this pie recipe. Perfect Memorial Day dessert!
Just plan! I adoreeee fresh berries!
On top of my yogurt with granola too!
my favorite way to eat berries is definitely either on their own or in plain yogurt. They make a beautiful contrast. I’d love to have as many as you do – wow!
I tweeted @mindrunningwild
I love eating berries plain or with yogurt! Excited to have yummy fresh berries this summer!
I tweeted! @butterjessfly is my name
Gosh, I love strawberries so much! They are tasty by themselves! YUM!!!
My family loves berries and we add them to salads and enjoy one every day. Berries make the greens taste so much better!
I commented with your link on facebook and on twitter. Great giveaway!
I love berries in plain and in smoothies.
Strawberries to start the day. I’d probably bake some pie, make some smoothies and invite friends over for a strawberry party 🙂 Your pie really looks delicious and I love that you used yogurt for this.
My favorite way to enjoy strawberries is over icecream! Yum.
My favorite way is to eat strawberries with a little sour cream and brown sugar!
Haha, Jen! Your face in that photo! Oh Lord, that’s hilarious… 😀 But wow, what a beautiful pie! I’m going to have to come back to Boston to visit – let me know next time you get a big shipment of strawberries, eh? 😉
Jax x
strawberries in crepes!
Strawberries and banana bread – for some reason they go perfectly together 🙂
I love strawberry pie – your recipe looks easy and delicious! We mainly use the strawberries for strawberry shortcake – frequently!
berry pavlova! 🙂
I put strawberries in my morning cereal or with yogurt and granola.
Strawberry pretzel salad! Yum!
Hi, Tiny Urban Chef:
When we first moved to where we are in 1980, there were many strawberry fields within stone throw distance. I used to buy strawberry by cases. They were HUGE and Sweet. There was no way we could eat them in a single day. Therefore, Bryan’s Mom invented Sugar Strawberry so that we could keep them and mixed with cold cereals for breakfasts.
Now all the strawberr farms have become “buildings”. We miss them.
Old Car
Fresh from the farmers market! 🙂 Yummy!
I love eating the berries plain. It used to be a tradition that after my mom bought berries the four of us kids would count all the berries and divide them among us. =)
My favorite summery way to enjoy berries is with marscapone cheese. Mmmmmm….
Thanks for the great giveaway! 🙂
I tweeted the contest! 🙂
I posted on Facebook!
Two of my favorites: 1) strawberries and lemonade 2) strawberries and nutella crepe!
I love strawberry short cake!
Ah, pie weights! If you use a substitute like beans or rice, definitely use parchment paper or foil before you plop them into your dough! Unless you like spending countless hours picking out beans 🙂
Strawberry ice cream, strawberry tarts, jam.. they’re all delicious, and I also just love eating them by themselves!
With yogurt. yum!
Strawberry cheesecake!
I posted on FB http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=214367918585212&id=100001156831237
Tweeted http://twitter.com/rusthawk/status/75725787675901952
Thank you!
Love strawberries with a little sugar on top!
i love to dunk strawberries in Ulker Golden (like Nutella, but better!)
shared on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=151557988245669&id=745243334
tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/erunuevo/status/75826224370429952
When I don’t have cupboard space, I stash food in any crevice I can find. I’ve been known to put my bed up on risers just so I could fit 5 gal. buckets under it. I have no IDEA how to grocery shop without stocking up. Partially because I hate to grocery shop and go as infrequently as I can get away with.
oh my gosh, i love the balsamic in this!! definitely going to make it this year 🙂 my favorite way to use berries? probably just eat them straight up or in a fruit salad. i try to save them to play, but tend to eat too many en route!
tweeted! @tri2cook:twitter
smoothies!!
I would make so many things with the berries…tweeted and faceboked
Chocolate Covered Strawberries!
Love strawberry-rubarb pie. Wish we could eat it all year round! Tweeted at Bostonfoodfinds.com.
Balsamic and fresh strawberries is a perennial favorite, but if I had my way, I’d slice a big bowl of fresh berries and eat as is. Maybe a spoon of lightly sweetened ricotta.
Cheers,
*Heather*
Since I so rarely get berries in abundance, I enjoy them most straight up. Perfect summer berries are so good as is.
I love strawberries plain, on my cereal, and, of course, dipped in chocolate.
tweeted!
I tweeted about your giveaway!
Strawberries and whipped cream… that’s all you need.
I like to dehydrate them then cook them into chocolate peanut butter cookies!
Jessyka