Category: Strawberries

Strawberry Mini Cupcakes

Strawberry Mini Cupcakes

Strawberry Mini Cupcakes
(for 24 tiny cakes)

1. Preparation:
Soak about half cup of dried-fruit mix (cherries, dates, pineapple, raisins) in one cup of water for atleast 30 minutes.
Pick about 10 to 12 ripe strawberries. Take them in a blender and puree to smooth. We need a cup of strawberry puree.

2. Bake:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Put 24 paper baking cases in mini cupcake pan.
Take 6 tablespoons of melted butter and one cup of sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in two eggs and then stir in quarter cup of milk.
Sift in one and half cups of all purpose flour and a teaspoon baking powder. Using a large spoon, fold them into the mixture.
Gently add the strawberry puree, the dried fruit mix and the water they soaked in. Combine well.
Spoon the batter into the paper cases.
Bake the cupcakes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve.

What I love about mini cupcakes is that they are so tiny and there will be little guilt after indulging in one. And they look so cute coming fresh out of the oven, it’d be like looking at a bunch of adorable baby chicks. That’s why I bought this 24-cupcake pan last November, but I keep forgetting that they don’t require much baking time like regular cakes. See, I baked this batch more than 30 minutes and the edges were little bit over baked. But they tasted good, and for appearance sake, may be I will cover them up with some frosting or honey-walnut mix.

Srrawberry Mini Cupcakes
Strawberry Mini Cupcakes ~ For Easter Celebrations

Share

Strawberry-Oats Cake

Farm Fresh Strawberries

Spring is in the air and fresh berries are making an appearance in grocery stores. I bought a box of fresh strawberries yesterday and with some of those berries I baked a strawberry cake for the weekend. It is a substantial cake with a simple recipe. The surprise ingredient is oats and they make the cake more moist and gooey than crumbly. I also added mashed banana (to make it egg-free) and pecans for some extra sweetness and crunch.


Strawberry-Oats Cake

2 cups, all-purpose flour (unbleached)
1/4 cup, oats (old fashioned, Quaker brand)
1 and 1/2 cups, sugar
1 teaspoon, salt
1 teaspoon, baking powder
1/2 teaspoon, baking soda

1 ripe banana, mashed with a tablespoon of lime juice
1/2 cup, plain yogurt
1/2 cup, peanut oil
1 cup, cut strawberries
1 cup, coarsely chopped pecans

In a big bowl, take flour and oats. Add sugar, salt, baking powder and soda. Mix well.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the mashed banana, yogurt and oil. Mix well until thoroughly incorporated. Add the strawberries and pecans. Gently combine.

Lightly oil a deep 7- inch round cake pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan and smooth the surface.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes until firm to the touch or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Strawberry-Oats Cake
A Slice of Strawberry-Oats Cake to Welcome the Sweet Spring Season

Share

Strawberry-Pecan Mini Cakes

Strawberry-Pecan Mini Cake
Strawberry-Pecan Mini Cake

I am fond of eating fruits straight, and I prefer no-cook fruit preparations like Soopa. I do not want to subject them to cooking. However, this easy dessert which takes only about ten minutes to prepare for baking is so delicious and liked by everyone who tasted, that I am more than willing to donate a pint of berries to it. Light and just sugary enough to satisfy that craving tooth, these strawberry mini cakes are good any time of the day. With this sweet sayonara to week long strawberry saga, I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Strawberry Mini Cakes
(makes 12 mini cakes)

3 cups all-purpose flour
11/2 cups turbinado sugar (or sugar of any kind)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup juice from oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cut strawberries
2 cups finely chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, sift and stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl, break and add 2 eggs. (I removed the yellows, my preference. Keep yellows if you like) Also add milk, oil, orange juice and vanilla. Beat the mixture lightly and add this mixture to flour mixture. Before the flour and liquid ingredients are fully combined, fold in the strawberries and pecans, stirring gently.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Apply ghee/butter or oil to mini cake pans. Fill about two thirds full with the batter.

Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes or until tops are golden and when a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serve the mini cakes at room temperature.
******
© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Strawberry Pecan Mini Cakes
Fresh Out of Oven, Strawberry Mini Cakes ~ for the Weekend

Share

Strawberry Shake

An adorable little girl, friends’ daughter, comes to our home during weekdays after school. She stays until her parents pick her up in the evening. This little girl is a foodie in making and loves to try out new things. She seems to enjoy strawberry milk shake I prepare with soy milk. This is how I make it for her.

Strawberries, Bananas and an Orange
Strawberries, Bananas and Orange

Strawberry Shake with Soy Milk
(to fill two big or 4 small glasses)

Strawberries – 1 cup
Banana – 1 ripe, medium sized
Sweet orange like mandarin – 1 ripe
Soy milk – 1 glass
Honey – 1 tablespoon, or to taste
Crushed ice – quarter cup

1. Wash, trim, and slice the berries. Peel and slice the banana. Squeeze orange juice.

2. Put strawberries, banana slices and honey in a blender. Puree until smooth and combined. Add orange juice, soy milk and crushed ice. Run the blender again for few seconds until well mixed.

3. Pour the strawberry shake into glasses. Serve.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Strawberry Milk Shake with Soy Milk
Strawberry Milk Shake with Soy Milk

Share

Strawberry Salsa

Avocado and Sweet Strawberry
Avocado and Sweet Strawberry

To add a touch of spring sweetness to classic salsa, start with fresh avocado. Mix ripe strawberries, a hint of tropics with limejuice and a zing of black pepper. That’s it. A sweet salsa that is quite different from the traditional chopped onion-tomato mixture. This fruity version is great on chapati or on toasted bread.

Strawberry Salsa
(makes about two cups)

1 Avocado – seed removed and pulp mashed to smooth
1 cup strawberries – finely chopped
1 Small lime/lemon – cut to half
1/2 teaspoon – Black pepper, cracked
1/4 teaspoon – Sea salt

In a big cup, take avocado and strawberries. Sprinkle black pepper and salt. Squeeze limejuice. Combine.
Enjoy this sweet salsa with chapati/crusty bread/chips.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Strawberry Salsa to Celebrate the Spring Season
Strawberry Salsa ~ for Lunch today

Technorati Profile

Share

Strawberry Soopa

What happens when you combine the clean, crisp flavor of farm fresh, sweet strawberries with the tart fruitiness of pomegranate?

I wanted to know and I did some experimentation this weekend. I combined the strawberries with POM, a potent, pure pomegranate juice. To spice up the combination, I added mint, sugar and pepper. After very little processing, the result was refreshing soopa. A little sweet, a little tart and loaded with, I believe, all the antioxidant benefits of both pomegranate and their dark pigmented berry counterparts. Absolutely no cooking, but the soopa tasted awesome. A must try for cold soopa/gazpacho fans.

POM Pomegranate Juice and Sweet Strawberries
POM Pomegranate Juice and Sweet Strawberries

Strawberry Soopa
(for two servings)

Strawberries, cut – 1 full cup
Pomegranate juice – 1 cup
Fresh Mint leaves – one tiny sprig, or 5 leaves
Honey (or sugar) – 1 tablespoon
Black pepper – a pinch

Blend them together and refrigerate for about half an hour.
Serve cold for refreshing experience.

Strawberry Soopa
Cold and Refreshing Strawberry Soopa

Recipe: My Creation
Thank you POM.
Soopa = Sanskrit for soup like preparation.

Share

Weekend Houston~Froberg’s Farm

Froberg's Farm

Yesterday, it was windy with pollen heavy air. Another typical sneeze inducing spring day in Houston.

We went for strawberry picking at a nearby farm called Froberg’s around 9. It’s a small farm, but seem to attract large crowds. You park car in the front, follow directions to strawberry picking. At the entrance, you will be given a small bucket. “Go and pick. Lift and look under the leaves for the ripe berries. Pound $1.50.” That were the instructions we were given. We picked about 6 pounds. Fresh and good looking, those were too tempting to stop picking.

They have a vegetable and fruit shop in the front. You can buy locally grown vegetables and fruits. There is candy section for children, also a snack bar with pies and roasted peanuts. And for meat lovers, there is a smokehouse with various kinds of meat products. All and all, this is a nice place to spend sometime. Will definitely be going there in the future as they said they would have “pick your own blackberries and jujube” in the coming months.


Froberg’s Farm


A Beautiful Big Live Oak Tree in the Farm


Strawberry Fields


Strawberries ~ From Flower to Fruit


Vegetable and Fruit Shop


Snack Bar with Tempting Fried Pies


Ripe and Juicy Strawberries for Home

For those of you interested to go, here are the address and the directions:

Froberg’s Vegetable & Fruit Farm
11875 County Road 190, Alvin, TX
281-585-3531
Open everyday, from 9 AM to 6 PM.

Take Highway 6 South. Enter Alvin. Take right on County Road 146. At the railroad stop sign, turn left onto County Road 190 (Alvin-Manvel Road). The farm is about two miles to the left.

Are there any other farms like this in Houston and vicinity?

Share

Staypressed theme by Themocracy