A Delicious Mess

Strawberry season finally, finally arrived here in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon after what seems to be the wettest, cloudiest Spring imaginable.  The strawberries grown in this neck of the woods are so superior from any I have had from other parts of the West (sorry Washington and California).  They are so sweet and red through and through and when you bite into one, the juice just oozes out all over your fingers.

It's a short season though so buying and using them as often as possible in a variety of ways is always a goal of mine.  This recipe called Eton Mess is one I have never tried but I saw Jamie Oliver make once on his wonderful cooking show called Jamie at Home.  It apparently is a dessert which originated at Eton, an elite all boys school in England and is served at cricket games in the early summer when strawberries are in abundance. 

It couldn't be easier, especially if you buy your meringues already made from a bakery.  I chose to make my own using this recipe from an earlier blog entry of mine. 

Eton Mess
(serves 2)

1/2 cup whipped cream and 2 Tbsp sugar beaten until cream holds soft peaks
4 cookie sized meringues, broken up into bite size pieces
1 pint of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

Gently fold meringue pieces and sliced strawberries into the whipped cream and spoon into bowls.  Serve immediately so meringues don't dissolve.

Strawberry Season

It's strawberry season in Oregon! This is always a wonderful time of year for the lucky folks who live in the Willamette Valley. This fertile ground around us produces such perfect berries of all sorts, but nothing beats the sweet, juicy, plump strawberries that are available for such a short window of time. Today jam was in the making; the easy kind. I have attempted over the years to make the stand-over-the-stove, stir forever, sterilize the jars kind of jam and I have always found it a miserable experience. I'm not a patient person and carefully filling all those little jars drives me crazy. So today I opted for a simple jam that must be consumed within 10-12 days but that shouldn't be a problem!

From start to finish, this process took me 20 minutes and the end product is just lovely. The recipe called for a quart of strawberries that are chopped via a food processor first. I chose not to get out the food processor for this task and instead, just roughly chopped the berries by hand. The recipe also said to boil for 9-10 minutes. I let mine go a total of 15 minutes as I thought it was just too runny after 10 minutes. I can't wait to put a dollop or two on some toast for breakfast tomorrow.

Refrigerator Strawberry Jam

1 quart fresh strawberries, roughly chopped

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Put all of the ingredients into a skillet on medium high heat. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes. Put into a bowl and let cool at room temperature then store in refrigerator for 10-12 days.