Welcome to Tasty Tuesday!
Well, I don’t know about the “Tasty” part, but it is Tuesday.
This week I wanted to go on and on about my love of strawberries and share some recipes with you. I did run into a little problem as I started making my pound cake. I’ll tell you a little more about that later.
Growing up in Florida and going strawberry picking almost every year of my life, I’ve learned a thing or two about these wonderful treats. We always end up filling the whole trunk of the car with quarts of strawberries fresh from the fields.
We have a hard time knowing when to stop ourselves from the fun of finding the biggest (they get really big) and best strawberry out there. Having a little friendly competition never hurt anyone, right? Even though you really shouldn’t…you have to test a few to make sure they’re alright. Just wipe them on your shirt a little and quickly pop it in your mouth!
Visiting the Florida Strawberry Festival and making the biggest possible Strawberry Shortcake you can fit in the bowl would have to be a highlight of Strawberry Season. If you’re in Florida, theFlorida Strawberry Festival is coming up!
Making fresh Strawberry Jam and feeling like you are “Ms. Homemaker” or something is part of the fun.
Strawberry Jam
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2 quarts fully ripe strawberries
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1/4 cup lemon juice
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7 cups sugar
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3 ounces liquid fruit pectin
1. Wash and hull the strawberries, and place them in a medium bowl. Using a potato masher, crush the berries. You should have 4 cups of crushed berries.
2. In a heavy saucepan combine the crushed berries, lemon juice, and sugar. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly; boil, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Add the liquid pectin; boil and stir for 1 minute longer. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface.
4. Spoon the hot jam into 8 widemouthed, warm sterilized 1/2 pint jars, leaving a 1/4 inch space between the top of the jam and the rim of the jar. Wipe the rims, cover, and process for 10 minutes in boiling water. You might want to look up canning instructions for this part. I don’t feel qualified to tell you. This is usually where I call my mom asking if I’m doing it right or not!
What NOT to do!
Now, back to the story about the “What-Not-To-Do” photo at the top of the post…
It all started when I thought I would like to make pound cake to use for my Strawberry Shortcake instead of buying those cute little round ones at the grocery store. Let me just say that I’ve never, ever, ever made a pound cake before.
I found a recipe in a great cookbook labeled “NEVER-FAIL POUND CAKE!” This seemed like the obvious choice for someone like me. But, maybe it should be a warning sign when something starts out with “NEVER-FAIL!”
I had a few setbacks on my road to a wonderful Strawberry Shortcake! I’ll quickly list them so we can move on and you can appreciate all that I went through to give you an interesting Tasty Tuesday Post!
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I decided to “SOFTEN” the butter a little faster (I could have a patience problem.) by setting the stick of butter in the microwave for “just a few seconds” while talking on the phone. It melted all over the freshly cleaned microwave, and I had to scrape it out.
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I pulled my favorite, antique mixing bowl out of the cabinet to find it cracked. I threw it away after trying to decide if a giant crack caused a problem for a mixing bowl or not.
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Then Jacob, my youngest son, sweetly helped me mix everything together. It was all happy, happy in the kitchen for a few minutes.
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I popped the cake pan in the oven and began the baking. I decided to peek through the window after 30 or 40 minutes to find the first photo. It was overflowing everywhere!
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I pretty calmly cleaned out the oven and threw everything else in the sink to deal with later. Then I decided to start over.
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I had all my ingredients on the table and I decided to tweet about my fun in the kitchen. (Follow me on Twitter for exciting tweets – Ha!) I turned back around to only four eggs. Where’s number five? On the floor. It rolled off the counter.
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I was still being very calm (as usual) and started putting some stuff up in the kitchen and when I turned around with paper towel in hand, the dog was licking up the egg. She was done. It grossed me out!
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The second attempt went fine, but my sink is still full of dishes and an oven rack!
Here’s the recipe you’ve been waiting for…
From Uncle Bubba’s Savannah Seafood Cookbook (Paula Dean’s brother)
Never-Fail Pound Cake
Serves 10 to 12
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 3 cups sugar
- 5 eggs
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in the lemon extract. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Place in oven and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Increase the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes more. Do not open the oven door while baking. After 30 minutes, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to see if it comes out clean. If it doesn’t, continue baking at 350 degrees until the toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
While this was baking I sliced up about two pounds of fresh strawberries and mixed them with about one cup of sugar. Covered it and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. It makes a wonderful topping!
Tip: Do not accidentally grab “self-rising” flour out of your cabinet. Only use “all purpose” flour. Trust me!
Ta-Da, I give you Strawberry Shortcake!!!
Enjoy, and thanks for joining us for Tasty Tuesday this week!
Please remember to include a link in your post back here to Tasty Tuesday. Also, be sure to link directly to your post rather than your homepage. Thanks!
You might have a sink full of dishes, but that looks amazing! I love strawberries too, I grew up in FL, but we never went strawberry picking. I think I missed out.
Toni
The Happy Housewife’s last blog post..Quiznos’ is Giving Away One Million Free Subs
Yum! Strawberry shortcake is one of my absolute faves! My mom’s sister lived in Florida for many years and would send us all sorts of strawberry goodies. I loved the strawberry cookies!
Amy @ Finer Things’s last blog post..Homemade Maple-Flavored Pancake Syrup
Sorry you had such a hard time with the first pound cake! Your pictures are great…I can almost taste the berries! Yum! Come on spring!
Laryssa @ Heaven In The Home’s last blog post..Undersea Lego Party!
Hi I organized my recipes – finally and included a link back to your post with the PDF menu calendar and shopping lists.
Katie’s last blog post..A Recipe Binder with a Side of Taco Salad
Oh Yum! I’m just getting ready to take our strawberries from our garden (frozen) and can some yummy jam! It’s the best! Great post – so fun visiting you!!!
Sandy’s last blog post..They Didn’t Make their Beds!
Thanks for hosting this event. And thanks for sharing your disaster-it makes us all feel better! Blessings.
Great photos. And I love the pound cake recipe!
Jerri’s last blog post..Recipe of the Week: Chicken & Rice Bake
Oh my, my mouth is just watering! Sorry about the miss-hap…especially with a recipe that comes with a guarantee! LOL! Well, looks like you ended up with picture perfect pound cake in the end. Like I said, I’m drooling!
Mrs. D. Lightful’s last blog post..Chocolate Chip Cheesecake…Tuesday’s Food
yummy! my first time to participate .Thanks for hosting.
Michelle’s last blog post..Tasty Tuesday~Martian Cookies & Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Wow! That looks fabulous!! I love fresh strawberries and pound cake to boot, too. YUM!
Sherry’s last blog post..Peanut Butter Pound Cake and Under the Sink?
That’s one awesome-looking strawberry shortcake! Yum! We had strawberry shortcake last week.
Susan (A Happy Heart at Home)’s last blog post..Adorable freebie for baby!
Thanks for hosting!
That strawberry shortcake looks sooo delicious! I can’t wait for fresh from the field strawberries here in MI(I gotta wait til early June!!).
Thanks for sharing the pound cake recipe. I have been looking for a good one!
Sonshine’s last blog post..Easy Crockpot Pork Chops
Yum! I’m going to have to go to the kitchen and get baking. That cake looks delish! By the way, you’re not the only one that has tried to bake a cake with the wrong flour.
I made a Red Velvet cake once and used self-rising, even after I had reminded myself over and over to get the all-purpose out of the pantry. It still tasted good but it fell to pieces in our hands, and forget about trying to frost it.
after all you went through, i thank you for this masterpiece recipe.
I love pound cake with strawberries and am looking forward to making this in the spring for my family.
Yum!
pedaling’s last blog post..Friday,
it looks heavenly!
my oven is still filthy from my cookie making attempt at Christmas. i’m still emotionally scared from my oven bursting into flames…
Brooke’s last blog post..Free Quiznos! and weight loss ramblings…
My mouth is salivating! That looks so good. I can’t wait until our strawberries are ripe. My kiddos could live off the things, and I’m dying to make some strawberry jam.
Thanks for the pound cake recipe–I have a sour cream pound cake that we like, but I don’t always have sour cream on hand.
Strawberries are among my favorite foods and I’m so happy they are getting cheaper already!
I might have to come back and link up to my food post next week. I have some yummy things planned.
I’m glad you got the coasters!!!
songbirdtiff’s last blog post..
It all looks so good! I’ve never tried making jam or jelly; maybe this will be the year.
I love pound cake! You have inspired me to make one.
Shannon’s last blog post..More Mistreating
That was funny!
I have seen myself in the same situation! At the end your cake looks great! They should maybe change the name though to “may fail” ! 
have a nice day!
Elodie’s last blog post..Chinese dumplings recipe
Self-rising flour! I guess that would do it — your picture is so funny! I was quickly whipping up a batch of pancakes for my family plus two guests on Sat. morning and somehow in my pre-coffee state I added corn starch instead of baking powder. Thankfully I knew something was wrong while cooking them and was able to throw out the batch and make another before anyone really noticed!
It Feels Like Chaos’s last blog post..And Then He Was Six
I think I may add strawberries to my garden list this year – what a pretty post! And that pound cake looks wonderful… I think I will have to try making it in cupcake form!
Kristen’s last blog post..Chicken Piccata
I love strawberry shortcake. That looks awesome.
Kaycee’s last blog post..Procrastination
LOL that sounds about how some of my days go! The finished product looks wonderful! The strawberries are beautiful! Oh to have some sunshine here to be able to pick strawberries under!
Have a great night!
Kim
Kim V’s last blog post..Magnet Update
Wow! That looks so delicious! Now I’m hungry!
Gayle’s last blog post..Happy Birthday to My Sixteen Year Old!
I have to say strawberries are my all time favorite food. I could and probably eat some everyday.
Here in Ontario (Canada) we can get wild strawberries in the summer, they are extra small and taste like little bits of heaven. I don’t know if these exist outside of Canada. When I was a kid they grew in my aunts back yard.
Pierrette from Wiseman Conspiracy
Pierrette’s last blog post..Tasty Tuesdays – Mustard Oil Dressing
You inspired me with your strawberries goodies!
I thought you might like to check those recipes: , the ice cream one look so yummy!
Elodie’s last blog post..Chinese dumplings recipe
Oh we just had our strawberry festival, but all the rain we’ve had caused havoc on some of the fields of berries. I love ice cream made with fresh strawberries and look forward to the other posts.
Happy Twirls
Libby’s last blog post..FurEverGems,Happy Birthday Plum Cake and Puppy Hugs
I LIVE IN PORT CHARLOTTE WHERE IS THE CLOSES PLACE I CAN PICK MY OWN STRAWBERRIES? THANKS LARRY
Ok it sound strange, but it was the ONLY dish my greek mother in law made that I would eat with out hesitation in Greece. LOVE IT!