Fairfield Fruits

Pick Your Own Small Fruit Farm

Flavorful Local Tastes at Great Prices

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 pound rhubarb cut into ½-inch pieces (3 cups)
  • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1 recipe plain pastry (2 crust)
  • 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

In large bowl, combine sugar, tapioca, salt and nutmeg. Add rhubarb and strawberries; mix well to coat fruit. Let stand about 20 minutes. Spoon fruit mixture into Pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate. Dot with butter or margarine. Moisten pastry edge. Top with lattice crust*; Flute edge. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees F) for 35-40 minutes.

*To make lattice crust: Roll out second half of dough; with pastry wheel or knife, cut In strips about ½ inch wide and 12 inches long. Lay strips over fruit filling at 1-inch intervals. Fold back alternate strips to weave over and under in crosswise pattern. Trim even with outer rim of pie plate. Moisten edge; fold lower crust over strips. Seal and flute edge.

Rhubarb Applesauce

  • ½ cup light brown sugar depending on how sweet you want the sauce
  • 1 pound rhubarb cut into ½-inch pieces (3 cups)
  • 2 pounds of Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and cut into ½ chunks (or 23 oz jar of chunky apple sauce)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Simmer all the ingredients in a large saucepan for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples/rhubarb are soft. Stir in cinnamon. If you prefer smooth sauce, you can run it through a blender or food processor. Serve at room temperature or cold. Store sauce in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. This sauce also freezes well, store in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to one year.

Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed (1/2-inch pieces)
  • 2 cups halved fresh strawberries
  • 2 Tablespoons butter, cubed

Crust:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 1 Tablespoon 2% milk
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar

Vanilla ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix sugar and flour. Add fruit; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Dot with butter.

For crust: in a bowl mix flour and salt. In another bowl, whisk oil and water. Add to flour mixture, stirring with a Fork until a dough is formed (dough will be sticky).

Roll the dough between 2 pieces of waxed paper into an 11x7-in rectangle. Remove top piece of wax paper. Invert rectangle over filling. Gently peel off the remaining waxed paper. Brush the pastry with milk; sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. If desired, Serve with Ice cream.

Lazy Man's Blackberry Cobbler

  • 1 cup blackberries
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk

Mix all ingredients, stir well. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar about 5 minutes before baking is completed.

Strawberry Cake

  • 1 package white cake mix (regular size)
  • 1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 cup mashed unsweetened strawberries
  • Whipped cream or frosting of your choice
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix, gelatin powder, water and oil. Beat on low speed 1 minute or until moistened; beat on medium 4 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites and mashed strawberries into cake batter.
  3. Pour into three greased and floured 8-in. round baking pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
  4. Spread whipped cream or frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. If frosted with whipped cream, store in the refrigerator.

How to freeze fresh asparagus

  1. Trim the asparagus spears. Keep them whole or cut them into large or bite-size pieces. (Refer to this simple guide for tips on how to cut asparagus.)
  2. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water until just crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Use tongs or a fine-mesh strainer to transfer the asparagus to an ice bath (a large bowl of ice water) to stop the cooking. (Read all about how to blanch asparagus here.)
  3. Drain the asparagus well and pat it completely dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
  4. Spread the asparagus spears or pieces in a single layer on a sheet pan (give them space to keep them from freezing together) and freeze until solid, at least an hour.
  5. Transfer the frozen asparagus into freezer-safe bags and seal to close, removing as much air as possible. Store in the freezer for up to six months.