Strawberries Galore!

 
We spent last Sunday morning out in Ladner berry picking at Emma Lea farm. There is no comparable scent to a field full of ripe strawberries perfuming the air with their syrupy sweet odor. The homemade strawberry milkshakes they sell there are worth the drive alone! All in all, we picked about 25 lbs of strawberries which are now piled in the freezer, waiting to be incorporated into various recipes and attack any unsuspecting souls who carelessly open the freezer door. Five days later, I am only just recovering the ability to walk without pain after attempting many equally unsuccessful poses of berry-picking, finally forfeiting and sitting down in between the rows, collecting large quantities of chalky dust all over my backside.Even if you don't want to pick berries, the scenic drive and homemade strawberry milkshakes at the farm is well worth the excursion!

Strawberry black pepper balsamic sorbet

The first two goodies we made with the strawberries were (1) blending strawberry puree with green tea sorbet for a green tea strawberry smoothie like drink: fabulous!  (2) strawberry black pepper sorbet!  It is very spicy, and delightfully different tasting than most strawberry flavored products.

Strawberry Black Pepper Sorbet  (makes about 2 yogurt containers) 
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 1/3 c. water
4 Tbs crushed black peppercorn
6 Tbs balsamic vinegar
4 c. pureed strawberries
2 Tbs. lemon juice

1.  Bring the sugar, water, and peppercorns to a boil. Allow to steep for 15-20 minutes.
2. Mix the balsamic vinegar into the syrup.
3. Mix the syrup into the puree. Taste. Remember that the pepper flavor will not be as strong when the sorbet is frozen (ditto for the balsamic taste). Adjust to suit your taste buds.
4. Freeze.
5. Optional step: if your sorbet doesn't freeze, try adding about 1/2 c. - 1c. water to the sorbet and mix in a blender before freezing again.

Note this is the lazy sorbet recipe. I did not remove the seeds from the strawberries nor strain the black pepper out of the syrup. I did not have any issues with the texture of the sorbet at all.