~Strawberries~

I almost missed out on strawberry season this year. I couldn't figure out how to finish school, take care of Kiersten, and pick strawberries!

My neighbor came to the rescue by letting me pick a big bucket from her garden! I was able to make two batches of strawberry freezer jam and two strawberry rhubarb pies! YUMMY!

Here are two tips I learned this year!

* Clean your strawberries with the tops on. If you take the tops off the strawberries they will soak up the water and make the strawberries really wet. This is especially true if you fill the sink with water to wash them instead of just spraying them off.

* Tapioca is the best thing that ever happened to fruit pies! We are, without a doubt, a cake family. We love fruit and will eat pie but don't normally crave it. I don't like the leftovers either. All that runny fruit juice making a mushy pie crust. TIL NOW! I read somewhere that if you use tapioca with your fruit pies it jells up and you can't even see the tapioca. I used the recipe right on the box and, wow, it really works well and is soooo easy! I'd be making more pies... if only I could figure out how to make a pie crust!