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With fresh strawberries make a quick and easy berry pastry
With so many strawberries available and numerous fields nearby, I’m sure in the past couple of weeks, I’ve eaten all by myself seven quarts of the berries.
The good news about strawberries is they contain the compound “pterostilbene”– this compound is also found in blueberries, blackberries and grapes – which the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found reduces effects of memory loss and cognitive decline in aging rats.
With this study in mind, you might want to increase your consumption of berries. To do this, I’ve tried to find ways to incorporate strawberries and other berries in each meal I eat. Today I made a strawberry tart for the Memorial Day weekend, and here’s what you’ll need to prepare the dessert:
For the pastry crust:
1 ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of shortening
4 tablespoons of cold water
For the filling:
1 ½ quarts of fresh strawberries with the stems and leaves removed
2/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
½ cup of lemon juice
½ cup of strawberries
If you don’t want to make your own crust, use a store-bought pie shell. But to prepare the
The good news about strawberries is they contain the compound “pterostilbene”– this compound is also found in blueberries, blackberries and grapes – which the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found reduces effects of memory loss and cognitive decline in aging rats.
With this study in mind, you might want to increase your consumption of berries. To do this, I’ve tried to find ways to incorporate strawberries and other berries in each meal I eat. Today I made a strawberry tart for the Memorial Day weekend, and here’s what you’ll need to prepare the dessert:
For the pastry crust:
1 ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of shortening
4 tablespoons of cold water
For the filling:
1 ½ quarts of fresh strawberries with the stems and leaves removed
2/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
½ cup of lemon juice
½ cup of strawberries
If you don’t want to make your own crust, use a store-bought pie shell. But to prepare the
crust, place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. (Sift the flour for better results.) Cut in the shortening until the flour looks like little beads in the bowl. Then, add one tablespoon of cold water at a time to the flour. Each time the water is added, mix the water with the flour mixture.
When all the water has been added, form a ball with the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Flatten the ball into a circle and use a rolling pin or glass to reach the desired thickness. Then, slide one hand gently under one side of the crust and then to the other side to lift it onto your pie plate.
Now you can take your 1 ½ quarts of strawberries and place the strawberries stem side down in a circular pattern around the pie crust until you reach the center.
For the filling, place the sugar and lemon juice in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the cornstarch to thicken the mixture. Take your ½ cup of strawberries and mash them. Then, add them to the lemon juice mixture, stirring until the mixture has thickened.
Pour the strawberry/lemon juice mixture over your strawberries in the pie plate. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
This strawberry tart will smell so heavenly that you may be tempted to eat a slice right away, but with the sauce over the strawberries, you will want to let the tart cool first.
Enjoy and eat strawberries for better health!
– Bobbie Whitehead
When all the water has been added, form a ball with the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Flatten the ball into a circle and use a rolling pin or glass to reach the desired thickness. Then, slide one hand gently under one side of the crust and then to the other side to lift it onto your pie plate.
Now you can take your 1 ½ quarts of strawberries and place the strawberries stem side down in a circular pattern around the pie crust until you reach the center.
For the filling, place the sugar and lemon juice in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the cornstarch to thicken the mixture. Take your ½ cup of strawberries and mash them. Then, add them to the lemon juice mixture, stirring until the mixture has thickened.
Pour the strawberry/lemon juice mixture over your strawberries in the pie plate. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
This strawberry tart will smell so heavenly that you may be tempted to eat a slice right away, but with the sauce over the strawberries, you will want to let the tart cool first.
Enjoy and eat strawberries for better health!
– Bobbie Whitehead
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