Food Stuff

So much happens in the month of June. If you are a gardener as I am, you may have green peas to be picked in June. Strawberries are usually ripe by this time every year. Adventurous types can go to the woods and pick black raspberries. Let's consider what we can do with cooking in June.

New Green Peas and
New Small Potatoes

Don't throw away the marble-sized potatoes from the garden. Use them with new green peas in a sauce--so delicious!!

1 Pound of tiny new potatoes. Scrub, but you need not peel them.
1 1/2 Cups of new peas (You can buy frozen peas if you prefer.)
1/4 Cup onion, chopped rather finely
1 Cup milk
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

How to:
Cook potatoes in a saucepan for about ten minutes in salted water. Add the peas and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Drain off the water. Set aside while you prepare the sauce.

Cook the onion pieces in butter to make them tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Add the milk and cook until it thickens. Add the potatoes and peas to the sauce and stir.

Fresh Strawberry Preserves

In a large bowl mash 1 1/2 pounds of fresh strawberries coarsely with a potato masher. Mix five cups sugar with the berries and set aside.

Mix one cup water with a box of fruit pectin. Heat over a medium fire until it begins to boil and then cook it one more minute. Immediately pour the pectin mixture over the sugared berries and stir it together well. Let it set for four minutes but stir it every fifteen to twenty seconds. The mixture will thicken.

Pour this into freezer boxes or clean glass jars to store. You should leave an inch or so of space above the preserves in the jar or box. Cover the containers for at least twelve hours before closing them. The jam will stay good for three weeks in your refrigerator. You can freeze it for about a half a year.

BLACK RASPBERRY PIE

Rather than get into how to make pie crust (although I make my own), you can buy pie crust mixes. Get enough for a two-crust pie.

Line a glass pie pan with the bottom crust, unbaked. Take 4 cups of fresh black raspberries, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/4 cup corn starch, and two tablespoons of softened butter or margarine. Salt it a little if you prefer. Mix carefully to not smash the berries. Pour mixture into the bottom crust. Make the edge of the crust wet before applying the top crust. You may choose whether to make a lattice type top crust or a solid crust. If you use the solid crust, make holes for steam to escape. Flute the top & bottom crusts together.

Bake in 350 F oven for an hour. It will be less runny if you let it cool before cutting and serving.