No spring has arrived without fresh strawberry pie - for me and my friends! Extra strawberries find their way into the freezer- some frozen with sugar and some quick frozen and sacked for smoothies and "later jelly". I prefer to freeze my strawberries and rhubarb separately. Although canned strawberry pie filling is handy for assorted coffee cakes and yeast roll fillings. Oh and then there's straberry syrup - good on waffles and ice cream. My kids - and now grandkids- like fresh strawberries rinsed and then rolled in sugar. YUM!

Dairy-free "milk" is made by soaking (usually 12-24 hours - which makes them easier to digest and increases the nutrition because they also sprout), then blending, nuts/seeds/grains with water in a high-speed blender. Once blended, you separate the pulp from the liquid in a nut milk bag (or other finely woven food-grade cloth). You can order nut milk bags at Amazon.com. The remaining milk is good for 3-5 days, but has a much shorter refrigerator life than cow's milk or the commercial version of nut milk. Look at the health benefits and nutrition profile of different foods used for making dairy-free "milk". You will find lots of how-to videos on YouTube. They will vary in the amount of nuts to water ratio, and that's something you can decide for yourself. I make a concentrated form, and will add more water if I need a thinned-down version for cooking or drinking. Some add sweeteners, vanilla, dates, cinnamon, etc. I make and use it "straight", nuts and water. The remaining pulp is also usable. I make cookies, crackers and a granola-like "cereal" with the raw pulp, which is high in fiber and protein. When the pulp is dried in a dehydrator, it works as a substitute flour. Almond pulp, once dried (I also give it a quick zap in a blender to make it a fine flour) is used in recipes calling for almond flour. Coconut milk is made with unsweetened coconut and water. The pulp is dried and finely ground to use for coconut flour. Both almond and coconut flour are popular flours in gluten-free and paleo recipes. You can find many varieties of non-dairy milk available at stores, I just don't like the added ingredients, they are heat processed to make them shelf-stable at the store, which kills the all important enzymes and destroys the healthy fats and nutrients, and the added cost when you compare it to making your own. Make your own nut milks, oat milk, rice milk, etc. Soy is another option, but I consider soy anything BUT healthy and a dangerous food and food additive. You can do your own research and make your own decision about soy, or the health benefits of any of these non-dairy "milks". As with most good-for-you things, when they commercialize these products they add some not-so-good-for-you ingredients such as soy, vegetable oil, carrageenan, synthetic vitamins, flavorings, sweeteners, and they destroy much of the good things during processing. But we have many of the diseases we have because we've gotten away from eating real food. Another real food product I would suggest is homemade kefir. More health benefits than yogurt. The curd is smaller than yogurt curds, so it's easier to digest. And once again, avoid the commercial kefir. It has little in common with kefir made with real kefir grains. Do a little research on milk kefir grains and water kefir grains and the health benefits. And yes, consult a professional, but a professional who knows about real food, not just the accepted protocol using products that are full of chemical vitamins and inorganic minerals. What about the good fats, probiotics, enzymes? Calories don't feed us, nutrition does. -Grainlady

maybe I do need to explain my idea of dry brining a little bit. I did a google search and it seems I differ from some of the info. Almost all of it is about meat and I must tell you that dry brining is just as good for vegetables. It takes that little hard edge (maybe bitter for some people) off the vegetable making it more palatable. What I do is pretty informal. I prepare vegetables for cooking such as washing and snipping off the end of green beans, or slicing mushrooms or peeling some of the coarse stem off broccoli and chop, etc. I then put the vegetables in a collander. I use about 1 tsp kosher salt per 8 oz of fresh mushrooms. Or two teaspoons for 1 1/2 pounds of green beans. For carrots, I use two teaspoons for 10 mediums carrots thickly sliced (on the diagonal). But don't leave out the seasoning step. Stir the salt into the vegetables in the collander. Then I mince a large jalapeno with seeds in my food processor. Then stir the jalapeno bits into the vegetable mixture in the collander. I think this is the point you could substitute other seasonings such as thyme or dill or garlic or oregano. Stir everthing well trying to make sure your veggies are coated with the herbs (or jalapeno bits). Then put the collander over an empty bowl and cover the collander with a dishcloth. Here is where I get really loose with the directions depending on how much time I've got. But I rarely leave the veggies sitting on the counter in the collander (covered) for more than 3 hours. But I think you could if you accidentally went that long but I have no idea what the maximum time would be. May depend on the veggie. Once your ready to cook, then nothing else special to do but cook. A lot of veggies are good roasted. You can put the results from your collander on a roasting pan and spray lightly with one of those spray cans of olive oil. And then roast for normal amount of time. There will be liquid probably in the bowl beneath the collander. I just discard this though it might be good for making a stock but could be rather salty. Sorry I'm winging most of this but the main point of this is that the salt besides taking the edge off the veggies seems to somehow cause the seasonings to really be drawn into the veggies and penetrates them better than without the brining, IMO. When I cook catfish fillets, I let them sit in the collander with the jalapeno bits and salt covered for a few hours. But inevitably, when I roast them, I need to roast for about 10 minutes, drain and roast some more. Not sure if I get the liquid because my catfish is cheap or what but the final version of the catfish with the jalapeno spicy flavor is nothing short of fabulous. I don't eat catfish any other way now. Yum, yum, yum. Sorry to make this so long but when I went looking on google, turns out there isn't much on this. I posted a pickled carrots recipe in other thread that I love for low fat, diet snacking and healthy too that involves dry brining first with minced jalapenos, then briefly boiling in vinegar and water and chilling in jars in the fridge. If you like spicy food, the salt will really enhance the jalapeno flavor, IMO. Search for "pickled carrots" and I bet it will pop up.

In case you're interested in adding international recipes, here are my two favourite meatball recipes, one from Germany and the other from Mallorca, Spain. (Poached meatballs in lemon & caper sauce.) Here is a German dish which originated in Königsberg, former capital of eastern Prussia, now part of Russia and called Kaliningrad. Having a pleasant, mild flavour, these meatballs are also a low calorie dish as they are cooked in water. They're well known in most German households and are often a family favourite. Ingredients: 1/2 lb finely ground veal (225 grams) 1/2 lb finely ground lean pork (225 grams) 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped 8 finely chopped + 2 finely chopped later for sauce (total 50 grams) 2 TBS capers finely chopped + 1 TBS whole capers later for the sauce 1 lg egg, beaten 3 slices firm crusts removed, soaked in water juice of 1/2 lemon - or juice of whole lemon if it is very small 2 bay leaves 2 whole cloves (aromatic spice cloves) 1/2 TBS oil for frying onion 2 TBS flour mixed with water salt & freshly ground pepper 1. Sauté onion gently until golden and put aside. 2. Mix the two ground meats with 8 of the chopped anchovies, 2 TBS chopped capers, beaten egg and the soaked bread which has been squeezed dry. Then mix in the cooled fried onion and some salt and pepper. 3. In a wide saucepan put 3 3/4 cups of water and add some salt, the lemon juice, bay leaves and cloves. Bring to the boil. 4. Meanwhile form large meatballs with hands and place on a plate - about 14 meatballs. If water boils, turn off until all meatballs are formed. and bring it slowly back to the boil then lower heat and let simmer gently for 30 minutes. Turn meatballs once or twice during this time. 6. When cooked, remove meatballs with slotted spoon to a casserole and keep warm. Mix flour and cold water to a paste and add to the cooking water, stirring to thicken. Add the last two anchovies, chopped fine and 1 TBS whole capers. Bring to the boil and simmer 2 - 3 minutes. Pour and serve with boiled potatoes and green beans. I actually had more sauce than what appears here in the photo. I kept the rest in the pot on the stove for keeping hot. Note: They turned out very well. My lemon was VERY juicy and as I used all the juice, it was a bit too much. Go easy on the lemon juice if it is a large lemon. SharonCb ************************************* Here's a favourite dish from the Island of Mallorca, Spain. - 4 servings 700 grams ground veal (I use 1/2 pork & 1/2 veal) 3 eggs - beaten 1 medium onion - minced 2 cloves garlic - minced flat-leaf parsley - lots 2 teasp oregano 2 teasp thyme 2 teasp sweet paprika powder 2 teasp salt fresh ground black pepper cooking oil 3 medium very ripe tomatoes - (skinning is optional) chopped 1/2 cup milk & 1/4 cup water flour 4 - 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chips (french fries) Utensils needed: - small frying pan about 6 inches diameter - medium or large frying pan or chip fryer - earthenware or ceramic stovetop casserole with lid 1) Mix meat with beaten egg, minced garlic, 2/3 of the chopped onion, salt & pepper, herbs and paprika. Add a few stalks of parsley chopped fine. Mix all together. 2) Pour about 1 cm oil into small frying pan and put on medium heat. Put some seasoned flour (s&p) on a dinner plate and using a small spoon, scoop out meat mixture and begin forming meatballs with help of floured hands, rolling them in flour as needed. Put them on floured plate and when you have six and oil is hot, put them carefully using spoon into the small frying pan to brown. 3) After two or three minutes turn meatballs over using a small spoon. Continue forming more meatballs. 4) As meatballs brown, remove and put them into casserole dish, adding the fresh ones to the pan, six at a time. 5) When done, strain out any burned bits in the frying pan oil and put in the rest of the onion with the tomato, as well as a handful of minced parsley. Cook on medium heat. 6) After a few minutes add the milk and water. Taste and if tomato flavour is too sharp add a pinch of sugar, also some salt. Pour sauce over meatballs in casserole, (optional is pour it through a sieve for finer sauce) put on low heat with lid and simmer very gently 20 minutes, checking and turning them over once. 8) Prepare potatoes and in oil in large frying pan or chip fryer begin making the french fries a few at a time, salting them and keeping them hot in oven. Put a few chips on top of the meatballs, add a bit of chopped parsley and serve at table with extra chips on each plate. Source: Adapted from 'Cocina selecta Mallorquin' SharonCb