Growing Strawberries and a Lovely Galette...

I harvested our first batch of strawberries out of our own private little garden.  There is nothing in this world that ushers in summer quite like strawberries.  I will let you in on a little secret, I hoard homegrown strawberries.  They are absolutely, without a doubt, one of my most favorite things on the planet.  Store bought berries are just not the same.  They don't have the sweetness or the sunshine grown into them.  They lack the energy of the soil and the heat of the day.  Homegrown little red strawberries is where it is at!

I froze some of the berries for things to make later.  Wash them, take off the caps and then spread over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Pop them in the freezer overnight.  Then place in a freezer bag.  Strawberries don't last long in the fridge, this is a great way to preserve them and their flavor.

You really don't need a large space to grow them, put them in as a border, or we have grown them in a 2-foot by 12-foot raised bed to contain them.  We now have a larger patch with three different berries.  We have a June bearing, a late summer bearing and a day neutral type all growing so that we have berries throughout the summer.  Plant them with a lot of good compost and pinch off any flowers you see during the first year, you want them to focus on roots not berries.  The second year, you will have an abundant harvest of the most delightful juicy berries.  You can mow the leaves off the plants in the fall with a mower raised so that it will not cut the crowns.  Give them a good shot of compost and mulch for the winter and then you can watch the snow fall and dream of berries to come.

I whipped up a fast little galette to celebrate the arrival of the strawberries.  It is easy!  If you have fresh berries, it is a great way to enjoy the flavors.

STRAWBERRY GALETTE
backyard farmgals

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

2 cups fresh farm grown strawberries, sliced

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp cornstarch

2 sprigs thyme

1 tsp lemon zest

1 egg yolk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp powdered sugar

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry to just larger than your tart pan, so that when you place the pastry in the pan it will go up the edges nicely.  If it is just a bit large, fold the edges so that they are even with the top of your tart pan.  Cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly on the pastry, place pie weights or beans in the pan on top of the plastic wrap.  Freeze for 30 minutes (this helps the puff pastry to retain it's shape when baking).

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a small bowl, mix sliced strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, thyme, and lemon zest.  Toss with your hands, set aside.  

Remove the pastry from the freezer, remove weights or beans.  With a fork, make little holes on the bottom of the pastry.  Place strawberry mixture in the tart, you can arrange it nicely or randomly toss it all in - it tastes delicious either way!

Mix egg yolk with a teaspoon of water to make an egg wash, brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash.  Place the tart in the oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the edges are brown.  There will still be a little strawberry juice in the galette, trust me, it's okay!!!

Whip together the cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  After the galette has cooled, top with whipped cream and serve.  

HELLLLOOOOO SUMMER!!!!