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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2018)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JUNE 20, 2018 3A Cook’s Corner: Oregon strawberries — Sweeter. Redder. Better Betty Kaiser It’s strawberry time in Or- egon! Th is is your offi cial reminder that the sea-son is short — so you’d better get them while you can. Oregon strawberries are known for their deep red color, intense sweetness and short storage life. Th e fresh berries stay on the vine and ripen slowly to al- low the sugars to increase until ready for harvest. According to the Ore- gon strawberries website, not many are sold fresh. Some are picked and sold at produce stands but most- ly they are processed into sliced or whole frozen ber- ries. Th at way they retain their summer freshness for us to enjoy all year long. So, if you want fresh ber- ries, you’d better hurry and get them at a stand near you soon. Chuck’s garden produc- es strawberries a handful at a time. Just enough for a bowl of cereal or maybe a couple of strawberry short- cakes. Sadly, Eden Valley Farm out Mosby Creek has no strawberries this year. Th ey are taking orders for other berries but no straw- berries. So now I’m on the hunt for another berry farm. Darn. I love to make strawber- ry shortcake the old-fash- ioned way served on bis- cuits. It’s easy to whip up a batch of biscuits to serve buttered and warm, under spoonful’s of berries and whipped cream. Hint: Sometimes I cheat and use Bisquick. Several batches of frozen strawberry freezer jam are also a must at our house. It’s quick and easy and stores in your freezer for months. We eat ours on ice cream, pancakes and anything else that needs a bit of sum-mer sunshine. I also like a nice luncheon dish with berries. A chicken salad with ber- ries is a nice Sunday supper dish for company. Serve with hot biscuits or fresh sour dough bread. Try it. You’ll like it! Strawberry Freezer Jam • 2 cups crushed straw- berries (about 1 qt. whole berries) • 4 cups sugar • 1 package powdered pectin • 1 cup water Prepare fruit: Sort and wash fully ripe berries. Re- move caps and stems; crush berries. Place prepared berries in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Let stand for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Dissolve pec- tin in water and boil for 1 min. Add pectin solution to berry and sugar mixture. Stir for 2 minutes. Pour jam into freezer containers or canning jars, leaving ½ inch space at the top. Cov- er containers and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours or until jam has set. Makes 5 small jam jars. Store uncooked jams in refrigerator or freezer. Th ey can be held up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator or up to a year in the freezer. Do not store at room temperature. Th ey will mold or ferment. Once a container is opened, jam should be stored in the refrigerator and used with- in a few days. Note: If jam is too fi rm, stir to soft en. If it tends to separate, stir to blend. If it is too soft , bring it to a boil. It will thicken on cooking. Strawberry Chicken Salad • 1/2 cup reduced-calo- rie mayonnaise • 2 tablespoons chopped chutney (or bottled) • 1 teaspoon grated lime zest • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon curry pow- der • 1 tablespoon lime juice • 2 cups diced cooked chicken • 1 cup sliced celery • 1/4 cup chopped red onion • 1 1/2 pints hulled fresh Oregon strawberries, di- vided • Iceberg or Butter let- tuce leaves or chopped Ro- maine lettuce In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, chutney, lime zest, salt, curry powder and lime juice. Add chicken, celery and onion; toss, cov- er and chill. Just before serving, slice enough strawberries to make 2 cups; gently toss with chicken mixture. Line platter or individual serv- ing plates with lettuce. Mound chicken salad in center. Garnish with re- maining 1 cup whole straw- berries. Serves 4. Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Buttermilk Biscuits • 2 cups fl our • 2 tsp. baking powder • 1/4 tsp baking soda • 1 tsp. salt • 1/4 cup+2 tablespoons shortening • 3/4 cup buttermilk Preheat oven to 450 F. Sift together dry ingre- dients. Cut in shortening to fi ne pieces. Stir in butter- milk to soft dough. Round up the dough on a fl oured, cloth-covered board. Knead lightly. Roll or pat out about 1/2 inch thick. Cut. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown 12-15 min. Cool slightly. Serves 6. Strawberry Topping • 4 cups strawberries (or more). • 1 cup sugar (or to taste • ½ teaspoon cinnamon • A few spoonsful of cold water Wash and drain berries. Pick them over. Remove stems and hulls. Slice and put them in a bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon and water. Refrigerate. To serve, split and butter biscuits. Top with strawberries and gar- nish with whipped cream. (Contact Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner at 942- 1317 or email bchatty@ bettykaiser.com.) Preparations underway for annual Bohemia Mining Days With Bohenia Mining Days just weeks away, festi- val coordinators are putting out a call to members of the community who want to par- ticipate in this year’s event. Here are a few ways to either get involved or plan ahead for this year's festival: Casting call for returning BMD play Aft er receiving a grant from Dari-Mart, Bohemia Mining Days will see the re- turn of Bohemia City’s live theatre in Coiner Park at the 59th annual festival. Th e play, “Gold, Grit and Guns: Locals Who Left a Mark,” was written and will be directed by Jennifer Man- deville Schulz. Th ere will be two daily performances on Th ursday, July 19 through Saturday, July 21. Actors interested in audi- tioning for the play are invit- ed to participate in one of the two planned auditions: • Wednesday, June 20 • Saturday, June 23 Bot shows are at 7 p.m. at the Cottage Grove Commu- nity Center and Library at 700 E. Gibbs Ave. Th e casting call is for men, ages 18-85, one woman aged 18-25 and several kids ages 8-13. For more information, contact Jennifer Man- deville-Schulz at 541-510- 8894. Registration for BMD covered bridge tour opens Bohemia Mining Days, in partnership with South Lane Wheels and the Cot- tage Grove Tour Guides, off ers a two-hour guided tour of the six area covered bridges. Knowledgeable, cos- tumed guides share infor- mation on the history of the Cottage Grove community and each bridge. Th e tour allows time for photo taking at each stop and each partic- ipant receives a keepsake at the end. Two tours are available on Saturday, July 21 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Seating is limited to 18 per tour on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis. Tickets are $10 and must be paid in advance by Friday, July 6, at 5 p.m. Mail check paya-ble to Bohemia Mining Days and put Covered Bridge Tour in the memo. Mail to P.O. Box 1297, Cottage Grove, Ore., 97424. For credit/debit card pay- ments by phone call the festi- val offi ce at 541-942-5064. BMD’s carnival all-day advance ride bracelets now on sale Bohemia Mining Days All-day Carnival Ride Brace- let coupons are now available at the Cottage Grove Bi- Mart, 100 N. Gateway Blvd. for $22 (on-site bracelets are $30). 'For additional savings, Th ursday, July 19, is “Buddy Day,” wne you can buy one bracelet and get one free. For more information, call 541-942-5064. Another dental visit? Turns out, you have better things to do with your time. Local Coverage Where You Work, Play & Live S UBSCRIBERS Get 1 Year for $41.00!* Catch up on local news, sports, shopping deals, events, new businesses, Call us today to get started. politics, job openings, Extend Your Subscription classifi ed deals and more an extra month for every three non- with your local newspaper! Earn perishable food items you drop off for Community Sharing when paying for your subscription. 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