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.
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