Strawberry Shortcake

 Wayne's Grandma, Billie Stuckey, gave me this recipe early in our marriage. (She titled it "Mom's Strawberry Shortcake" so it may have been passed down from her mom.) In any case, it's my go-to for strawberry shortcake. It is more like a light vanilla sponge cake, rather than a biscuit, which I prefer.

Strawberry Shortcake

from Grandma Billie Stuckey

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

Whipped cream

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs on medium speed for three minutes. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until thick and lemon colored. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; beat into egg mixture. Heat milk and butter just until butter begins to melt. Beat into batter with vanilla. (Batter will be thin.) Pour into greased 8" square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes. 

To serve: 
Just before serving, cut cake into serving size pieces. Cut each piece in half horizontally. Combine strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar and spoon between cake layers and over the top of each serving. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired.

Ice Cream

While I love homemade ice cream with eggs, it's not Wayne's favorite. We have made different recipes of ice cream over the years, but this one has stuck. It's simple to make, I nearly always have the ingredients on hand, I don't think it could be quicker to put together, and most importantly we all like how it tastes.  We've added other mix ins or flavors and it is perfect for that too. 

Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch salt

Whisk together and churn in your ice cream maker. Scoop into a storage container and freeze. 

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Blackberry Ice Cream

2 cups blackberries 

Blend blackberries in food processor with 1/2 cup of sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Strain. Discard the seeds/pulp. 

Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the other remaining ingredients from above. 

Whisk together (or blend in food processor) and churn in your ice cream maker. Scoop into a storage container and freeze. 

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We use this Cuisinart ice cream maker.  If I make a recipe that is a little too big for it, I scoop some out once it's frozen (and keep in the freezer) and then add the rest until it's all ready to put up.

Garden Tea

I tried to pull all of the garden mint out of my flower bed a few years ago... some always pops up and this year it is back more full than ever. While I don't like how invasive it is, I do like garden tea, mojitos, mint in salads, etc. Teneesa Stuckey also gave me the idea to throw in about 5 stems worth of leaves into my Lipton iced tea, which is also very good.

Garden Tea
3 1/2 quarts water (14 cups)
2 cups packed fresh mint
1/2 cup sugar

Bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in mint. Let steep around 3 hours. Strain. Refrigerate. Serve over ice (options - with lemon slices).

Credits to this recipe.