Strawberry Chardonnay Gelee

Albion Strawberries – aren’t they beautiful?

Tis the season for my favorite fruit, strawberries. I feel so lucky to have so many strawberry stands close by so I can stop and pick up a couple of pints to keep a supply in the fridge. They are a perfect snack, something sweet and juicy. Of course, I love them with shortcake and on top of ice cream, or even better in ice cream. I even stock pile them in my freezer for smoothies, especially for winter time when I can’t buy them.

This week at the Farmer’s Market I thought it was time to spotlight strawberries. When I’m not buying my berries from a farmstand, I like to buy mine from Bob, the strawberry guy. Bob has been selling strawberries at the market for years and what I like about them is that they hold up well and taste great. I realized even though I talk to Bob almost weekly, I didn’t know his story or anything about the berries. Come to find out Bob has been selling strawberries from Wastsonville, California for over 20 years. Here is a picture of strawberries in Watstonville, it is incredible to go there and see the miles and miles of strawberries. Now, imagine that these strawberries are picked by hand; it’s amazing to watch, For the people who do the harvesting, it is hot and backbreaking, and I thank you for the hard work you do to provide us with these yummy strawberries. I think this is what the Beetles meant in their song “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Watsonville, CA ~ strawberries

After all these years of buying strawberries from Bob, I finally asked him about the strawberries he sells. They are called Albion. I like these berries for their size and shape; they are a medium size strawberry, red throughout and not overly sweet but packed with lot of flavor. Here is a picture of Bob Orea and his helper Reyes at their strawberry booth.

It’s July and we are having a very hot spell here with the temperature at 105 degrees; typical summer weather in Northern California. I just can’t turn my oven on to bake a shortcake, my kitchen would be hot and my air conditioner would never shut off. I decided to try a recipe using my refrigerator instead. I have had for a long time but never made, a gelee, which is like jello but so much better. Gelees are made with fresh fruit, juices, broths and in this case wine. This recipe takes only 5 ingredients, and I get to use my mini bottle of wine. Since I don’t drink white wine I keep these on hand just for cases like this, and they come in handy for deglazing my pans for sauces.

Strawberry Chardonnay Gelee

5 ingredients, so simple!

How to make a gelee – For printable recipe, click “here”.

Strawberry Chardonnay Gelee

Makes 4 – 8 oz servings
Ingredients:

3 cups washed and sliced strawberries
(measure out 3/4 of a cup for topping)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Chardonnay or try a fruity wine you like
2 tbls. lemon juice
1 envelop unflavored gelatin

1. Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl and add the sugar.
2. Pour the Chardonnay in a cup and microwave on high for about 1 1/2 minutes to get it hot but not boiling.

Strawberries, sugar and wine

3. Pour the Chardonnay over the strawberries and sugar and mash with a potato masher, this will break down the berries and release their juices. Let sit for 2 hours to infuse the wine and berries.

4. Strain the berries in a fine sieve over a large measuring cup. Press out the juices. Add water to make 2 cups of liquid.

Strained strawberries and wine

5. In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice and gelatin together. Microwave on high about 20 second or until the gelatin has dissolved. Do not boil this mixture.

6. Stir the gelatin mixture into the strawberry/wine juice.
7. Set the gelee in the freezer in the measuring cup and stir every 5 minutes for 20 to 30 minutes. The gelee will firm up but it will not be completely set.
8. Spoon the gelee into 8 ounce ramekins, wine glasses or bowls and top with the reserved strawberry slices.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set.

Strawberry Chardonnay Gelees in my vintage Martini glasses

Now for the taste test. This isn’t the jello I had as a child. No fake strawberry flavor and no rubbery texture here. The gelee is almost velvety and the flavor of the fresh strawberries comes through with a hint of the Chardonnay flavor. Since I have never made a gelee before I am not sure about the firmness I obtained. These did set up and become firm, but not firm like a jello. I hope mine came out right because the softness of the gelee gave it that wonderful velvety texture.

I love this dessert, it’s perfect for a hot day. I’m glad I finally made this because now I am thinking of other possibilities for different fruits and wine It’s fun, fruity, a little sophisticated and yummy!

Market Flowers

To go with my favorite fruit, I decided to post a picture of my favorite summer flower, the marigold.

Bright and sunny marigolds

~Hearts Everywhere, even in trees ~

I want to add these pictures I took when walking through the Rose Gardens in Sacramento. The shadows on the ground were hearts from the leaves and as I walked around the tree and looked up even the tree had a heart. I felt a blessing that day with lots of love around me.