Sweet Treats with Peggy

I have lived in my apartment over a year and, little by little, I have been exploring the area of North Andover/Andover, MA.  The other day I read that it was the first day of the season for corn.  I waited until Ryan came home from work and we headed off to  about 3 or 4 farm/farm stands.  Some were better than others.  I can imagine what they will be like in the Fall.  Our favorite was  Smolak Farms   in North Andover.  They had such a cute shop that had lots of specialty food items, homemade donuts and ice cream, etc..  I was able to taste  their homemade strawberry jam and I was immediately hooked.  I have been collecting different jams lately from   Stonewall Kitchen, York, ME .  Those samples will get you every time.  As soon as I tasted the strawberry jam, I knew I had to get it and make a yummy dessert.  I found a recipe online from    Recipe Girl , which I have adapted.  Enjoy...

This is one of the quickest breads to mix together.  As long as you know ahead of time that you are going to make it, you can pull out the frozen strawberries to defrost.  I found this recipe in the newspaper over 30 years ago.  I love strawberries so I thought it would be something interesting to try.  It is certainly a different way to use strawberries in a baked good.  I love that it makes two loafs and I don't have to double the recipe.  If you go strawberry picking, make sure you save some for this bread.   Place 20 oz of strawberries in a freezer zip-lock bag and store until ready to use.

Strawberry Shortcake is my favorite dessert.  It was also my niece, Traci's.  Traci died in an automobile accident at 18 years old.  I miss her every day.  She was a beautiful, vibrant girl and it's hard to imagine God's plan for her. I can see her up in Heaven taking charge of all the young ones and having a good time.  Traci was always great with kids.  I should know.  My kids adored her.