Strawberry Fields

Yesterday morning Himself and I, Best Friend and son (Pirate 2) all headed out to pick some strawberries. Mmmmmmm…

We do this every year. This year was what I consider perfect picking weather… cool, overcast and slightly breezy. We got a lot in a short amount of time. I brought home 3 gallons (1 gallon will go to my neighbors up the hill) and I gave Best Friend 3 gallons (on top of the 5 gallons she picked). She makes the BEST strawberry jam and is always giving me some. She also gives me some for my Dad (yes Dad… you’ll have some fresh jam soon). And she keeps her elderly neighbors in good supply too.

Don’t you think I have some great looking strawberries?

Best Friend with some of her berries.

Mutant strawberry!

Starting a new bucket.

Quality control tester.

Junior QC.

Certain buckets didn’t get filled very quickly…

H&S Strawberry barn.

My bounty.

And Best Friend’s…minus 2 boxes that were in her back seat.

Grilled Wild Alaska Salmon with Strawberry-Cucumber Salsa

The strawberry-cucumber salsa that tops these moist, flavorful salmon fillets is delicious served on its own, too, with a few tortilla chips for dipping. For the marinade, substitute cranberry juice for the strawberry juice, if you like.

Ingredients

Salmon

1/2 cup strawberry juice from concentrate

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 tablespoon roughly chopped ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Zest of 1 orange

4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets



Salsa

1/2 cucumber, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped yellow bell pepper

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

4 large ripe strawberries, hulled and finely chopped

Method

For the salmon, whisk together strawberry juice, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, ginger, salt, pepper, and zest in a wide, shallow dish to make a marinade. Add salmon and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Meanwhile, put cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, honey, lime juice, oil, salt, black pepper, ginger, and strawberries into a medium bowl and toss to make a salsa. Set aside. Prepare a charcoal grill.

When charcoal is hot and has a coat of ash, spread the coals to create an even heat source. Grill salmon fillets, flipping once, to desired doneness, 10 to 12 minutes each. Top each fillet with some of the strawberry-cucumber salsa and serve.