No spring has arrived without fresh strawberry pie - for me and my friends! Extra strawberries find their way into the freezer- some frozen with sugar and some quick frozen and sacked for smoothies and "later jelly". I prefer to freeze my strawberries and rhubarb separately. Although canned strawberry pie filling is handy for assorted coffee cakes and yeast roll fillings. Oh and then there's straberry syrup - good on waffles and ice cream. My kids - and now grandkids- like fresh strawberries rinsed and then rolled in sugar. YUM!

Dairy-free "milk" is made by soaking (usually 12-24 hours - which makes them easier to digest and increases the nutrition because they also sprout), then blending, nuts/seeds/grains with water in a high-speed blender. Once blended, you separate the pulp from the liquid in a nut milk bag (or other finely woven food-grade cloth). You can order nut milk bags at Amazon.com. The remaining milk is good for 3-5 days, but has a much shorter refrigerator life than cow's milk or the commercial version of nut milk. Look at the health benefits and nutrition profile of different foods used for making dairy-free "milk". You will find lots of how-to videos on YouTube. They will vary in the amount of nuts to water ratio, and that's something you can decide for yourself. I make a concentrated form, and will add more water if I need a thinned-down version for cooking or drinking. Some add sweeteners, vanilla, dates, cinnamon, etc. I make and use it "straight", nuts and water. The remaining pulp is also usable. I make cookies, crackers and a granola-like "cereal" with the raw pulp, which is high in fiber and protein. When the pulp is dried in a dehydrator, it works as a substitute flour. Almond pulp, once dried (I also give it a quick zap in a blender to make it a fine flour) is used in recipes calling for almond flour. Coconut milk is made with unsweetened coconut and water. The pulp is dried and finely ground to use for coconut flour. Both almond and coconut flour are popular flours in gluten-free and paleo recipes. You can find many varieties of non-dairy milk available at stores, I just don't like the added ingredients, they are heat processed to make them shelf-stable at the store, which kills the all important enzymes and destroys the healthy fats and nutrients, and the added cost when you compare it to making your own. Make your own nut milks, oat milk, rice milk, etc. Soy is another option, but I consider soy anything BUT healthy and a dangerous food and food additive. You can do your own research and make your own decision about soy, or the health benefits of any of these non-dairy "milks". As with most good-for-you things, when they commercialize these products they add some not-so-good-for-you ingredients such as soy, vegetable oil, carrageenan, synthetic vitamins, flavorings, sweeteners, and they destroy much of the good things during processing. But we have many of the diseases we have because we've gotten away from eating real food. Another real food product I would suggest is homemade kefir. More health benefits than yogurt. The curd is smaller than yogurt curds, so it's easier to digest. And once again, avoid the commercial kefir. It has little in common with kefir made with real kefir grains. Do a little research on milk kefir grains and water kefir grains and the health benefits. And yes, consult a professional, but a professional who knows about real food, not just the accepted protocol using products that are full of chemical vitamins and inorganic minerals. What about the good fats, probiotics, enzymes? Calories don't feed us, nutrition does. -Grainlady

This one is always a huge hit when we go boating. Travels well, very tasty , substantial and a bit different. Don't let the ingredients list put you off it really is very easy to make. Real N'awlins Muffuletta (Weed) 1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives crushed 1/2 Cup drained kalamata olives crushed 2 Clove garlic minced 1/4 Cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower florets 2 Tbl drained capers 1 Tbl chopped celery 1 Tbl chopped carrot 1/2 Cup pepperoncini drained 1/4 Cup marinated cocktail onions 1/2 Tsp celery seed 1 Tsp dried oregano 1 Tsp dried basil 3/4 Tsp ground black pepper 1/4 Cup red wine vinegar 1/2 Cup olive oil 1/4 Cup canola oil 2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread 8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami 8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham 8 ounces sliced mortadella orcappicola 8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese 8 ounces sliced provolone cheese Directions 1. To Make Olive Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers, celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight. 2. To Make Sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts olive salad, including oil. Layer 'bottom half' of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella ,mozzarella and Provolone. Replace 'top half' on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters. 3 Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.

Got all these from the cooking forum and they are favorites! Made the spinach salad from Ann for a luncheon, it was a very big hit! Vittorio's Spinach Salad from Ann T Vittorio's was a restaurant in Toronto that we use to go to years ago. Salad isn't something that I would usually order but I loved his. This is my recreation of his recipe. Salad: Washed and dried baby spinach 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled 4 or 5 cleaned mushrooms, sliced 1 can of artichoke hearts halved or quartered 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered 2 chopped green onions Kalamata olives Dressing: 1/4 teaspoon tarragon 1/2 clove of garlic 2 or 3 tablespoons wine vinegar 1/2 cup homemade mayo or Hellmans salt and pepper Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Decorate with eggs, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and green onions and olives. Drizzle with dressing and toss. Can be made on individual plates as well. Dressing: Soak tarragon and garlic in vinegar. Add salt to dissolve. Mix vinegar mixture into mayonnaise and adjust seasoning to taste. ------------------------------------------- Nancy's "55" Salad Dressing (wizardnm) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 cup vinegar 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional) 1 cup vegetable oil Combine garlic, dry mustard, vinegar and water in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine. Add salt, sugar, peppers, and celery seed (if using) With processor or blender running, SLOWLY add vegetable oil in a thin stream. After oil is added, continue to process another 3 minutes. --------------------------------------------------------- Creamy Roquefort Dressing (mqmoi) 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 large shallot, minced 1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar 1 large garlic clove, minced 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese 3 tablespoons whipping cream Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Fold in Roquefort cheese and cream. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)