Berry BBQ Bonanza!

If you love BBQ like I do, then you are going to love these recipes. One is for a basic sauce that features California Strawberries and what has become one of my favorite juices to drink as well to use as a recipe ingredient – Welch’s Farmer’s Pick 100% Juice Blackberry. The other features favorite fruit such as cantaloupe, watermelon and California Strawberries. Of course, you are free to use whatever combination of fruit you’d like in the recipe I call Shish-Ka-Booze! Yes, there is definitely an adult theme to it but the alcohol in the recipe is burned off in the grilling process.

Besides great fresh fruit flavor and fun, there is a hidden agenda to using these ingredients when barbecuing. Antioxidant-rich fruit, such as berries, have been found to benefit heart health, cognition, diabetes and may protect against certain types of cancer. But I especially like to use berries as part of marinades and sauces which may help reduce the presence of heterocyclic amines (HCA’s) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are known carcinogens (cancer causing agents). Also, eating antioxidant rich food in the presence of foods containing HCAs and PAHs may reduce their harmful effects. The best advice is to avoid charring your meats by using indirect cooking methods. Here’s a great link to the American Institute of Cancer Research who offers great safe grilling tips.

California Strawberry Shish-Ka-Booze
Tip: If time allows, let skewers rest in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours after basting to absorb mixture.
Servings: Makes six skewers
Ingredients:
1 pound California Strawberries
1 large cantaloupe
1 pound watermelon
1 tsp Nielsen Massey Tahitian Vanilla extract (or other high quality vanilla extract)
½ cup Dark rum
½ cup Maple syrup
6 Skewers

Directions:
Apply non-stick grill cooking spray to grill surface. Preheat grill at its highest setting. Cut fruit into large cubes. Alternate fruit on skewers and set aside. Mix vanilla, rum and maple syrup in bowl. Brush mixture liberally over fruit skewers. When grill is ready, place skewers on the surface and cook for a few minutes on each side or until grill marks are visible. Remove and serve when all sides are grilled.

Berry BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 cup Welch’s Farmer’s Pick 100% Juice Blackberry
1 cup chopped California Strawberries
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before using. Apply liberally to meat, poultry or firm fish when grilling. Store remaining sauce in the refrigerator.

Let me know how you like these yummy BBQ treats! And as always, I would love YOUR ideas for fun and healthy recipes for summertime grilling. Hit me up in the comments section. Have a great rest of the summer!

Disclosure: I am proud to be working with both California Strawberries and Welch’s to bring you today’s recipes and healthful summer tips!

May is National Strawberry Month!

I’m thrilled to be working with the California Strawberry Commission again this year! Looks like this year’s crop is going to be dandy!

WATSONVILLE, Calif., May 2, 2013 — May is National Strawberry Month, a time when farmers and consumers alike celebrate the peak abundance of America’s favorite fruit. Strawberries are a fond and familiar fare at any time of day. According to the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, Americans now consume twice as many strawberries than two decades ago.

The versatile strawberry stretches beyond shortcake, inspiring unexpected savory and sweet dishes. A key ingredient in endlessly creative recipes, strawberries can be blended with garbanzo beans and lemon juice to make a tart hummus, or strung on rosemary-stem skewers, grilled and served with black pepper ice cream and ruby port syrup. The strawberry’s photogenic color and shape, easy preparation and adaptability make strawberries among one of the most talked about fruits on culinary websites, blogs and social media. They are featured on hundreds of creative Pinterest boards, while conversations on Twitter mention strawberries with its most popular companions, chocolate (1.5 million+ mentions) and cream (585,000+ mentions).

Just a generation ago, fresh strawberries were a fleeting reward of spring. Thanks to the decades-long effort of California strawberry farmers, however, the once-precious crop is now one of the country’s most popular fruits, available year round. California strawberry farmers have done their job so well that in just 20 years, Americans have doubled their consumption of fresh strawberries, with per capita consumption rising to almost eight pounds in 2012. At the same time, refined growing methods on more than 40,000 acres have improved yields by 44 percent since 1990.

Today, nearly 90 percent of U.S.-grown fresh strawberries come from California.
Universally loved, locally grown, California strawberries are picked, shipped and delivered to stores within 24 hours. These fresh strawberries inspire out-of-the-ordinary recipes, including strawberry goat cheese pizza and strawberry tostadas that brighten up daily meals. These and other delicious recipes can be found at http://www.CaliforniaStrawberries.com.