Got Too Many Strawberries? Make Fresh Strawberry Milkshakes!

Right about now is the peak of California's strawberry season. It's a great time to get fresh sweet strawberries at the farmer's market, a local strawberry farm, or even the supermarket if you're in a pinch.

We happened upon Stony Point Strawberries just north of Petaluma on Stony Point Road the other day and decided to check it out. It's a little shack basically sitting out in the middle of a strawberry field where we tried some samples and picked up a huge amount of wonderful bargain-priced strawberries.

After eating our fill throughout the weekend, we found that we still had plenty of strawberries left over. The presence of vanilla ice cream in our freezer led us to our course of action: make fresh strawberry milkshakes.

Making strawberry milkshakes couldn't be easier, and everyone loves them. Using fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream instead of just strawberry ice cream give the shake a fresher, fruitier flavor that really captures the essence of the strawberries.

Here's what you'll need to make one large or two small kid-sized strawberry shakes:

• 2 cups good quality vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup ripe fresh strawberries (about 8), halved or quartered if large
• 1/4 cup cold whole milk
• Whipped cream for topping (optional)

Scoop ice cream into blender jar and add strawberries. Pour in milk and blend until smooth. Note: I found that using an immersion blender is better than a regular bar-type blender, since it appears to blend the ingredients faster and more thoroughly without melting too much of the ice cream.

Pour milkshake into glasses, top with whipped cream, if using, and serve immediately with straws and spoons.

We can't wait for blackberry season to start later on this summer so we can try this recipe with freshly picked wild blackberries!