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| Simple Fruit Dip |
My mom got this recipe from someone ages ago and makes it every Easter to go with a plate heaped with strawberries, pineapple, and cantaloupe. It actually helps make the overly firm store-bought strawberries edible. Growing up in California, there were fresh strawberries from local strawberry fields every spring. I never liked strawberries, though, because these California strawberry fields, at least the ones we went to, produced huge, hard, sour strawberries. I always wondered why so many people were in love with this tasteless fruit. Then I moved to Oregon for two years in my mid-twenties, and met strawberries, really, for the first time. My friends liked to do their own canning and introduced me to U-Pick fruit. We'd go to local farms and pick our own strawberries, raspberries and peaches. When I bit into my first just-picked strawberry, I almost heard the "Aaaaahhh!" choir of angels singing. This strawberry had FLAVOR. It was sweet, with just a hint of tartness. It had the texture of cantaloupe. Whaaaaat? So THIS is what all the fuss was about. The two years I lived in Oregon I picked and canned strawberries, and I ate probably more than I should have out in the fields as we picked. Finally, I too fell in love with strawberries.
My husband and I did move back to Southern California, where I managed to figure out which local strawberry fields had actual edible strawberries that didn't require the fruit dip. They weren't quite as amazing as what I'd had in Oregon, but they were close enough.
Now I live in Iowa and I still need to figure out where to get fabulous strawberries. Sam's Club often has good ones, but I haven't figured out anything about local farms. Perhaps that's what I need to set my sights on this year. In the meantime, I'll make this yummy fruit dip to help me enjoy what I can find in the way of strawberries.
Fruit Dip
Ingredients:
- 1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
- 1 8 oz. package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Directions:
Place ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. With a hand mixer, or in a standing mixer, mix on low speed to blend ingredients. Then mix on high for another minute or so, or until it is smooth and creamy. With a rubber/silicone spatula, scoop into a cute serving dish. (I used a pretty little rice bowl.)
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with clean, washed fruit.