I decided to go berry picking and freeze dry my haul. It took some time to slice up all the strawberries but I managed to get it all done. The effort was worth the wait. If you’ve never had freeze dried strawberries, you are missing out. One key piece about this process is the strawberries must be really ripe. You are freeze drying the flavor of that strawberry in whatever state it’s in so if it isn’t very ripe, it’s not going to have much flavor.

These were just right!

When I was slicing them, I kept the tops with the leaves and freeze dried those as well. I had heard they are rich with nutrients so why not? I wasn’t sure what I would do with them because most of the ways I read they could be used didn’t really appeal to me. Although I had to pause when I read the leaves are great for whitening teeth.

But today, I decided how I would use those tops and leaves. I decided to try my efforts at infusing balsamic vinegar. I eat cottage cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers with a bit of balsamic vinegar dressing every day for breakfast (don’t judge…I know it’s a little odd). I’ve been eating this pretty much every day for the last year. I am hoping I can make a dressing out of this. Time will tell. It sure smells good already though. Fingers crossed.

I’m off to see if I can find any kind of a recipe to use but I may just wing it. Wish me luck!