Strawberries and Roses

I came across a recipe for strawberry and rose geranium flowers in the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, it inspired me. I have a rose-scented geranium (note that I'm talking about the bedding plants...these are different) but it's not yet big enough to produce enough flowers.  Instead, I shoved a few leaves in some sugar to infuse.  The result?  Delicious, mildly rose-scented sugar.

After a hot day of strawberry picking, I threw a handful of fresh berries, a teaspoon of the rose-sugar, a tiny bit of water and a few ice cubes all together in a blender.  The result is a refreshing way to use a lot of berries!  Adding a splash of rose water (available in the middle eastern aisle of most grocery stores) just intensified the rose flavor.

All fortified now, I went on to make 2 batches of strawberry-balsamic jam!