Food & Fun Recipes

Strawberry Bread

The American Indians were already eating strawberries when the colonists arrived. The crushed berries were mixed with cornmeal and baked into strawberry bread. After trying this bread, colonists developed their own version of the recipe, and the strawberry shortcake was created.

Ingredients

• frozen strawberries or strawberry preserves
• cornbread mix or cornbread batter (above)
• cream cheese

Instruction

1. Crush frozen strawberries or strawberry preserves into cornbread mix or the batter above.
2. Follow directions on the cornbread mix package or in the recipe above to cook the cornbread.
3. Serve with strawberry cream cheese with a few fresh strawberries on the side.

Geography Activity

1. While cornbread is baking, discuss the fact that cornmeal was something early settlers may have carried with them on their journey to the west.
2. Discuss what kinds of landforms and climates settlers may have come across on their journey (mountain, plateau, desert, etc.)
3. Use cornmeal to create a desert scene on construction paper.
4.  Students will smear a thin coat of glue, then sprinkle cornmeal on the glue.
5. Allow to dry.. 
6. Students will make rocks and cactus from construction paper or other medium (grass, leaves, pebbles, etc.)