Strawberry Maple Floats

OMG strawberries!

I love eating seasonally because I love how nature is like nope, nope, nope, YEP!  And then floods you with something delicious.  And you gorge and gorge and gorge on it because once it's gone you won't see it again for a whole year.

Like everything does, it starts on the farm.

Little baby berries peeking through green leaves.

Fields and flowers and a cloudless sky.

That barn was full of bunnies.  Baby likes bunnies.

My kid are enthusiastic strawberry pickers, but inevitably derailed by the 'eat all you want in the fields' rule.  They contributed about 2 cups of berries.

So I bought a flat to supplement.

Now...what to make with 24 cups of strawberries?

Like I even had to wonder!  Jam, shortcake and hand pies for starters.

But first, something to take the heat off after a day in the fields.

Strawberry maple floats!

It's easy.  It's foamy.  And it tastes like the sweetest part of the most fragrant strawberry you've ever had.

It's even healthy!  Sweetened with maple, the ice cream is homemade with coconut cream in place of whipped (of course you could 100% use normal).

To strawberry season!

Strawberry Maple Floats
Makes 2 cups

2 cups water
2 cups fresh strawberries (frozen will also do in a pinch)
Juice of half a lemon
Handful fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup maple syrup
Soda water
Vanilla ice cream

First, make the syrup.  Bring the water, strawberries, mint, maple and lemon to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain out mint leaves, lemon (I squeezed it out then just threw the whole thing in there), and strawberry pulp.  Mush the strawberry pulp through the strainer to get as much berry goodness as possible.

Return syrup to a boil, reduce to a simmer and leave for 20 minutes or until reduced by half.  You should have about 2 cups of syrup.

To assemble floats:
Put desired amount of ice cream in glass.  Pour about a thumb's depth of syrup on top.  Add soda water until foamy and luscious.  Glug glug glug.