Wednesday, August 13, 2008

More Strawberries....



Well, we ended up making good use of our 16 quarts of strawberries and except for the 2 bags I froze, they are gone. But I think I know where I could score some more........

Father's Day fell shortly after our strawberry picking so I decided that strawberries were definitely going to be on the menu. I made a special desert that I've never made before - strawberry shortcake. When I think of dessert, I tend to think in terms of chocolate, but as the years pass, I've begun to think beyond chocolate and embrace other kinds of dessert.........and with delicious results.


This recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food sounded delicious and looked easy to make - my kind of recipe. I also loved that the recipe called for making shortcake biscuits, creating individual shortcake portions. Somehow desserts just seem more special when everyone gets their very own portion with no slicing or cutting.

Shortcake biscuits are somewhat scone-like. They are subtly sweet and a bit crumbly, so be sure to let them cool completely and cut them with a very sharp and/or serrated knife. The biscuits are topped with strawberries that have been steeped with sugar to bring out their juices, followed dollop of homemade whipped cream with just a touch of vanilla. Top it off with the other half of the biscuit and you have a beautiful little dessert portion that comes together in no time.

This dessert was extra special because not only did we make it with strawberries we picked ourselves, I also scored some cream from a local dairy at our local farmer's market and used eggs from a small organic farm in our county that sells to a natural foods store in our area.

For a different twist on strawberry shortcake, check out eggs on sunday's twist involving chocolate. Too bad I didn't see that post before I made these! But then again, I'm trying to branch out, right?

More on our Father's Day menu to come....including a delicious basil-stuffed scallop recipe....