WRITTEN ON June 10th, 2009 BY Meredith AND STORED IN Breakfast, Dessert, Fruit
Actually, that is an utter falsehood. I just lied through my teeth. Happy strawberries are categorically not all alike, I am just in a literary mood this morning. The best kind of strawberries, in-season strawberries, happy strawberries…are blissfully unalike. They’re fragrant, they’re local, and they’re bright red all the way through. The juice drips down your chin when you bite into one and each berry is different from the next. They have absolutely nothing in common with the homogeneous behemoths found in supermarkets all over the country in the middle of February (just in time for Valentine’s Day, another totally manufactured sham). Sure, you can get ‘em year round, but what’s the point? It’s like eating a tomato in January. You can eat it, but it tastes like…well. It’s strawberry season right now, and the tiny scarlet gems are popping up all over the country. Do yourself a favor. Get thee to a farmer’s market and buy some. Try the below preparation over ice cream or brownies or angel food cake. Or just eat them greedily in the car ride home, fingers stained a rosy hue. Breathe a sigh of relief and realize that when it comes to fresh food, you can have it all.
Berry Different
Balsamic Marinated Strawberries
1 pint fresh local strawberries
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup good, aged balsamic vinegar
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Remove green tops from berries, quarter. Place in a medium sized bowl, combine with other ingredients. Marinate for 30 minutes, serve plain, with vanilla ice cream, pancakes, brownies…the sky’s the limit!
2 Responses to “Happy Strawberries are all Alike…”
Meredith wrote on June 23rd, 2009 8:15 am :
I’d go with a simple biscuit recipe (check out Joy of Cooking, they are my staple and bible when I’m looking for something basic) and just a lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. Keep it easy and simple. Let the strawberries speak for themselves, you know? You could also do a sort of layer cake thing, with a thin layer of yellow sheet cake, whipped cream, thinly sliced strawberries, repeat maybe three times and then slices into squares! Happy birthday Kir! Have a good one.
I always mean to go pick fresh strawberries but never do. The joys of living in rural Upstate NY