Strawberries

For as long as I can remember, I've loved everything about strawberries - their taste, their smell, their color. The first book I could read front to back was a tale of Strawberry Shortcake and her sidekicks Apricot and Hopsalot. To this day I can't think of a better dessert than flaky biscuits with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream.

As usual when I went to the farmers market last week I bought too many strawberries (they were such a good deal!), so I had to come up with some other uses. Here's what I came up with.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries:












Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler:

Dad would be proud

Well, I promised my co-workers I would bring a breakfast treat for a meeting we had this week, so I took the opportunity to try something in a new cookbook, "A New Way to Cook" by Sally Schneider (I really like Schneider's food philosophy, but wasn't all that inspired by the book as a whole).

Anyway, I made Coriander and Orange Scented Scones (p. 375). I had never made scones before (although I am the daughter of a baker: http://www.fatboybakery.com/ , I frequently fail when it comes to baking things myself), but the recipe seemed pretty simple.

I followed the recipe pretty closely (although I omitted the coriander), but adapted the shaping and baking processes a little. After kneading the dough, I shaped it into a rough rectangle and cut it into 16 triangles (instead of the rounds Schneider suggests) because I wanted "mini" scones. I then placed them on a cookie sheet and put the whole thing in the freezer overnight. Then, I baked them (for about 20-25 minutes at 375 F) in the morning while I was getting ready for work. The freshly baked orange-scented currant-flecked nibbles were a huge hit at work! I can't wait to try some other varieties with this basic recipe - maybe ginger & lemon, cranberry & orange, chocolate chip & almond...any other ideas?

Delicious!

Yu-um! I'm not sure what was more delicious this morning - the breakfast I made or the photo I took of it with our new camera! I now have a new tool to further my obsession with food and writing and reading about it.

My first model was the breakfast I made for MO and myself on this beautiful Sunday morning: Poached Eggs over Fried Green Tomatoes and Toast. I dusted sliced green tomatoes* in cornmeal, then pan-fried them until golden brown. I messily poached some eggs (a technique that I definitely have to work on), layered them with the tomatoes on toast and topped it all with a mixture of chopped red tomatoes*, parsley*, a splash of champagne vinegar and s&p. It was delicious and fresh and we didn't even miss the rich hollandaise that would normally drown a dish like this at a restaurant.

* = from our garden!