The First of the Strawberry Creations

Where did the day go?

I know where it went; I did not get out of bed until 8:30.  I spent some time cleaning and slicing strawberries, then made breakfast.

By the time the dishes were done, I had putzed around on the internet for a while, and I realized just how lazy I was being, it was 11:30!  I had walking to do!

I am training for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for a Cure.  You walk 60 miles in 3 days, an average of 20 miles a day.   Today, I needed to walk 14.

4 hours.  Gone.

I know that The Universe will reward me in some way shape or form.  Hopefully by allowing me to complete the 3 Day injury and pain free!

Today was not pain free; word to the wise.  Do not pick strawberries then walk 14 miles.  I could barely take my shoes off when I was done!

By the time I got home, cleaned up,  a smoothie made and enjoyed, I still had a trip to the grocery store.  Despite my best intentions, it was 5:30 before I got home from the store.

As easy as it would have been to make the strawberry arugula salad I planned on yesterday, I needed something with a lot more protein for dinner.  A rotisserie chicken and lots of greens later, a salad was planned.

So, what did I make?

This strawberry rhubarb crisp!

I made a few changes.  I used 3 cups of rhubarb, 3 cups of strawberries, and I only made half the crisp.  Most crisps have too much crisps anyway.

Ha!  That was funny. I kill myself sometimes.

The crisp is my favorite part, but I only had 1/2 cup of brown sugar left.  C'est la vie.  Half the crisp it was!

I probably should taste it before I finish this post, but I need to finish this post before I taste it!

The approximate region my spoon will dive into shortly!

Such a lovely color!  Wish you could smell this!

Here are some stats!

Enjoy!

The Strawberry Mother Load!

My friend Bonnie was kind enough to invite me over to her house today to pick strawberries...and pick we did!

TJ (my 13 year old) came with; he was more interested in investigating everything on her property and asking a ton of questions!  Bonnie was great with him, and I laughed when at one point she left TJ speechless. A rarity indeed!

TJ when he wasn't chasing a cat, hitting at things with a stick or cutting rhubarb!

I didn't know that with our strawberries we would also be bringing home a ton of freshly cut rhubarb!  

The berries awaiting their bath and prep.

Call me crazy, but I think I may be spending tomorrow in the kitchen with these babies!

Some of these berries will be used to make an appearance in this salad courtesy of Mark Bittman.  Note to self: pick up more arugula tomorrow!  I was going to make kale salad to go with tomorrow night's dinner, but think I want to make this instead!  

Some will be hulled and frozen; I will use those to make our morning smoothies.  I am so hooked on smoothies for breakfast!  I use all frozen fruit and these will be great combined with frozen banana, protein powder, almond milk, and spinach.   Not all of the frozen ones will be used for smoothies; it will be nice to take some out of the freezer and whip up a quick strawberry shortcake when the berries are no longer local and in season.

Some of these berries and the rhubarb will go into a pie.  I learned tonight that Ben loves strawberry rhubarb pie.  I will need to spoil him with one tomorrow.   Can't wait to try this recipe I found on Tastespotting!

I also want to make an ice cream; I have what I refer to as the Ice Cream Bible, known more commonly as The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.    If you love making your own ice cream, get this book!  I am torn between a frozen strawberry yogurt or a Strawberry Sour Cream Ice cream.  There is even a recipe for strawberry rhubarb sorbet!

As you can tell, I am excited about these berries!  Honestly, I am most looking forward to having some fresh with breakfast tomorrow.  

Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday and I hope to come back tomorrow to share some of these creations!

Kel

Need to use up that CSA?

I have purchased shares in a CSA through work.  What's a CSA you say?

Community Supported Agriculture!

We get a box of organic veggies every week from now until October.  It is like a treasure chest of goodies!

This week we got radishes, carrots, arugula, green onions, red lettuce, butter lettuce, cilantro, parsley, rainbow swiss chard, kale and beets.

The big question becomes what shall I prepare?

The greens were easy; the lettuces got washed, dried, and made into salads for Ben and me today for lunch.  I added the radishes and some carrots along with some other vegetables I had from the fridge.

The kale is such an easy choice; I am making my favorite Tuscan Kale salad from True Foods in Arizona.  Nothing better than this!

The cilantro will go into avocado salsa.  I just chopped up a couple of avocados, cut up a couple of tomatoes, add fine dice of red onion, a jalapeno, juice from one lime, and chopped cilantro.  Delicious on a salad with some black beans tossed in too, or of course with chips.  Tasty with a margarita, too!

The beets. I didn't even have to think about it!  I immediately knew what I wanted to make.  No recipe to follow, but it came out great!

Pizza, of course! Specifically, Beet and goat cheese pizza with arugula salad.

When I came home last night, I scrubbed the beets, coated with a little olive oil, and wrapped in foil.  I cooked at 375 degrees for about an hour.  Let them cool, and then the skins peel right off.  I am a wimp by the way; I wear gloves when I handle them! They were ready to use tonight.

The pizza crust is one I have shared before; it is absolutely delicious.  Make it with white flour, wheat flour, wheat pastry flour; use whatever flour you want!  Just make it!

After work today, I headed to my favorite cheese shop, Surdyks; this happens to be attached to my favorite wine shop!  I sampled a couple of cheeses until I find the right goat cheese.  I wanted a semisoft and chose one from Spain.

Make the above dough, and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Slice the beets and place on the dough.  Cut, rather break up the goat cheese and scatter on the pizza.  I added some sliced green onion too.

I baked at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes.

In the meantime, I tossed the arugula in a tablespoon or so of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

When the pizza came out of the oven we sliced it, then topped it with the salad.

Here is the outcome!

Not thrilled with the lighting in my kitchen!

We dined on the "veranda" tonight.

It was so good!  In one recipe, I used the beets, the green onions and the arugula.  I also had another half slice without the arugula, and I have to tell you, it really is what made this pizza so good! The peppery bite of the arugula with the creaminess of the goat cheese, and the sweetness of the beets...looking forward to leftovers!

While we dined on the veranda, we talked about weekend plans.  I am headed out to go strawberry picking tomorrow, and sense a shortcake and some strawberry ice cream in my future!

Here are a couple pictures of Ben's flower pots; he has the green thumb in the family.  It really is nice to sit outside, enjoy our dinner, look at the flowers...oh, and watch cars not stop at the stop sign on the corner.  Just give me a badge.  I would make this town a mint.

I am now on twitter; not that I know what I am doing, but you can follow me!  Just look for kelbeaudoin and this picture!

Thanks for checking in!

Kel