Roasted Strawberry-Rhubarb Buckwheat Biscuit Cake

Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends! I have this to die for strawberry-rhubarb biscuit cake. Ah-mazing.

Before we get to the food, I have to share how difficult it has been to get this post up. My cat has been a relentless snuggle bean. I can't sit down without her showing up and climbing into my lap.

I often complain how she doesn't give me enough loving, finding it very hard to kick her off my lap. When she was too slow to get on my lap before my computer, she still climbs on. Sprawled out, one leg on the keyboard, belly up. Cuteness.

As I write this she is sitting on my belly giving me the stink-eye. She has obviously claimed my lap as her own and has some computer jealousy.

It may be that she knows her mother, me, is about to leave her for two weeks and she wants all the snuggles she can get before that day arrives.

Now about this cake, cobbler, fruit and biscuit situation. It is maybe the most delicious thing I've ever made. I had frozen strawberries from last summer and rhubarb from the farmers market.

If you are using frozen berries, be sure to drain them. If you don't, you'll end up with way too much liquid. Which is bad. We don't want that. Set them in a strainer overnight on the counter or in the refrigerator.

Did I mention how easy this is to make? It took like 45 minutes all together, including dishes. The cake was gone in about the same amount of time. Remember, this is a judge free zone.

The biscuits come together really quickly, they are fairly doughy and dense, not so light and fluffy, but it worked for me. Using all white flour is totally acceptable.

I sort of just used what I had on hand. You could substitute creme fraiche or sour cream for the yogurt.

Roasting the fruit results in a super jammy and buttery consistency. I would have slathered it all over myself, if I had more of it. That is right, it is that good.

It is so good you want to sit down all alone, dim the lights and turn on your favorite cooking show and savor the moment.
xo
April

Ingredients:
for the fruit:
2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen, if frozen, defrost and drain first
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons butter
for the biscuits:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into quarter inch cubes
1/2 cup full fat greek yogurt or creme fraiche
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds removed and scraped
for the egg wash:
1 large egg
splash of water or milk
brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven, preheat the oven to 375F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the first six ingredients for the fruit, tossing to fully coat the fruit. Place the fruit mixture into an 8-inch oven proof skillet or metal baking dish, placing small pads of butter on top of the fruit. Place in the oven to roast for 12 to 15 minutes. While the fruit roasts, prepare the biscuit dough.
3. To make the biscuits, in a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cold butter and vanilla bean seeds and use your fingers to quickly break the butter down into the flour and sugar mixture. Some of the butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes, others will be the size of small peas.
4. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the cold yogurt . Stir with a spoon. The mixture will be rather wet. Shape the dough into a rough disk, dividing the dough into 6 pieces. Brush the top of each biscuit with the egg wash (whisk together one egg with a splash of milk or water) and top with brown sugar.
5. Remove the strawberries from the oven and carefully place the biscuits over the hot strawberries. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the biscuits are cooked through and the biscuits are golden.
6. Remove from the oven, allow to cool until the strawberries are no longer bubbling, and serve warm.

Strawberry and Mixed Greens Salad

A couple of months ago I shared by go-to lunch salad, a sweet potato and mixed greens salad.  Honestly, after eating it almost daily for a month straight, my love for that salad faded (don't worry, I'm sure I will become obsessed again in the future because it's too tasty not too!)

Recently I decided to revamp it a bit to make it a little less wintery, and a little more springy.  While it's nowhere near strawberry season in Wisconsin, it must be it other places because they're all over at the grocery store in a rich red color and at such great prices!  Fresh, sweet strawberries replace the cinnamon honey roasted sweet potatoes while a salty, light feta steps in for the tangy goat cheese crumbles.  This salad is also topped with a sprinkling of craisins and a small handful of pecans.  If you're looking for a little more protein to round out this salad, go ahead and throw on some grilled chicken or some quinoa.  Feel free to customize with whatever you have on hand!

As you can see, after I photographed this beauty I threw it in a tupperware to take for my work lunch.  I suggest keeping the dressing separate if you're doing this as the balsamic vinaigrette can really eat away at the lettuce and by lunchtime it'll be really soggy.  If you don't have little dressing containers like I do, I'm intrigued with the mason jar salads as well.  If you're going to do that, I would suggest putting the dressing in first, then top with the pecans, craisins and feta, then throw in the strawberries and put the lettuce on top.  If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups spring mix lettuce (or other choice of greens)
• 1/4 cup strawberries, quartered
• 2 tablespoons craisins
• 2 tablespoons feta, crumbled
• 1/8 cup pecans (or other choice of nut)
• 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Spread spring mix lettuce over large plate or bowl.
2. Top with strawberries, craisins, feta and pecans.
3. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.
4. Toss and enjoy!

If you like this salad, you may also like:

• Mixed Greens with Roasted Beets, Pomegranate Dressing and Goat Cheese
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Warm Tomato, Arugula and Bacon Panzanella Salad

Boozy Roasted Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

Summer is in full swing and we thought you could all use some recipes to help cool you off in the heat.

To kick off this months theme, Frozen Treats, I have some boozy roasted strawberry lemonade pops for us. I guess I just could not let go of last month's strawberry theme, but these popsicles really just make sense.

They bring together classic summer drinking. Everyone loves lemonade and why not add strawberries for some color and extra flavor. Then add some vodka and you have real easy summer living happening. Then freeze it all. Its a wonderful thing.


This recipe is actually perfect for this time in Wisconsin;s strawberry season. They won't be around much longer at Wisconsin farmers markets or you have more strawberries in your fridge than you know what to do with.

Like I have mentioned in a previous post, roasting strawberries is great for less than perfectly ripe strawberries (which is common with store bought berries) or too ripe strawberries. You know when they loose some of their firm juicy quality and become less pleasant to eat and will probably go bad within the next day. That is what I'm talking about when I say too ripe.

If you happen to be using local strawberries and they are on the smaller side, I would cut them in halves instead of quarters. When you roast the berries, I strongly recommend using parchment paper. I found that they stuck to tin foil.

While you roast the strawberries, start squeezing your lemons. I think squeezing your own lemons is really worth the effort. I got this amazing lemon squeezer. Amazing. It was so easy. You should get one. You won't regret it.

Heat up some water to add to your freshly squeeze lemon juice, just hot enough to dissolve some honey. Let is cool off before you add the vodka. We wouldn't wanted any of it to evaporate, duh. If you want to make these booze free for youngsters, just replace the vodka with water. No big deal.

You will fill up your popsicle molds, leaving about 1/2-inch at the top. Plop the strawberries on top of the lemonade. Some of them will sink. Some will not. The stawberries will bleed their juices into the lemonade, turning it a pretty red-pink.

Get them in the freezer. Let them chill out for a bit and then get some sticks in them. I opt to use wooden sticks, rather than the plastic things that came with my molds. I think it looks cuter and they are easy to devour.

I hope you give these a try! Maybe for Fourth of July weekend? Probably. I think it also wouldn't hurt to mix up a vodka lemonade and dip you popsicle into it, like a giant flavored ice cube. You know you want to.

Cheers,
April

Makes 6 popsicles
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pints strawberries, quartered
2 teaspoons honey
Zest of one lemon

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon honey
4 1/2 tablespoons vodka

Popsicle mold (I use this one)
6 wooden popsicle sticks

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss strawberries, honey and lemon zest to coat. Spread strawberries evenly on prepared baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
2. While the strawberries roast, combine warm water, lemon juice and honey, whisking to dissolve the honey. Let cool slightly. Transfer the cooled strawberries to a dish and transfer as much of their juices to the water and lemon juice mixture (I used a spatula to pool the juices together on the parchment paper and poured it into the mixture. It wasn't much). Finally, add the vodka (if you choose not to use vodka, replace it with 1/4 cup water). Prepare you popsicle mold.
3. Fill each popsicle mold about 3/4 of the way, with the lemon mixture. Top off each popsicle mold with roasted strawberries. 
4. Place the molds in the freezer for about an hour (or until firm enough to keep a popsicle stick upright) and then place a popsicle stick in each mold. Freeze for 12 hours before enjoying.

2 years ago: Grown Up Pink Lemonade

Strawberry Moscato Lemonade

I had the full intention of wrapping up Strawberry Month with a nice refreshing strawberry pie.  One thing led to another and there was no pie to be found but I did find myself sipping on this strawberry moscato lemonade while watching The Bachelorette on Monday night.

Let's talk The Bachelorette for a quick second.  Any other fans out there?  Let me just say that I'm surprised she kept Cody around this long.  And that Marcus is a little too clingy.  The dude said he loved her on like week four.  Also, I just do not see Andi moving to Iowa to live on a farm.  Let's be real.

But back to this sweet pink drink (see what I did there.)  My sister has made this drink on a couple of occasions and it was a hit with the ladies and men alike.  It's perfect for an event like a bridal shower where you want a drink without too much alcohol in it.  If you'd like to give it a little extra kick, feel free to add some vodka; I'd suggest strawberry, lemon or plain.  Looking for something similar but don't have much of a taste for wine?  Try this Grow Up Pink Lemonade we shared a couple of years ago.

In case you missed the rest of Strawberry Month, check out these recipes for Strawberry Banana Bread, Baked Brie with Strawberries, Almonds and Balsamic Vinegar,  and Strawberry Jam.  Check back soon to see what July's theme will be!

Cheers!
Kelsey

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle pink moscato
• 1 container frozen strawberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 3 cups lemon lime soda
• Strawberries and lemon slices for garnish
• (Optional) 1/4-1/2 cup vodka

Directions:

1. Stir together moscato, thawed lemonade concentrate and soda in a pitcher.
2. Garnish with strawberries and lemon slices as desired. (Frozen strawberries double as great ice cubes!)

2 Years Ago: Beet, Blue Cheese & Arugula Pizza

Strawberry Jam

June is Strawberry month and what better way to celebrate than with jam! When we decided to feature strawberries for June, I had no idea what to make. I wanted to think outside the box, but not too far from it that I would end up short of a delicious recipe. So, I went to a super handy source for my recipe, Pinterest! Although I found a few strawberry recipes worth trying, today I have for you the easiest strawberry jam on the planet. It has to be the easiest because I was able to make it.

I know nothing about making jam or canning. But this recipe is so easy and you most likely have the whole 3 ingredients needed on hand. Although a quick and fool-proof recipe, it does not fall short on flavor. It's strawberry goodness would go great on top of any toast or english muffin. Yum!

recipe found on scattered thoughts of a crafty mom

Ingredients

16 oz. strawberries (or one normal size container found at grocery stores)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

yup, thats it!

Instructions

1. Remove stems of strawberries and coarsely chop

2. Place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in blender and puree until blended to your liking

3. Pour mixture into sauce pan over medium heat. Allow sugar to dissolve

4. Heat at medium to high heat, stir often. Allow mixture to boil rigorously, about 10 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches about 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The mixture should reduce and become thickened and darker in color.

5. Fill mixture into a half pint jar. Let cool before sealing or cover and use within 10 days. Keep in refrigerator.
6. Enjoy over your favorite toast or other food!

Bon Appétit!
Brittany

Baked Brie with Strawberries, Almonds and Balsamic Vinegar

Strawberry month continues! I have not been able to keep my mind off of strawberries. Its been all strawberry this strawberry that all up in my noggin lately.

I'm working on a frozen treat involving strawberries, but it needs a bit more work. Joy the Baker is having a "Baking Boot Camp" and I made this triple berry cinnamon swirl bread. Hopefully I can tweak some of the things I've been working on and share them with you all!

I want to roast all the strawberries there ever were and devour them. If you've never tried roasting fruit, you should. No pressure, but really you should. I also just ordered a ice cream maker. I'm giddy about it. Maybe there will be a roasted strawberry ice cream situation in the future. At the very least there will be buckets of ice cream in my future.

Now for the real strawberry situation at hand, strawberries and cheese. This is a pretty simple, easy and straightforward gooey, salty, tangy and cheesy situation. My first go around at making this resulted in spilled cheese, which is better than spilled milk. Promise. You can still eat spilled cheese.

I tweaked a few things to prevent a spilled cheese situation from happening again. I went for less liquid for the strawberries and created a balsamic glaze instead.

As I tend to do, there is not much added sugar to the strawberries. I like the tartness. The exposed top makes this almost a cross between a gallette and traditional baked brie. Leaving the opening at the top allows the strawberries to become sort of like roasted strawberries - jammy, melty and tart.

The balsamic adds a nice sharp tang on top, while the toasted almonds add a crunch. The pepper is not at the forefront here, but I do think it adds a little something. You could always add more pepper, if you wanted a real peppery kick.

You won't want to drizzle all of the balsamic glaze over the baked brie all at once, but reserve some for you and your friends to drizzle on as much or little as they want. I won't judge though if you just eat this all by yourself. I begrudgingly shared with my father because well he is my father.

Cheers,
April 

Ingredients:
For the brie: 
8oz strawberries, sliced into quarters
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

For the balsamic glaze:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper

Egg wash:
1 large egg, beaten in a small bowl, with a splash of water

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
2. Combine strawberries, balsamic vinegar, honey, flour and black pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Slice the rind off of the top of the brie and set aside.
4. Lightly flour your surface with flour and roll out the thawed puff pastry to a 12" by 12" (being a little shy of 12" is better than being to wide/thin). Trim off the corners to make a circle/oval (using a 10" plate is a useful guide, but you want your circle to be slightly larger than 10").
5. Place the brie in the center of the dough. Drain the strawberries, reserving the juice for later. Add the strawberries on top of the brie (it may seem like they won't all fit and if a few fall along the sides of the brie, that is okay).
6. Fold the edges of the dough over in small sections, overlapping as you go. Brush it all over with egg wash.
7. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Allow the baked brie to cool for 10 minutes. Place slivered almonds on tin foil and place in oven, until golden and nutty, about 3 to 5 minutes.
8. While the brie is cooling, lets make the balsamic glaze. To a small saucepan, set over medium heat, mix together the reserved strawberry juice, honey, balsamic vinegar and pepper. Simmer for 3-6 minutes, until slightly thickened and sweet. Turn off the heat and drizzle a little over the baked brie. Garnish with a few slivered almonds; serve with remainder of almonds, glaze and crackers. 

Two years ago: Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Strawberry Banana Bread

Here at Badger Kitchen headquarters we are officially declaring June to be Strawberry Month!  Check back each Wednesday this month for a new recipe using strawberries.  We're kicking off the month with this recipe for strawberry banana bread.

I finished my undergrad degree about a year ago now and having been working in the professional world (well part of the time working on getting into the professional world) ever since.  I've always enjoyed learning and generally speaking liked going to classes, but the main part of school that I do not miss is spending my free time studying.  Evenings that are free to do whatever I want you say?  Sold.

Which is why when I signed up to take the LSAT exam, it has been a little bit of a struggle to get back into studying mode.  No, I don't really want to come home from a day of work and spend my free time studying, but I better if I want to do well on this test!  Which is why I had been studying a little bit here and there for a while, but as the the test date is quickly approaching it has become my free time.

So when world collided this weekend and I had ripe bananas sitting on the counter, fresh strawberries in the fridge and was looking for a reason to take a study break, this strawberry banana bread was born.  If I had wanted to take a trip to the grocery store I would've made a healthier version, throwing in some applesauce and greek yogurt, but I had all the ingredients for this version already so I went with it.  I can at least pretend it's healthier since I didn't throw any chocolate chips in, right?

The strawberries add a nice twist to your typical banana bread recipe.  The banana flavor isn't super strong, so if that's the way you like it then perfect, otherwise you may want to try and sneak in another banana.  I had intended to freeze half the loaf but it made such a great study snack that before I knew it, it was almost gone anyways.

I hope you enjoy!

Kelsey

Recipe from Chew Out Loud

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup salted butter, melted

Directions

1. In a bowl, toss sliced strawberries with granulated sugar, making sure all are coated.  Let sit.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a loaf pan.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. In a separate large bowl, beat eggs until slightly foamy.  Mix in vanilla, brown sugar and melted butter.  Add in macerated strawberries and mashed bananas.
5. Using a rubber spatula, fold flour mixture into wet mixture until dry ingredients are just mixed in.
6. Scrape into prepared loaf pan and bake for an hour, with additional time if needed so that toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs.
7. Let bread cool in pan on wire rack.  Wait until fully cooled before removing.

Two Years Ago: Caramel Oatmeal Chewies

Strawberry-Rhubarb Hand Pies with a Rye Crust

I'm back in the game people. My photography may have taken a bit of a hit, but I can still cook. Promise. It only took me six something months to get back into the blogging, just as I'm packing to move, going to Thailand and starting graduate school. This all happens in the next like month and half. Blogging is a good way for me to feel productive while I procrastinate. At a certain point I'm going to have to give in and pack up my kitchen.

I have about two weeks to pack up three years of crap. A lot of junk. I don't like to get rid of things. You just never know when you might shrink (I'm an pretty tall lady) a little bit and that dress you accidentally put in the drier might be appropriately long enough to wear again. These are the things I tell myself.

The kitchen is the easiest place for me to get rid of things. Lots of brilliant plans to clean out the pantry and liquor cabinet. Food and booze is what I am good at. And you can consume it and easily replace it again, unlike your dress that you can no longer even sit down in with out showing the world your business.

Today I decided I'm going to have a I'm moving less than two miles down the road party. There will be lots of rice, beans and punch. I have a ridiculous amount of liquor with maybe a few shots left in it. Some sort of punch will be delicious. I'm really proud of this idea, if you couldn't tell. You're all invited.

Now onto these hand pies. These are perfect for a picnic, pie on the go or when you are out of clean dishes. These come out being not to sweet. If you aren't into desserts, you may enjoy these. If you like your pie sweet, add more sugar. You will also have a little extra filling left, but that is okay. Put it on some ice cream or just eat it. It made me very happy to do that, so I can only imagine it will do the same for you.

The addition of rye flour adds a nice earthiness to the crust. You don't have to use rye, its just a fancy twist. This crust also is pretty amazing. Everything about its texture is perfect. All sorts of flaky goodness. The crust also is not overly sweet, again add more sugar or replace the rye flour with all-purpose. You will get a more sweet and less savory-esque crust. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and hopefully I will be back with another post before September!

xo
April

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/4 inch cubes
3/4 cup water, cold, separated

Filling:
1 pound rhubarb, diced
2 cups strawberries, quartered
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:
1 large egg beaten with a splash of water (for the egg wash)
Granulated or turbinado sugar

Instructions:

1.  In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, rye flour, sugar, salt and cardamom, pulsing to combine. Add the butter cubes to the food processor and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed and resemble the size of small peas. Add 1/2 cup of water; pulse the dough together until it just begins to clump together. The dough will be shaggy. Add one tablespoon at a time until it starts to come together.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl of the food processor and place it on a lightly floured counter. Knead the dough a few times until it comes together and shape it into a mound. Shape the disc into 2 discs and wrap them in plastic wrap; transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour or overnight.
3. While the dough is chilling, make the filling! To a medium saucepan, add the strawberries, corn starch, sugar, salt, cardamom and nutmeg. Over medium heat cook the mixture for 5 minutes, until the fruit has softened. Depending on your fruit, there may be a bit of liquid and this is okay.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove one of the discs of dough from the refrigerator. Liberally flour your work surface and rolling pin. Begin to roll the dough, being sure to rotate it every so often to avoid sticking, to a 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut circles out. Repeat the process with the second disc of dough. You should end up with about 12 circles of dough.
5. Spoon a small amount of the fruit mixture into the center of the dough, leaving about 3/4-inch space around the edges. Brush egg wash along the edges of each of the dough circles. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges to seal. Using the tines of a fork, sealing the edges. Repeat the process until all of the hand pies are made. Transfer the pies to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Brush the tops of the hand pies with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake the pies for 15-17 minutes, until the tops and edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Eat warm or room temperature.

Grandma Spencer's Strawberry Spinach Salad

Yesterday was my dad, the "Big Man's", birthday.  In our family we don't go all out or anything for birthdays, but we did all head over to Mom and Dad's house to have a nice family dinner.  Mom had to work late yesterday and my offer of making dinner was turned down because it would've apparently taken too much time so we ended up ordering pizza for dinner.  As a nice little side to go along with our pizza I decided to make this strawberry spinach salad.

This salad is a family favorite.  When we were kids (well maybe not my brother who also wouldn't eat ketchup) we would always gobble it up even though it was full of spinach!  My Grandma Spencer used to always make it and it was a recipe that we made sure to get from our grandpa once she had passed away.  Now we make it for special dinners every once in a while or it's also great to take to pot lucks as well. 

And in case you were wondering, there was no cake for dessert, Dad is not a big cake person.  Instead we had brownies, his all time favorite.  My sister Avery made the brownies and added pecans to half of them because that's the way dad likes them.  (Well Dad would prefer the whole pan have nuts but some other people in the family are picky.)  

Ingredients

• 12 oz fresh baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cider or raspberry vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced

Directions

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, green onion, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or longer.)
2. Toast sesame seeds at 350 degrees for about ten minutes (150 for about 5 minutes in a toaster oven.)
3. Toss spinach, sesame seeds, dressing, and strawberries in a large bowl.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

The roomie and I went on a Target run the other day. Honestly I don't remember what we needed in the first place, but we for sure left with more junk than we needed. Target, the best place ever. Anyways, we were in the refrigerator aisle, with the Jell-O. Turns out she really likes the Jello-O Mousse Temptations. Personally I think they are sick. Your spoon leaves a perfect indent where you scooped, the texture is all wrong and the list goes on. Maybe I deserved her next comment after sharing my thoughts on Jell-O Mousse. She compared my butterscotch pudding to these pre-packaged mousse puddings. That right there is a total food foul, an insult!

The moral of the above story is comparing my food to packaged, processed food is not the way to make me like you. She won't be hearing the end of that one for awhile. A better way to make me your best friend is to tell me its the best you ever had, like this shortcake. A friend told me this shortcake is better than his aunts. Score! That is saying a lot too, when the family gathering is centered around strawberries. Those are the sorts of food praises I never forget. Why you ask is it the best?

This shortcake is not your overly crumbly or dry shortcake. It is super moist and a cross between dense and fluffy. The perfect shortcake. The outside has a slightly crunch sugar coating from sprinkling the pan and top of the cake with sugar. Try it out for yourself, I promise you will like it. Who knows, maybe it will even be the best shortcake you have ever had!

xo

April

From Epicurious
Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart strawberries; rinsed, hulled and sliced
Sugar, depending on their sweetness

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch diameter pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Sprinkle bottom and sides of pan with sugar; tap out any excess sugar. Whisk flour, baking powder, and sugar in a medium bowl. Using a stand mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, cream cheese, and butter to blend. Beat milk, eggs and vanilla in a measuring cup to blend. Beat milk mixture into cream cheese mixture. Add dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over top of the batter. 
2. Bake until the cake is golden brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan, on a rack.
3. For the strawberries, add enough sugar for the desired sweetness. Let strawberries stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or until some of their juices are released.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

For Mother's Day this year I volunteered to make dessert for our family dinner and asked my Mom what she wanted me to make.  She said anything with rhubarb.  Ironically, I had just been telling my roommates about how I was going to buy rhubarb the next time I went to the farmer's market and make a strawberry-rhubarb pie.  I borrowed Brittany's pie pan and off I was making my first ever pie!  The family gave it rave reviews.  Unfortunately, the lattice top did not permit for attractive pictures after the pie was cut.

Recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 2 9-inch pie crusts (I used store bought crusts)
• 3 1/2 cups 1/2 inch thick slices trimmed rhubarb (about 1 1/2 lbs untrimmed)
• 1 16-ounce container of strawberries, cut in half with green leaves removed (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg yolk beaten to blend, mixed with 1 teaspoon water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.  Gently toss.
3. Place one pie crust in a 9-inch pie dish.  Depending on your pie dish there should be some overhang.  Trim overhang to about 3/4 of an inch.
4. Spoon filling into crust.
5. Lay the other pie crust out on the counter and cut into 14 strips about 1/2-3/4 inch wide.
6. Now make the lattice top.  Lay every other strip evenly spaced across the pie.  Fold back every other strip and lay a new strip down in the opposite direction.  Fold strips back.  Fold back the other strips and place a new one down.  Repeat until the remaining seven strips have been woven in.  Trim excess dough from strips. (Watch a video on how to make a lattice top here.)
7. Tuck any excess crust or strips under and seal crust.  Crimp decoratively as desired.
8. Brush egg and water mixture over top of pie.
9. Place pie pan on a baking pan in case pie filling overflows.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 25 minutes.  Let cool.

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

The weather today is gorgeous, so Nate and I decided to do some studying outside.  I'm in finals studying mode and a little treat while studying is always good for the brain and provides me with a little extra motivation.  What better treat to enjoy on a warm, sunny day but a smoothie (or maybe a cold beer)!  

These are the ingredients and approximate measurements that I used when making my smoothies.  I use a small blender, like a Silver Bullet, so each amount makes about one smoothie, depending on the size of your glasses.  Feel free to adjust measurement amounts to create the consistency you prefer.  It would also be very yummy adding different types of frozen berries!

Ingredients

• 8 - 12 frozen strawberries
• 2/3 of a banana
• 2/3 cup low-fat frozen yogurt
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• Other frozen berries (optional)

Directions

1. Add about half of ingredients to small blender and blend for 30-60 seconds. (I usually add the frozen strawberries last so they're closest to the blade to make sure they get well blended.)
2. Add the rest of ingredients and continue blending.
3. Pour in a glass and enjoy!