More strawberries! And more crumble bars. These really are my “go to” thing when I need something quick and delicious, minimal effort, maximum output. And it helps if you just went strawberry picking an have homemade jam. This variety also has a bit of lemon zest in the shortbread and believe it or not, a little bit of thyme. No, it doesn’t taste “herby” though. 🙂
So every year, as always, I go Pick-Your-Own Strawberry Picking at Russell Orchards in Ipswich. This year was a little different as mask wearing and social distancing were required even on the farm, but overall it felt fairly normal and it was great to be out there. This means, of course, that I am working on this year’s strawberry treats — two varieties of jam-packed jam — Strawberry Elderflower and Strawberry Vanilla Bean. Both are delicious, unique and have a crazy level of fruit!
In the mood for pie but can’t be bothered to make a pie crust? Yes, that means it’s cobbler time — dessert these evening with ice cream. Puffy vanilla batter on self-picked strawberries from Russell Orchards and rhubarb from the Farm Stand. It was a little overly juicy, but that wasn’t really a problem. 🙂
Sticking to the All the Proteins!! theme, but going plant-based this time, here is a recipe for Honey Chipotle Snacking Nuts. I know, I know, I usually make candied nuts around Christmas time, no they are great around the campfire or on the beach too, so why not do a summer version? A little bit sweet, a little bit spicy and a whole lot of snack-worthy!
Switching gears here for a minute from All the Proteins!! Week, I wanted to show you these “overthought” hand pies. You see, today is of course Juneteenth. I must admit that until I attended grad school some 25 years ago in someplace other than New England or Germany, I never really paid much attention to a whole lot of Black history — a fault that I will admit and have hopefully rectified. I’ll spare you the details of my grad school work except to say that it was eye-opening. In addition, I think that most of you know that I find cultural meaning and shared common beliefs through food — yes, for me, almost everything comes back to the food, whether it be Independence Day or Christmas. I did some more details research on the food traditions of Juneteenth, which is often celebrated with a menu of red foods to represent the perseverance of the enslaved. No, these Blackberry Peach Hand Pies aren’t red – there will be red on the menu soon as Strawberry week starts on Monday (and I have taken the day off to go Strawberry picking) — but they are a combination of ideas: Pies, and hand pies, a commonality between North and South, though these are inspired by a recipe from a little Georgia bakery. Peaches are common to both GA and TX. And I will always go back to Breaking Bread with family and friends as an important part of community building.