strawberry picking

A few weeks ago, I convinced Josh to go strawberry picking with me. You absolutely cannot beat the taste of fresh berries right off the plant. We had a blast and "taste tested" quite a bit along the way. I think we ended up picking 7 pounds.. which means i had plenty to put in the freezer.











Tell me these aren't the most perfect looking berries you've ever seen!
(which is why i couldnt stop taking pictures of them)

Individual strawberry rhubarb crisps

Another strawberry recipe, and there is at least one more on the way. This time I had some rhubarb (I hadn't had it in years!) and a craving for a fruity dessert. I forgot how good strawberry and rhubarb is together. They were made for each other. (Funny side story: When I was buying the rhubarb, the lady behind me asked if it was pink celery. Hm.)

I made these in individual ramekins for easy portion control but you could also use an 8x8 baking dish.

Strawberry rhubarb crisp
(makes 7-8 individual crisps)

3 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 cups rhubarb, diced
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (1/4 was plenty sweet for me)

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup earth balance (or butter), cold

Mix strawberries, rhubarb and sugar together and let sit 10 minutes. Divide among ramekins or 8x8 baking dish.

Mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and earth balance (butter) until crumbly. And sprinkle over the fruit mixture evenly. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until golden.

Strawberry vanilla agua fresca (with honey) and booing hot weather

This is me booing the hot weather. I'm not a fan of the heat and humidity that the Georgia summer brings. Especially with the A/C in our car broken. Yuck! (One good thing about summers here, it storms at least once a week! Sometimes more.. and i'm always down for a loud, rainy storm)

But the heat means swimming! And we've been getting to do a lot of it. My favorite time to swim is at night.. its peaceful and so relaxing. My husband has been running with me (even though he hates it. points for him!!) and nothing is better than jumping in the pool and be weightless after a LONG run.

The heat also means drinking more water! I like changing things up with agua fresca. It's easy to do and a nice change from a normal glass of ice water. And the strawberries are so good right now, I can't stop putting them in everything. (which you'll be seeing soon)

Strawberry vanilla agua fresca with honey
makes 1 pitcher

1 pound strawberries, hulled
4 cups ice-cold water, divided
scant 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey (or sugar, if you prefer)
Ice, for serving

In a blender/food processor, combine the strawberries with 2 cups of the water and the vanilla extract. Puree until completely liquid. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or through cheesecloth into a pitcher.

2. Stir in the remaining 2 cups water, lemon juice and honey. Taste and adjust honey to your preference

Speaking of strawberries, my hair was quite literally strawberry "blonde" last weekend. I'm in the process of going back to blonde and red is SO hard to get out. I've bleached it three times so far and my hair is not happy. Thank goodness for reconstructing treatments! I hope to only have to bleach one or two more times to be to the color I want. For now I'm just embracing this weird/awful color.