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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Think Strawberries think summertime.

This juicy red fruit is actually not a fruit or a vegetable but a pseudo-fruit! The botanical explanation is a bit convoluted so I'll leave it at that.




As my strawberry patch is very new I won't be blessed with too many this year, but I do have some mature alpine strawberries which are so decorative & add to the prettiness of any dessert. I planted them for my grandson, he said they were just for the fairies to eat, but I do recall him helping himself too!




My neighbour very kindly gave us a basket of strawberries from her garden, intoxicatingly sweet & smelling of sunshine, I headed to the kitchen tout suite to create some fruity delights. First I made a simple sponge cake, sandwiched with lashings of strawberry jam. Then I made everyone's favourite, meringues topped with a dollop of cream & of course berries. Accompanied with a glass of purree'd strawberries, crushed ice & lemonade with a sprig of mint for colour. Alcohol & strawberries are a match made in heaven, just sliced & popped into ice cubes with water makes a very pretty addition to a jug of Pimms. I am particularly partial to a Kir Royale, strawberries Cassis & icy cold Champagne the height of decadence.  






Last night I made some home-made ice cream, I didn't get the chance to take a picture as it was demolished in 5 minutes flat. The list of what this versatile pseudo-fruit can be used is endless, & quite frankly just eaten individually is hard to beat. I do have a favourite salad which is simple but looks special, scatter some pretty lettuce on a plate with thin sliced fennel, smoked salmon ribbons, & sliced strawberries, dress with a raspberry vinaigrette & lots of ground black pepper to bring the flavour out of the strawberry yummy!

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