Mom's Strawberry Shortcake

A slow and easy barbecue was on our agenda for Sunday – I’m finding it easy these days to do everything slow and easy. 

On weekends, for example, I linger over a cup of green tea or coffee for a few extra minutes. I eat a leisurely breakfast, then mosey on down to the nearest trail for exercise. 

 

After a midday social activity, perhaps, and definitely some lunch, I love a good nap. 30 minutes of delirious shut-eye, anywhere at all (even in the car), and I’m ready to eat and drink and talk the night away. 

Slow and easy.

This particular Sunday happened just that way. With perfectly grilled asparagus, German potato salad, and enough grilled Chicken to feed an army, six of us enjoyed a cool, candle-lit evening on my mom’s back porch. And let us not forget the jammy red wine from Paso Robles that kept us well hydrated. 

 

For dessert was Mom’s strawberry shortcake. Earlier that day, Elliott tried to tell us he didn’t much care for strawberry shortcake. We assured him it was because he hadn’t yet tried the real deal – strawberry shortcake made with the best biscuits on this side of California (said with a completely out-of-context Southern accent, of course). 

Forget soggy sponge cake! Our recipe for strawberry shortcake comes from the family cookbook – from my mother’s mother’s mother, to be exact. With juicy strawberries from your nearest farm, freshly whipped cream, and a flaky biscuit, you just can’t do strawberry shortcake wrong.

Happily, this is the only iPhone picture you get out of me today.

It’s easy: just take your favorite biscuit recipe and add a bit of freshly-grated nutmeg. It sounds like a simple addition, but it makes the biggest difference. Then toss a few cups of halved strawberries with sugar and lemon juice, allow to macerate for an hour in the fridge, whip up some cream until stiff peaks form, then… You know the rest. Assemble and devour to your heart’s content. 

I hope your summer is just as slow and easy as mine.

Apricot + Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Was it Mark Twain who said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco? I’m certainly not the first to assert this, nor will I be the last. City dwellers unite in their general disdain for the months of June and July, holding their breath for the glory of September and October, when the leaves turn golden to match the late-to-emerge sun. 

Boots and puffy vests are standard attire for mid-June. Umbrella? Probably. You may even get away with wearing a scarf at some point. 

 

All of this to say, I made some ice cream a few weeks back to remind me that it was, indeed, summer time. Finals were done, I had a bit of a break between activities, and a warm-weather treat seemed appropriate despite the fact that the weather wasn’t really warm. At all. But it did the trick, and at once I felt the carefree, easy-breezy “summerness” of my childhood returning. So while the rest of you are laying by the pool and basking in the best of the season’s sun, I’ll be up here in the city, eating my ice cream, dreaming of warmer days. 

A bit about this ice cream: I don’t have a fancy-shmancy ice cream maker, but of course I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying a homemade frozen treat. It only means that making ice cream is an all-day activity. The trick is to check on it every two hours, breaking up the ice and whisking the mixture so it stays creamy. Your arms will get a workout, but hey, it only means you can get away with eating more.

Apricot + Coconut Milk Ice Cream :: Makes 1 loaf pan

2 cans full-fat coconut milk
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
3 Tablespoons raw honey
6 apricots, pitted and chopped

- Place a large loaf pan in the freezer to chill while you prepare the mixture
- In a blender, puree all ingredients for about 1 minute
- Pour into prepared pan and place back into the freezer (optional: first line the pan with parchment paper, so that you can invert the frozen cream to remove it and slice like a semifreddo) 
- After 45 minutes, remove mixture from freezer and whisk vigorously to break up any ice that has formed; place back into the freezer
- Every 90 to 120 minutes thereafter, remove ice cream from the freezer and whisk to break up the ice and keep it creamy. You may only need to repeat the process twice.
- Once it's completely frozen, allow it to sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before scooping and serving.

Today, just this

We picked up our first basket of the season's strawberries this morning at the farmer's market, and naturally I couldn't wait to put them to good use. A chocolate smoothie for lunch, laced with a subtle tart-sweet tang from the fresh berries. Enjoy.

Strawberry Chocolate Smoothie :: Serves 2

1 cup nut milk or water

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

5 Tbsp cacao powder

1 scoop protein powder, optional

1 banana, fresh or frozen

6 fresh strawberries

3 Tbsp coconut cream (from the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk)

- Place all ingredients in a blender, in the order listed. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, then serve.

Banana Walnut Fudge

Growing up, Easter morning meant we were each greeted with a basket of jelly beans, chocolates, candies galore and a little toy or two. This breakfast of champions was followed by brunch or egg-hunting with friends, more sweets, and an afternoon sugar crash. 

I have nothing but fond and fun memories of my childhood Easters. But nowadays, if I tried to duplicate a day like that, I’d be on the floor by 10:30am in a sugar-induced coma. Nonetheless, the spirit of Easter persisted this year and a craving for something smooth and chocolaty had me whipping out the mixing bowls. 

 

Since I do my best to avoid sugar these days, this fudge is sweetened entirely with ripe bananas. The fruit puree is held together with walnuts and a bit of cocoa, and... that’s it. Three ingredients for a quick and delectable treat. Keeping with the tradition of years’ past, I ate most of it myself.

 

Banana Walnut Fudge :: Makes 24 squares

2 1/2 cups raw walnuts
3 ripe bananas
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

- Line an 8x8 glass baking dish with plastic wrap, and set aside.

- In a food processor, pulse 2 cups walnuts until a fine crumb is formed. Add the bananas and process until completely smooth. Add cocoa powder and process again until incorporated. Add remaining 1/2 cup walnuts and pulse a few times, just to chop. Leave them a bit chunky. 

- Spread mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish. Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours, until firm. Slice and serve immediately. Store in an airtight container, or wrapped tightly in plastic, in the freezer.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When it’s been raining for weeks, your mind is exhausted, you barely have time to think and you’ve just signed the lease on your first apartment, there’s really only one thing to do: bake cookies. 

How does one preface the chocolate chip cookie? There’s no real way that hasn’t been done before, so I’ll just jump right in and say that the occasion for these cookies is that I’m in need of some good, old-fashioned comfort food. The past few weeks have been pure insanity, and like I said before, I’m in the middle of a few rather monumental transitions. I need all the help I can get, and what better place to find it than in the kitchen?

 

Show me a childhood that isn’t accented by the sweet, chewy crumb of a perfect chocolate chip cookie and I’ll be baffled. Whether store-bought or lovingly homemade, they have soothed and comforted me in times of distress, come oatmeal-flecked and wrapped in shoeboxes to my Freshman dorm to remind me I have a mother who cares, replaced birthday cake when baked into squares, and somehow taste just as magical no matter how many culinary spins put on them (cranberries, white chocolate, walnuts...).

But because I’m slightly nostalgic for simpler times, the simplest version of cookie it was. The recipe for these cookies came about after I took a cruise around Elana’s Pantry in search of almond flour recipes. Mine is entirely different than hers, but she provided the inspiration I needed to dive into baking with almond flour. Full of protein, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals, blanched almond flour will not only please grain-haters, but will keep you satisfied with fewer cookies. 

At once strong and sweet and delicate, I doubt you’ll miss the all-purpose flour in these gooey treats. Once again, I find solace in the chocolate chip cookie... At least until Monday.

 

Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies :: Makes 24

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand) 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (measure after melting. Do not use microwave; double-boiler method does the trick) 
1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
3 Tablespoons raw honey 
1/3 cup water 
1 bar dark chocolate, chopped 
2 Tablespoons milled golden flaxseed 

1. Preheat oven to 350’. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine almond flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Stir together the melted oil, almond extract, honey and water until thoroughly combined.
4. Mix wet ingredients and chocolate chunks into the dry ingredients, folding a few times with a spatula. Batter will slightly runny.
5. Add milled flaxseed and incorporate. I did this to get the batter to thicken up a bit, so if 2 tablespoons isn’t enough for you, just keep adding a little at a time until batter has reached desired consistency.
6. Drop by the tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or more, until cookies have spread slightly and are golden on top. Bake longer than you think you need to! Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve. Please store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (I actually liked them better after they firmed up in the fridge).