The fruit is always gorgeous, fragrant, and so pretty to look at. It really should be consumed within the first few days after we pick it up at the market or it starts to look drab and necessitates being baked into something. I have no excuse for letting some of their perfect berries go to waste. I know. I feel terrible. I just couldn't think of anything more to do with those strawberries, and I'm the big fruit eater around here and I was sick for a couple of these weeks with zero appetite.
Here's what we've been eating and (in some cases) tossing:
Week 7: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
Week 8: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
Week 9: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, apricots
Our recipes over the last few weeks have been uber simple: berry salads with honey glazes, or yogurt toppings; berries over ice cream; berries in oatmeal; berries with whipped cream.
I bake a fancy cheesecake in the winter months that has a delicate sour cream layer on top and I always make sure to whip up a little extra topping so that I have plenty to "taste test" without impacting the final product. All of that to say that I made a batch of the sour cream topping and used it as a dip for the berries, and it was really good.
I'm not terribly precise when I do this, but I mix in a small bowl approximately 3/4 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of sugar (you can use brown or white). You can add more or less sugar and vanilla depending on your taste. It pairs well with strawberries and blueberries in particular.
Speaking of blueberries, we've been eating a lot of blueberry pancakes. A lot. We enjoy a good breakfast-for-dinner at least once a week.
The very best pancake recipe that I have ever made, and that we've been making for several years comes from the Joy of Cooking...it's true! Actually, I first saw the recipe when I watched the McNeely's on the Food Network one evening back in 2010. We've been making them ever since, but recently I was looking through my joy of cooking cookbook and the recipe is EXACTLY the same, except the McNeely's add pecans.
They are so perfect. Fluffy, tender, and a little on the sweet side.
The recipe for the "Best Buttermilk Pancakes Ever" (or depending on who you ask, "basic buttermilk pancakes", or "buttermilk pecan pancakes"):
DRY ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
WET ingredients:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Whisk wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until they are combined.
Place blueberries on each pancake after the batter has been poured.
You may already do this, but I always freeze any extra berries, or bananas that are starting to brown, to use for smoothies! Just an idea so that you don't have to toss such yummy fruits!
ReplyDeleteI always start the week off with big plans for the fruit and then if it's a busy/sick/whatever week then the fruit just sits. I'll keep thinking, ok, tomorrow I need to get to that fruit, but then I don't. Then I"ll think the same thing the next day, and it's not until the very last second that I'm like, oh bummer, it's too late...TOSS!
ReplyDeleteI will plan ahead next week (this week we actually used up everything!) and just freeze some of it from the start! I could still make cobblers and sauces and things like that with the frozen berries (and smoothies too!).