Recipes: Strawberry season!

I’m so excited! My favorite part about spring is how all the produce at the markets starts to look SO GOOD! Especially strawberries!

I have been eating strawberries out the wazoo lately, because I love them and they are now in season and they’re cheap. Last week I got a 2 pound container of nice ripe ones at Costco for $2.99.

For dessert or an afternoon snack, I’ve been eating sliced strawberries on top of a serving of Fage 2% plain Greek yogurt. Calorie-wise, it comes to about 150 calories and it is very filling. It also contains 17 grams of protein, which is about 1/3 of what I need each day. I typically have trouble getting enough protein and I am very into solving that problem through dessert.

If I’m feeling extra fancy, I sprinkle it with colored sprinkles or a spice blend I made of cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and a bit of salt. Sometimes I add a little sugar, especially if the berries are more tart than sweet.

Here’s a couple other ways I like to eat strawberries. When the strawberries-on-yogurt thing isn’t cutting it, I have this insanely great strawberry frozen yogurt recipe I turn to. I like this recipe from Homesick Texan because it uses a TON of strawberries and so it kind of has an earthy underflavor to it — not earthy like dirt, just more of a natural taste like fresh strawberries.

Oh! Speaking of making ice cream or frozen yogurt at home, instead of a full-on electric ice cream maker, I got this thing called a Donvier from my local Buy Nothing group. It has a metal container that you freeze ahead of time, like a standard ice cream maker, but instead of a big loud electric machine, there is just a paddle you insert with a hand crank on top. Give it a few cranks every few minutes, and after about 20 minutes it’s done. It’s kind of crazy how it works just as well as an electric ice cream maker that churns steadily for that same amount of time.

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Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Adapted from Homesick Texan

Course: Dessert

Category: Vegetarian

Servings: 4

Ingredients 

• 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled, or you can use 1 pound frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 8 ounces plain 2% Greek-style yogurt (I like Fage 2%)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons vodka, optional, but it prevents it from freezing solid

Instructions

• Place the strawberries, sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and vodka (if you’re using it) in a blender and then puree until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Freeze according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions. Or you can place the puree in freezer-safe container, and allow it to freeze for 8 hours, stirring the puree a couple of times in the first two hours of freezing.

And then I also love this recipe for a green salad with berries, goat cheese, walnuts, and a protein like chicken or tofu. Like almost all salads, you can vary the amount of any of the ingredients to suit your taste. You can swap out a protein, use different kinds of berries, add a vinaigrette dressing — whatever you like.

Sometimes instead of a tub of crumbled goat cheese, I will buy it in a log and use dental floss to cut it into rounds. Then I dip the edges of each round like a wagon wheel in everything-bagel seasoning (which I get at Trader Joe’s).

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Summer Berry Salad

Course: Salad

Servings: 4

Ingredients 

• 6 cups mixed greens of your choice (romaine, baby spinach, arugula, spring mix, etc.)
• 2 cups chopped grilled chicken breast, rotisserie chicken, or baked tofu
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (and toasted, optionally)
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
• Balsamic vinegar glaze (I love Trader Joe's brand)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Arrange the greens in a large shared serving bowl (or you can use four individual serving bowls).
• Top the salad with the chicken or tofu, strawberries, and blueberries. Toss lightly to mix.
• Sprinkle the walnuts and cheese on top. Drizzle the salad very generously with balsamic vinegar glaze, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!