Strawberry Shortcake

While we’re not quite at that time of year here in Maine, it is that time … STRAWBERRIES! I love strawberries just hulled and sliced with a bit of sugar and balsamic vinegar. Though I have made Dark Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream and Strawberry Limeade, if I had to add strawberries to a recipe, my all time fav would be Strawberry Shortcake.

When Fantastical Food Fight announced April’s spatula down to be Strawberry Shortcake I was delighted! I changed up my Grandmother’s Biscuits a tiny bit to make them sweet, not savory and simply sliced up some strawberries and let them macerate for a while.

Traditionally you would serve these beauties with whipped cream. I have not been able to bear the sight of schlag on my food since … well, let’s just say, Vermont, a loss of power, whipped cream and a pumpkin pie. Gives me the willies just thinking about it!

Hopefully by the time you read this any threat of snow will be gone … I’m pretty sure I heard that rotten weatherman say the dreaded S word this morning!

Biscuits:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 3 T sugar
• 1 stick butter, chilled
• 2/3 to 3/4 C half and half

Strawberries:

• 1 quart strawberries
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 T Balsamic

If you want the ooky whipped cream:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream for topping, or non-dairy whipped topping

NOTE: Try to use the best balsamic possible. Not everything you buy in the supermarket is anything close to traditional balsamic. If you want to treat yourself to something wonderful, try the Traditional Balsamic from Fiore. Their products are really great … stay tuned for an ice cream with their Amarena Cherry Balsamic!

Rinse the berries under cold water; drain well. Hull and slice the berries; place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and balsamic; cover and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Whip the cream (sweeten with 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar, if desired) until it holds a soft peak. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a food processor combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and pulse to mix. Cut butter into about 8 pieces and add to the mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with few pea-size chunks of butter left in the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork stir in the cream, just until dough is moist.

NOTE: Be very careful not to overwork the dough. The dough doesn’t hold together well at this point, but let the dough stand for a minute, and magic happens.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over on itself (knead) 2 or 3 times, until it is holding together and is less sticky.

Gently pat the dough into a 6 by 12-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and cut into 8 (3-inch) biscuits with a floured round cutter. Transfer to a buttered foil-lined cookie sheet. Brush on a little milk or cream and sprinkle tops with some sugar, if desired. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown.

Split each biscuit horizontally. Top with about 1/3 cup of berry mixture. Replace the tops and top with a tablespoon or so of berries. Serve with whipped cream for topping.

Serves 8.

Vegan Stuffed Shells #SundaySupper

It’s been way too long since I’ve been able to or had the head to join the Sunday Supper Movement. This week’s theme is Cheesy Dinner Ideas brought to us by Em. In this new(ish) wave of healthier eating, there are more and more vegans and vegetarians following our blogs. While this doesn’t follow the strict definition of cheesy, these stuffed shells are close enough – and delicious enough – for my vegan.

Learning to adjust one’s culinary brain when one of your children announces they’re a vegan – or even a vegetarian – is not easy. So now there was a vegan AND a vegetarian AND a dyed in the wool carnivore. How is a girl to cope?

I’ve learned to start with a base – in this case the marinara sauce and the cooked shells – and then split into two meals. In this case, only the stuffing for the shells. Side by side, the Dear One was hard pressed to know which was which. Taste? Not too bad. I think the seller for me with this recipe was the tofu being ground up. I am not a big tofu fan, but bring ground up and mixed with the rest of the yummy ingredients was a game changer.

There had been a love hate relationship – mostly hate – with Nutritional Yeast. I have to admit that this hate formed without ever tasting it. It turns out it’s full of B vitamins, folic acid, selenium, zinc and protein. Hmmmm …. well, it’s good for you. But the name is so unappealing. I tried it sprinkled on popcorn and I was hooked. I sprinkle it on eggs, have used it in a vegan form of pesto, popcorn … if you haven’t tried, do.

Scroll to the bottom of my post and stop by the other blogs in this week’s Sunday Supper Movement!

• 1 t vegetable oil
• 6  garlic cloves , minced
• 8 oz. baby spinach
• 1 t salt
• 1 vegan egg
• 2 t Nutritional Yeast
• 12 oz. Onederful® Tofu, drained
• cooking spray
• 12 Jumbo Pasta Shells, cooked
• 16 oz. Marinara Sauce
• Canola oil (as needed)

NOTE: There was no opposition to an egg, so I used a fresh egg. I have used Follow Your Heart vegan eggs with no trouble.

Pre-Heat over to 400

Heat a sauce pan over a medium flame and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the spinach and half the salt. Cook until the spinach is wilted.

Place the sautéed spinach mixture in a strainer so the extra liquid can drip out. Set aside,

Add the tofu to a food processor and pulse several time to break the tofu down to small crumbles.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the crumbled tofu, drained spinach, egg, nutritional yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Lightly spray a baking dish with the cooking spray. Pour half the marinara sauce on the bottom.

Fill the shells with the stuffing mixture. Add shells to the baking dish.

Pour the rest of the marinara sauce over the shells.

Bake uncovered for 8 -10 minutes, uncovered.

Serve immediately.

Cheesy Dinner Ideas

Cheesy Appetizers and Sides

• Cheddar Sourdough Biscuits by What Smells So Good?
• Guinness and Caramelized Onion Cheese Ball by Palatable Pastime
• Irish Nachos with Beer Cheese Sauce by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Pretzel Bread Ring with Cheese Dip by Recipes Food and Cooking

Cheesy Main Courses

• Bacon Macaroni and Cheese by Sunday Supper Movement
• Cheddar Cheese Souffle by Pies and Plots
• Cheesy Cheeseburgers by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Cheesy Spaghetti Stuffed Meatloaf by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes by My Fearless Kitchen
• Easy Chicken Parmesan Skillet by Jersey Girl Cooks
• Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Zucchini by Caroline’s Cooking
• Saucy Beef and Cheese Stuffed Jumbo Shells by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
• Vegan Stuffed Shells by From the Bookshelf

The Sunday Supper Movement is committed to bringing our readers delicious recipes that encourage them to gather and eat together around the family table. Search for your favorite ingredients on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Sunday Supper Pinterest boards for plenty more ideas and inspiration.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Oven-Roasted Fiddleheads with Capers and Lemon #SundaySupper

Another Sunday … another Sunday Supper Movement. This week hosted by Christie at A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. Stop by and check out her blog … scroll to the bottom and check out all of the Healthy Green Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day.

I will admit from the outset, that this recipe has been sitting on my to-do list since last spring. I’ve just had a hard time sitting in front of this computer and writing. Seeing this week’s theme jolted me into, Come on, girl, get off yer are and write. So here I am.

Besides, it’s cold here in Maine. I am longing for springtime. Remembering this recipe and the lovely spring day I found these green beauties makes me warm and happy. Perhaps by you, the little fiddleheads are pushing through the ground as you read.

Fiddleheads are the young unfurled fronds of ferns that pop their little heads out of the ground in the spring. Usually an Ostrich Fern. You harvest them in the spring before they unfurl and are close to the ground. This involves a lot of tramping around – well, treading lightly around the woods, peering on the ground for these little prized gems. Usually under or near trees, so they’re in a cool-ish, damp-ish place. You cut close to the ground and try not to take too many from the same cluster so as not to kill the fern – we’ll want more next year, right?

They are high in omega- 3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and high in iron and fiber and potassium.

They are fiddly to clean – hahaha, get it? Fiddleheads? Fiddly? – oh, I crack myself up. Cutting off the bottom, peeling the brown papery stuff and soaking, and soaking, and soaking.

But once soaked they look like this:

Cool, right? And a little weird.

I wanted the preparation method to be light as the flavor of the Fiddlehead is delicate. They taste like spring-time, a little grassy, a little nutty, a bit like an asparagus. and I think a bit like an artichoke.

• 2 cups fiddleheads
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4teaspoon sea salt
• 1-2 thin lemon slices

NOTE: I left the capers out. Someone here has an issue with capers. I’m not quite sure what or shy, but for marital harmony, I left them out.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash fiddleheads thoroughly, in at least 2-3 changes of water. Trim away any brown, woody ends of fiddlehead stems.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and blanch fiddleheads for 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into an ice water bath to stop cooking.

Drain thoroughly and toss with lemon juice, olive oil, capers, salt and lemon slices.

Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 8-12 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp around the edges.

Healthy Green Foods for St. Patrick’s Day

Healthy Green Main Meals

• Artichoke and Spinach Dip Flatbreads by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Easy Broccoli Soup with Spicy Roasted Chickpeas by Sunday Supper Movement
• Kale and Brussels Sprout Frittata by Pies and Plots
• Pasta with Morels by Palatable Pastime
• Salmon with Pesto and Potatoes by Cooking Chat
• Spinach and Cheese Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats by Recipes Food and Cooking
• Winter Minestrone with Turnips, Potatoes, and Kale by Wholistic Woman

Super Green Side Dishes

• Catalan-style Sauteed Swiss Chard by Caroline’s Cooking
• Honey Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Oven-Roasted Fiddleheads with Capers and Lemon by From the Bookshelf
• Zucchini and Herb Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette by Hot Eats and Cool Reads

The Sunday Supper Movement is committed to bringing our readers delicious recipes that encourage them to gather and eat together around the family table. Search for your favorite ingredients on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Sunday Supper Pinterest boards for plenty more ideas and inspiration.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.