Strawberry Season

One of my favorite parts of my favorite season is the accompanying berry season. A much-loved perk of my hometown is the farm that grows strawberries right up the road. While not many people will be as lucky to make these recipes with fresh hand picked strawberries they will certainly still taste delicious this summer. Here are my three favorite things to make to welcome summer and strawberry season.

STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIES

In a blender combine a handful of ICE, a couple of spoonfuls of LOW FAT PLAIN YOGURT, a drizzle of HONEY, a handful of STRAWBERRIES cut in half, half of a BANANA and enough WHITE GRAPE JUICE to fill to the top of the ingredients. Blend until smooth.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES

In a SPONGE CAKE DESSERT CUP fill the cup with WHIPPED CREAM. Arrange STRAWBERRIES cut in half, add another layer of whipped cream and then drizzle with CHOCOLATE SYRUP.

STRAWBERRY GALETTE

This is a deceivingly simple to make lovely dessert. Here is the recipe I use from Martha Stewart.

For dough:
Pulse 2.5CUPS FLOUR, 1.8 TSP SALT and 1 TSP SUGAR in a food processor to combine. Add 1 CUP BUTTER and pulse until it forms coarse crumbs. Add .3 CUP AND 2 TSP ICE WATER and pulse until combined. Shape dough in a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Roll dough to .25 in thickness and 10 in diameter disc. Transfer to parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 min.

For galette:
Cut STRAWBERRIES lengthwise into .25 in slices. Toss slices with .25 CUP SUGAR and 2 TSP CORNSTARCH. Arrange in concentric circle on dough. Fold edge of dough over berries. Refrigerate for 15 min.

For assembly:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together YOLK and 1TSP WATER, brush over dough, sprinkle with 1 TBSP SUGAR. Dot berries with BUTTER. Bake until crust is brown, 40-45 minutes.