Strawberries ring in the start of the canning season for me. I get so excited, I buy quarts and quarts. Which means I sometimes end up with some surplus after I make jars and jars of jam, more than I can eat on my own. So I look for simple, quick ways to use them creatively. I love baking with strawberries that bleed sweet pink juices into the finished product and give a nice … [Read more...] about Strawberry Ginger Cake
Fruit and Vegetables
Strawberry Champagne Mousse with Champagne Cakelettes
What could be more elegant during the short Spring season of balmy weather and strawberries? Wedding and baby showers, graduation parties, and end of school events all need a little sophisticated touch. What I love about these recipes is the result really surpasses the effort. For a little work, you get two delightful sweet bites that are simple to present. And they can be made … [Read more...] about Strawberry Champagne Mousse with Champagne Cakelettes
Carrot Coconut Cake
Carrot cake, I have found, is an intensely personal taste. There are those on the side of nuts, and those against. The pineapple people and the anti-pineapple people. The cream cheese frosting advocates and the buttercream brigade. I am not ambivalent in my preferences, but not nearly as persnickety as some. I like carrot cake that is moist and full of flavor, with carrots at … [Read more...] about Carrot Coconut Cake
Tarragon Mustard Velvet
Spring has always been a season of brunch for me. Easter, graduations, wedding showers. It’s a great way to entertain elegantly and with a little planning, pretty easy to do ahead. Center the affair around a ham with biscuits or rolls, a perfect platter of stuffed eggs, add some vegetables, a casserole (maybe this hash brown version) and a few indulgent treats and you … [Read more...] about Tarragon Mustard Velvet
Roasted Artichokes with Tarragon Vinaigrette
When I was a young teenager, my mother cooked some artichokes and sat my brother and I down for a lesson on how to eat them. Apparently, when she herself was a teen, she was invited home with a friend from her boarding school and served artichokes at an elegant dinner with the family. She had never seen one before and was a bit flummoxed, and embarrassed. She worked her way … [Read more...] about Roasted Artichokes with Tarragon Vinaigrette
