Strawberry Season is Almost Over

So, hurry up and make these strawberry recipes! Of course, you can still make them later with frozen strawberries, but fresh taste so much better.

We've been trying to get our fill of berries while they're in season here in Kentucky, which means that we have been eating strawberries all the time. To stave off boredom,* we made strawberry frozen yogurt, again from The Perfect Scoop.** We had half a quart of strawberries, so I only made half of the recipe. It was a really unfussy recipe, similar to the strawberry ice cream we made before. However, since there's only a small amount of yogurt added to the strawberries, the end result tasted like strawberry sorbet. The flavor was pretty intense, like eating sweet frozen berries. This frozen yogurt was super-refreshing and perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day.

David Lebovitz himself posted this strawberry frozen yogurt recipe on his blog. Check it out.

Speaking of David Lebovitz, I just finished reading his new book The Sweet Life in Paris. He writes about his experiences living in Paris. His writing is so witty and his observations about Parisians are incredibly funny. Every time I finished a chapter, I couldn't help thinking, "That David Lebovitz, he's so clever."

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Another way we've been using up strawberries is by making strawberry muffins. These make for a tasty breakfast or a sweet accompaniment for a cup of tea. The fresh strawberries baked into little pockets of jam, adding a bit of sweetness to the cinnamony cake. I happen to love cinnamon, so I would add even more next time. If you don't like cinnamon, you can leave it out, but I'd add something else in for flavor instead. I think some lemon zest or extra vanilla would both work well. Oh, I've also been thinking that pecans, strawberries, and cinnamon would make a great little trio, so I'd like to throw some nuts into the next batch of muffins I make.

I searched for a recipe and came up with this one, which is easy and quick enough to throw together on a hot afternoon when the last place you want to be is in the kitchen. I did make some modifications to incorporate ingredients I already had, plus I used some suggestions from people who had reviewed the recipe.

Strawberry Muffins
(Makes 12 muffins)

adapted from Katie Mae's recipe on allrecipes.com

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk (we're out of regular milk)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cups flour
1 pint strawberries, chopped

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Beat the oil, buttermilk, vanilla and egg in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, white and brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the strawberries and toss to coat. Pour in the liquid mixture and stir until combined.

3. Fill lined or greased muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops bounce back when touched. Cool on a wire rack.

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*I know, I can't really complain about having too many fresh, ripe strawberries around.

**My sweet sister got this book for K and me as a wedding gift. Despite our proclamations of, "No gifts!" this is really perfect. We've got a long summer of ice cream-making ahead of us. Thanks, Julie!