STRAWBERRY LEMONADE POPSICLES

Summer is approaching at warp speed and I'm not complaining. Otis and Lilah have begun a pre-summer ritual of running around the backyard with our neighbors Aidan and Emmett every evening. I feel like I'm channeling my own mom and generations of parents as I call the kids in after the sun has nearly set. When they tromp upstairs for bed, they are breathing hard and falling-down tired just as kids should at the end of a full day.

After dinner recently, all fours kids kept coming into the kitchen mumbling things like "I'm still hungry." I suggested making popsicles together. "Yes" they all chimed in. So I put the kiddos to work squeezing lemons, washing berries, tasting everything as they went, and making a good sticky mess of the kitchen.

I love to see the satisfaction kids take in their own kitchen creations. Who need store-bought pops when making your own is this simple, healthy and fun!

INGREDIENTS
(printable recipe)

• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (Meyer's if you can get them)
• 1 1/2 cup strawberries, stems removed
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup light agave syrup

Place all ingredients (including the water) in a blender and mix well. If you aren't patient enough to make popsicles, you could go ahead and drink the strawberry lemonade you just made. Otherwise, fill a popsicle mold with the liquid and freeze until solid.

Enjoy on a long summer evening!

A Summer note: We are packing our bags to hit the road for a month this summer. Get ready for travel photos and recipes soon! xxoo

Strawberries with Homemade Crème Fraîche and Brown Sugar

This dessert brings back such memories: living in the foothills of the Sierra's; the dry heat of summer; picking fresh ripe strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries from our lush organic garden. My mom and step dad headed back to the land in the mid eighties and worked tirelessly growing loads of veggies and fruit. I was a young teen, more interested in punk and smoking cloves with my friends than tending the garden. Still, food was a lure for me even then - promise of mom's fresh berry pies or this simple dessert would get me to put down my Walkman and start picking berries

My step dad introduced us to this dessert and I think it is one of those simple revelations that should be shared. Back then we used sour cream. My husband adamantly refuses to eat sour cream, but loves crème fraîche, so that's what we use now. Either one does the trick. Eating strawberries with your fingers to me is what summer is all about and I love serving this spread at a picnic or barbecue with friends.

INGREDIENTS

• strawberries, leave the stems on
• crème fraîche (see homemade recipe here)
• brown sugar

Set out a platter with strawberries with a bowl of crème fraîche and a bowl of brown sugar. Everyone should help him/herself. Using the strawberry stem as a holder, dip the berry's tip into the crème fraîche then dip into the brown sugar.

Repeat until you can eat no more.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb. Strawberries. Hazelnuts.

I am seeing a theme in my recent dessert cravings: first, Rhubarb Compote; then, Hazelnut Cake with strawberries; and now Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with hazelnuts in the topping. Eating seasonally means you figure out endless ways to work with certain ingredients that are abundant at the moment. We indulge in these just-ripe treasures until we can eat no more.

Lucero Strawberries are such a treat to see at the farmer's market after the long rainy months. P went wild and bought a flat for brunch with our friends Shana, Tony, Cleo, and Judah. After the eight of us stuffed our faces with the sweet berries, we had enough left over to make this crumble and some tasty strawberry preserves with thyme and lemon. (I'll share that recipe with you next week.)

When it comes to crisps and crumbles, I am usually a purist. I stay away from oats and nuts in the topping. However, the strawberry rhubarb crumble recipe from this month's Bon Appetit drew me in. The unexpected crunch of hazelnut is delectable. I'm a convert.


INGREDIENTS 
 adapted from Tamsen Day Lewis's recipe in Bon Appetit, May 2010

• 3/4 cups flour (GF Folks, I suggest Pamela's Bread and Flour Blend)
• 2/3 cup vanilla sugar (see notes)
• large pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup light agave nectar
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 chunks
• 1/2 cup oats ( GF folks, try Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 4 cups strawberries
• 12 ounces rhubarb
• vanilla ice cream or heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet in hot oven for about 10 minutes until nuts are lightly toasted and the skins are blistered. Remove from oven and put nuts in a dish towel. Rub to remove skins. Then coarsely chop and set aside.

Turn oven down to 375. Lightly butter 11x7 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, vanilla sugar, and salt. Add butter and use your fingertips to integrate the ingredients. When the mixture is sticking together in clumps, add the oats and chopped hazelnuts. Cover and chill.

Trim and slice rhubarb. Cut strawberries in half. Place in the baking dish. Pour agave over the top of strawberries and rhubarb. Gently toss together.

Distribute topping over the strawberries and rhubarb. Bake for 45 minutes until fruit is bubbling and top is a golden brown.

Let cool for 15 minutes and the fruit juices will thicken.  You can't go wrong with a warm serving of crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you have leftovers, eat some for breakfast with heavy cream poured over the top. Go ahead, it's good.