The Red Ripe Strawberry
Today BD and I went strawberry picking. It was hot and the rows were fragrant with the scent of ripe strawberries, with a hint of our sunscreen. We've been picking berries at River Berry Farm for as long as they've been in business.
Today as we were picking, BD paused, then asked, "Wasn't there a book about a mouse and a strawberry?" It took us a few minutes, but we came up with the full title,
That's right--the classic by Don and Audrey Wood. (Image from Audreywood.com).
That short exchange reminded me once more of how important children's books really are. They're the books that sink into us so deeply they are ours for life.
We came home with ten pounds of berries (BD keeps picks berry for berry with me these days, and has for a few years.) Lunch was strawberry smoothies, with cheese and crackers for me & tuna and crackers for BD.
Supper was strawberry shortcake. Ok, so we started with grilled hamburger patties and a spinach, mushroom and sweet onion salad, but they were the appetizers. The shortcake was the centerpiece.
Which leads me to a question--what is your vision of the perfect strawberry shortcake?
Mine is the traditional New England version: warm-from-the-oven sweetened baking powder biscuit that has been baked in as one "cake" of two layers. The layers are then split apart. Lightly sweetened sliced berries and the juice they have released are spooned into the middle. The top layer is put back on. The whole is garnished with whipped cream and/or a few more sweetened berries (or the stand-out perfect berries). All that remains is to slice it into wedges and serve.
We vary that slightly by slicing the freshly-baked shortcake, serving it, and letting each individual put on toppings to taste. BD likes mostly juice and a few berries. I'll have whipped cream the first shortcake of the summer, but usually don't after that. HH likes the works.
I know that some out there serve their strawberry shortcake on sponge cake. That's a very good dessert--back in the day, I loved Howard Johnson's "strawberry shortcake," (those individual sponge cakes, a scoop of strawberry ice cream, sweetened strawberries, and whipped cream). However, to me, that's not real strawberry shortcake. My "real" strawberry shortcake is full of contrasts: hot biscuit, cool berries; crisp biscuit crust, tender biscuit interior; sweet tangy berries, smooth whipped cream. To me, all that comes together for the perfect fresh summer dessert.
I might also mention that I made shortcake for HH the night before he proposed. That was 33 years ago this 4th of July.
You might say, strawberry shortcake holds a special place in our lives.
I'd still like to know what you think of when you think of strawberry shortcake. Seriously.
(angie_frazier and saputnam answered this question two years ago, so they're exempt. Clearly I have a seasonal obsession.)