Smile — It’s strawberry time

Written by Robin Glowa
Tuesday, 14 June 2011 23:00

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile. But sometimes your smiles can be the source of your joy.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Ahhh strawberries; those juicy, succulent, sweet, scarlet temptresses are ripe and ready. A sensational, seasonal feast of fresh strawberries is a spectacular way to celebrate the beginning of summer.

Pick your own at a local farm where experiencing a heat soaked, naked berry freshly plucked from the plant is one of life’s strikingly sensual delights, or purchase a pint or two at a farmer’s market. Now is the optimal time to savor the berry that many consider to be the most delicious of all.

With their incredibly heady fragrance and exquisite flavor, fresh, seasonal strawberries will add an amazing tasty layer to a salad of baby lettuces, scattered with sliced toasted almonds and a creamy goat cheese, or a gorgeous fruit salad bright with the brilliant hues of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi and melon.

Strawberries can be baked into tempting tea breads or muffins, sliced and simmered into a special sauce for French toast or blended into a cold, creamy smoothie.

Drench strawberries in dark, melted chocolate, add slightly crushed strawberries and mint to a tall, cool glass of lemonade, or, of course, create the most classic of all strawberry preparations — strawberry shortcake. Tender biscuits, topped with a generous portion of sliced strawberries and a pillow of whipped cream, is so luscious.

Not only beautiful and brightly flavored, strawberries are a mighty source of nutrients. Packed with vitamin C, strawberries may provide anti-inflammatory benefits, such as lessening the effects of rheumatoid arthritis. Strawberries also contain dietary fiber, iodine, potassium, folate, riboflavin, vitamins B5 and B6, vitamin K, omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium and copper.

Strawberries also offer manganese, a trace mineral that helps keep bones healthy and strong and protects the body from free radical damage, as well as helping to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

Enjoy strawberries as part of your delicious life and you will be sure to smile.

Strawberries and Sour Cream

This is an incredible taste combination

1 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar

1 pint of fresh strawberries (washed, dried, hulled and sliced)

Fresh mint

In a small bowl, blend together sour cream, brown sugar, vanilla, honey or agave nectar and cinnamon. Divide strawberries into two pretty bowls and top with sour cream mixture. (You could include a biscuit, lady fingers or angel food cake with the berries and sour cream mixture.)

This is quite nice with fresh blueberries also.

Robin Glowa, HHC, AADP, is a food and wellness enthusiast who earned her certification in holistic health counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Columbia University Teachers College.

She specializes in teaching healthy cooking classes for children and adults, as well as cooking presentations and wellness workshops for many local organizations.

For more information go to theconsciouscook.net, call 203-393-1037, or http://confessionsofaconsciouscook.blogspot.com.