strawberry summer.

It's hard to believe it's been a month since I've had the chance to update!

Not only have I been extremely busy with school, but I guess there haven't been very many blog-worthy events in the last month. But that's about to change becauseeeeee....

it's finally summer! 

If there's one thing that reminds me of summer, it's fresh, juicy berries. 

After visiting Warbington Farms last week and leaving with five pounds of freshly picked strawberries, I faced the predicament of how to use them. I tested out three new recipes and am pleased to report they all turned out wonderfully. I will link them below!

 *HINT* Berries picked straight from the garden require a more thorough cleaning job than anything you buy from the store. I've found adding a cup of apple cider vinegar to a sinkful of water is a great way to leave them sparkling. And no, it doesn't change the taste of the fruit!

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Strawberry Cream Cheese Bread

 Oh. My. God. This is the creamiest, most delicious bread I've ever tasted. In fact, it's so decadent, it even makes a satisfying dessert. Really.

Strawberry Applesauce

I'm a sucker for any kind of applesauce. I followed this recipe to a tee and was beyond pleased. After blending the ingredients, the mixture may seem a bit thin. However, it thickened after being in the fridge to the perfect consistency.

Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Pops

 At a first glance, this recipe may seem a little weird. Roasted strawberries?
 Through this savory experiment, I learned that heating berries brings out all the natural juices. So tasty! For this recipe, I substituted the lemon juice with the juice of one lime. As an added bonus, I also used locally harvested honey for a real "at-home" feel. 

So, there you have it! 

Just a few ideas of how to use all those berries. 

I'll be attending a 3-day music festival in Atlanta this weekend, so prepare yourselves for more updates in the very near future. ^_^

sugar and spice.

Since I was a little girl, I've always enjoyed baking and am always excited to try out new recipes.

So--naturally--when I stumbled upon this unusual Scandinavian cookie recipe, I had to try it out. 

It contains the standard ingredients of most other cookies: baking soda, salt, flour, sugar, shortening, and... wait. Is that rosemary? Why yes, yes it is. Now you're probably thinking, "Is this bitch crazy?" Truth be told, an herb as strong as rosemary would be the last thing I'd ever think to include in a cookie, much less any other dessert. But you'd be amazed by just how damn delicious these things are. Not to mention, they're surprisingly easy to make.

First, I creamed 1/2 c. shortening, 1/4 c. butter, and 3/4 c. sugar together in a bowl. This is a pretty standard first step in just about any cookie recipe you'll find. 

Next, I beat in one egg and added 1/4 c. locally cultivated honey (straight out of the backyard of a family friend) and 1 T. lemon juice. So far so good, right? This is where it starts getting a little strange.

Moving onto another bowl... I mixed 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, and--yep--2 tsp. dried, crushed rosemary and slowly added it to the creamed mixture in bowl #1.

Now, I'm the kind of person who enjoys a small, two-bite kind of cookie. That way, if it turns out to be a really rich recipe, it's not overwhelming. And if it's not too rich, well... then it's just an excuse to eat more cookies. My point is, I generally make smaller spoonfuls which in turn usually yields more cookies than the recipe says. So I greased up a couple of cookie sheets and baked these bad boys at 325° for about 14 minutes.

This was the final result.

And might I say, they were damn good. They were almost like a snickerdoodle with a slight honey and herbal taste. Paired perfectly with a cup of Tazo Zen tea. This is definitely one for the archive.

I guess the moral of the story here is don't knock it 'til you try it.

Just because it sounds weird doesn't mean it won't be absolutely delicious!