6-25-strawberry

I knew at 7:30 this morning I was making a Strawberry BBQ Sauce tonight.  What I didn’t know was how I was going to make it.

I was looking at 2 full pallets of absolutely beautiful strawberries… “The possibilities are endless”,  thought I…  I must have had a dozen or more ideas going through my head simultaneously – such is the curse of a cook.  Of course, half the fun of being surrounded by food all day long is figuring out fun things to do with it, and being presented with “an ingredient” really is fun.

The barbecue sauce came together really easily, and was perfect atop grilled pork chops.

Strawberry BBQ Sauce

  • 1 pound strawberries, hulled and roughly sliced
  • 1 small bell pepper, diced
  • 1 8oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup lingonberry vinegar
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • salt and pepper

Add strawberries and bell pepper to saucepan and cook until strawberries release theiur juices and peppers soften.

Add  brown sugar and then lingonberry vinegar.  Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients.

Bring to boil and then simmer.

Blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth.

Continue simmering until thickened.

I used the smooth sauce to grill the chops, and then added some sliced strawberries to about a half-cup of the sauce to serve over the chops after they were cooked.

And a whole fanned strawberry on top because, well…  it’s all about the picture, right?!?

And the cooking continues…  We’re having a Salad Throwdown at work tomorrow, so I decided a Whole Wheat Salad was in order.

Whole Wheat Salad

  • 1 pound whole wheat grains
  • 1/2 yellow squash, diced
  • 1 small zucchini, diced
  • 2 large radishes, diced
  • 6 green onions, diced
  • 1/2 small bell pepper, diced
  • 8oz dried mixed berries, plumped with sour apple schnapps
  • 1/4 cup lingonberry vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped assorted fresh herbs
  • salt and pepper

Cook wheat in salted water about 45 minutes, or until chewy-tender.  Drain and cool.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

And right now, there’s an angel food cake in the over awating more strawberries and some whipped cream.

Angel Food Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup sifted cake flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 11 large)
  • 2 teaspoons warm water
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt into medium bowl.  Beat egg whites in large bowl until foamy. Add 2 teaspoons warm water and cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff but not dry. Sift sugar-flour mixture over whites 1/4 cup at a time and gently fold in.

Place batter in an ungreased 12-cup angel food cake pan with removable bottom (do not use nonstick pan).

Bake until cake is light golden, top springs back when touched lightly and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 45 minutes.

Remove cake from oven. Turn cake pan upside down; place center tube of pan over a funnel and cool completely.

I think I’m going to split the cake into three layers and add a bit of whipped cream and a lot of strawberries…

We shall see…..

6-24-angel-food-cake

I split individual slices…  I also made strawberry whipped cream. It was yum.