Thursday, July 24, 2014

Throwback Thursday: A Childhood Treat

When I was younger, summertime meant my mom would make one of my favorite desserts. It was so simple it seems silly to base an entire post on it, but after suggesting it to Shen recently I had a craving and decided to go ahead and make it. Truthfully, I don't know if it is supposed to be enjoyed on it's own or as an accompaniment but I definitely enjoy it either way. So today, I'll be showing you some macerated strawberries.

I feel like this is so simple it's borderline embarrassing to devote and entire post to it. But it's so damn good I think you'll love it and if you guys try it after this post then I've done my job. All you need is a lb of fresh, ripe strawberries, one small lemon and about 3/4 tbsp of sugar. You slice your strawberries, squeeze your lemon on top, sprinkle with your sugar and mix. Then you let the magic happen. Let the strawberries sit (I usually keep mine in the fridge) for a few hours and they get tender, sweeter and a syrup pools around them in the bottom of the bowl.

That is all there is to it. After you have your tender berries and sweet syrup you can eat them in countless ways. Spoon your berries on top of waffles or pancakes, enjoy on its own, top with whipped coconut cream or if you really want to indulge... spoon it on top of some ice cream (or banana soft serve). Oh, they also taste great on top of cake with some vegan whipped cream ;)

I attempted to get a before and after photo of the berries but they didn't come out great. I don't think you can see the difference or the amazing syrup but I'll show you anyway.


This is the before picture. Normal berries with a little glisten of lemon juice.


Here is the after. Softer berries, different color and you can kind of see the syrup. It's so simple but it's so good and in my house it means summer is here.

Clearly I've enjoyed some of my berries since I made them and I figured I would show you how I decided to eat them...


That's right, I decided to top my Trader Joe's Chocolate Sorbet with a healthy dose of these strawberries. You can definitely see the syrup in this (horrible, sorry!) photo. Chocolate and fresh strawberries is one of my favorite flavor combinations so this was definitely a great treat!

I hope you guys will give this super easy treat a try. I hope you are all doing well! 



13 comments:

  1. Um, yes. I want to make this immediately! I even have strawberries in my fridge!! I went to TJ's today, but totally forgot about the frozen dessert section! Now that I'll go back to my usual food posts (which seems disappointing after a vacation! Ha!), you just might see it!

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    1. Haha yes!! I hope you do get to make it and that you enjoy it! Do you have bananas? Make some banana soft serve and top it with the strawberries, it'll be just as delicious and a great way to get away with eating dessert for breakfast! Definitely let me know how you like it if you try it!

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  2. Great topping for that sorbet and I think it's much warranted that this gets it's own post! I've never had strawberries with lemon on them but my mom would always slice them like you do and put some sugar over them. It's really quite good!

    It's also funny that you posted this because just a few hours ago two of my co-workers were talking about how adding lemon juice & sugar to the water you boil corn in makes it sweeter & crunchier. Must be something magical about that simple combination!

    BTW- have strawberries been harder to find and more expensive in your area this year? I've had a hell of a time getting any sort of organic berries this year. They either don't have any, they look awful, or they're really expensive. Maybe it's just living in the middle of the Midwest that's doing that? Either way, it's been frustrating!

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    1. Haha thanks Molly! The whole time I was typing it I was like is anyone really going to care about this? I'm glad that you all seem to like it!

      I've heard of strawberries with sugar which I've never had before and I think you are right, the magic must be in the lemon and sugar combo! That actually sounds like a really great way to cook corn too, I'll have to keep that in mind!

      I have not had a lot of luck finding really nice organic strawberries. The ones at TJs are never really amazing but I usually find a decent bunch after digging through all of them. I wish I had access to a strawberry farm so I could just pick the ones I wanted... the ones that come straight from the farm always taste better too.

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  3. Yum! I used to make this too but had totally forgotten about it! Must get me some strawberries and do it again :)

    I also used to enjoy chopped strawberries in milk with a little sugar. I think it's time to break that out as well!

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    1. Hi Gabby! It's nice to see you again! ;) Isn't this the greatest summer recipe?

      I've never heard of chopping up strawberries in milk with sugar! Do you just eat it like cereal in a bowl with a spoon? That sounds so good!

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  4. I will try to amass the ingredients to make this this weekend.

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    1. I did it, but I cant link specfically to this post, just the blog in gemeral.

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    2. Yay, I hope you like them! If you click on the title of the post it should bring you to its own page :)

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  5. I have been eating a lot of cherries but not so many strawberries this year! That ought to change. Sounds like it'd be great on just about anything.

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    1. That's funny because I've barely had any cherries this summer! I have been craving a cherry chocolate smoothie so I should definitely get some cherries soon :) I like your cherry counter on Twitter ;) I think you're right, they would be great on just about anything!

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  6. nothing better than strawberries and chocolate:) especially when the chocolate is from Trader Joes. God bless that place! :D haha

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