Strawberry Summer Love

I love eating seasonally.  It connects me with larger rhythms than my own and makes me feel like I am in tune.  Once you've had a tomato fresh from the garden in August, still warm with the sun, you never want to eat one of those fake cardboard things flown thousands of miles from who knows where in January.

I am in California this week.  We took a drive and ended up by accident driving through the middle of a bunch of strawberry fields.  The smell was absolutely amazing!  I just wanted to sit down and inhale. 

In the summer I have cravings for light foods - fruits and salads.  I eat lots of fresh raw foods to replenish my body's stores of enzymes and probiotics.  With these two key nutrients I am able to break down and assimilate all of the food I eat much better; my digestion becomes much more efficient.  And don't you just feel so alive when eating lots of fresh, in-season fruits and veggies?!

Here is one of my favorite summer recipes.  I take it to barbecues and summer parties because it's easy to make, very pretty, and everyone loves it.  There's no need to tell people just how full of super foods it is (unless they ask). 

Strawberry Fool

Ingredients:

• 1 quart of organic strawberries (Conventional strawberries are very high in the types of pesticides that can cause cancer, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems.  Even if you don't normally worry about buying organic, I recommend only organic strawberries.)
• 1 tablespoon grass fed gelatin.  (Gelatin is an amazing super food, delivers minerals for strong bones, joints, hair, and nails, and collagen for amazing skin.  Gelatin from grass fed animals is best to avoid hormones, pesticides and heavy metal contamination.)
• 1 pint whipping cream (If you have a source for raw grass fed cream, that really kicks the nutrition of this recipe up a notch.  Raw dairy from grass fed animals is a great source of enzymes, probiotics and health fats.)
• Raw honey to taste (Raw honey is another source of enzymes.  A lot of grocery store honey is often mixed with other liquid sweeteners like corn syrup, and it is usually pasteurized, which is completely unnecessary because honey is an extremely stable food.  Archaeologists have found 5000 year old honey that is still edible.)

So, this simple recipe delivers healthy carbs from the sugars in the strawberries and honey, enzymes for digestion and energy, healthy fats from the cream, and protein from the gelatin.  AND it's amazingly decadent and delicious!

Directions:

• Cut the green tops off the strawberries and put them in a large bowl.
• Using your hands (or a potato masher) mash the strawberries. The goal is not to puree them, but to release the juice and make the berries into smallish chunks.
• Add honey to taste.  I actually like it not too sweet.  Let the tartness of the berries come through.
• Sprinkle the gelatin over the strawberry mash and stir it in.  Let sit while whipping the cream.
• Whip the cream to fairly stiff peaks by your favorite method - food processor, hand mixer, or whatever.
• Gently fold the strawberries into the whipped cream. I like to leave it streaky.  It's prettier :)
• Spoon into a pretty glass bowl, or individual serving bowls. 
• Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Trust me.  Your friends and family will love you for this. It's all the best parts of summer in a bowl.

photo credit: whatscookinglove.com

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