Strawberries

During the winter months, pyramids of gleaming fruit in the grocery store look so good that I'm occasionally fooled—and buy some. Invariably, I suffer through mealy peaches, tasteless strawberries and desiccated oranges. I diligently will plums to ripen on my windowsill but they never do, going from rock hard straight to rotten. With a few notable exceptions, fruit in the winter is worthless. This past winter was particularly frustrating for me because my son had just started eating solid foods. I wanted him eating fruit other than applesauce, but it was difficult to find any worth giving him.

I kept imagining the nectarines that my husband and I bought last summer from the farmer's market near his mother's home in Washington State. They were amazing—so sweet and juicy that we had to lean over the sink to eat them. That's the experience I wanted Sebastian to have. I couldn't wait for summer to arrive. Now that summer is here I've been having a great time stuffing him full of fresh ripe strawberries.

Whenever possible, purchase organic local berries (conventional growers use a lot of pesticides that you want to avoid). When you get them home, always store them in the refrigerator. If possible, place them in a shallow layer covered with a slightly damp paper towel and don't wash the berries until you are ready to serve them.

Fresh summer strawberries can be made into strawberry applesauce or strawberry-pear sauce, or stewed with rhubarb. Toss sliced strawberries into whole wheat pancake mix; blend a handful of berries into a pitcher of lemonade or a glass of milk. Combine berries, orange juice, a banana and plain yogurt to make strawberry yogurt smoothies, or serve sliced berries drizzled with honey and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. You can even blend a few berries with champagne or balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper to make a refreshing salad dressing. And if you've got some extra time, try my Strawberry-Lavender Pie recipe.

If you run out of ideas but still have some leftover berries, just clean them and place them into a plastic bag and toss it in the freezer. Come January, you won't have to spend time longing for the fresh flavors of summer fruit.