Seasonal Sundays (Week 19) Strawberry Season

Seven strawberry recipes to send all your spring senses soaring with the spirit of the season ...

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

As ever, thank you for welcoming me into your InBox and RSS feed reader. It's your kitchens, your lives, I conjure while writing ...

Strawberries are special around here. Meet Strawberry Bill, my great-grandfather whose home-grown strawberries sold for a dime a quart ... and for many, then, even that was "too dear". Twas another time.

Interesting, though ... adjusted for inflation, $.10 is now $1.66.

In Praise Of ...

• ... the dozens of wild canaries we hope take up summer residence instead of migrating on north, they swoop in and around the bird feeders in formation, turning the air almost golden, we think they're l-o-v-i-n-g the whole sunflower hearts, our summer bird food, no shells to clog up the pool
• ... the Carolina wren whose l-o-u-d and l-o-n-g dark-early calls wakened me in time to watch yesterday's coronation (sound off in order to hear the dawn chorus outside) ... what a spectacle ... with no sense of joyous occasion ... anyone else wish Charles had abdicated for Will?
• the Merlin bird ID & sound ID app – Such fun, sitting near the feeders in the backyard, identifying the birds by sight and oh wow, especially sound when you can't always see the birds themselves. Very eye- and ear-opening!
• BirdCast migration app – Save it to your phone, then every day, enter your city or county or state for an estimate of how many birds migrated overhead overnight, whoah, last night here in the Mississippi flyway. Just imagine the long journeys these tiny creatures make, up and down the planet. Amazing.

Democracy Matters

The country needs calm, thoughtful and assertive voices amid the chaos inflicted by a minority hellbent on taking/retaining generational power by strangling democratic principles and equal rights. None of us have to personally change the world. We just have to do our part.

And it's time for Dianne Feinstein to resign ...

Leave it to James Fallows to explain it all so well, On Knowing When to Go.

Help her make the decision? I suggest even non-constituents call, since the implications of her staying are national, not state.

Let’s call her office again, at ‭(310) 914-7300‬ or ‭(202) 224-3841‬ or ‭(415) 393-0707‬ or‭ (559) 485-7430,‬ and say something like:

My name is ____ and my zip code is ____. I’m calling as a constituent to say that while I really appreciate the work that Senator Feinstein has done for California, she needs to do the right thing now by stepping down. Her absence is hurting us badly. Please ask her not to ruin her good legacy by sabotaging our progress at a time we need it the most. She needs to resign immediately. Thanks.

(Actions/scrips provided by the indefatigable Chop Wood, Carry Water)

May I Suggest ... a Link?

Let me just presume that if you're reading this, well, you're both a cook and a recipe collector. Don't the two kinda go together? And that means you tuck aside interesting recipes all over the place and then, dang, where is that chicken recipe that looked so good anyway? Here's an idea. Start a folder on your phone, call it "Kitchen Parade" or "Alanna" or whatever makes best sense to you. Then save the recipes you're most interested in right there in one place. Easy Peasy.

• Start here?
• Strawberry Recipes from Kitchen Parade

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SEASONAL INSPIRATION:

• THE RECIPE Seven-Layer Strawberry Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing
• ANOTHER A Pair of Strawberry Salads Worthy of the best of berries.

• THE RECIPE Strawberry Salsa with Sweet-Cinnamon Baked Tortilla Chips A quick fruit salsa with easy baked tortilla chips.
• ANOTHER TAKE Five-Minute Fruit Salad It's all in the presentation!

• THE RECIPE Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler With a buttery cornmeal crumble topping.
• ANOTHER TAKE Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothies Spring's favorite couple in a glass.

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Cream Puffs Stuffed with Strawberries & Cream Just two bites big, just perfect for spring occasions.
• ANOTHER TAKE Finnish Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake A real celebration cake. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Fresh Strawberry Pie Fresh glazed berries in a homemade chocolate-cookie crust, a real crowd pleaser. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Strawberry Shortcake Iowa-Style With shortcake biscuits and half & half.

• THE RECIPE Mojito Strawberries Inspired by a mojito, the Cuban cocktail.
• ANOTHER TAKE Strawberry Banana Chocolate Crumble Fruity chocolaty goodness, oh my.

• THE RECIPE COLLECTION Strawberry Recipes Sweet and savory, both.
• SO USEFUL! All Kitchen Parade Recipes Organized by Ingredient

Looking Ahead ...

• May 14 - Mother's Day & Wear the Hat, Dammit: A Mother's Day Essay
• May 29 - Memorial Day

Looking Back ...

• My 2020 Time Capsule, this week, when we were beginning to think about opening up again, just ten weeks in. It starts off like this, "And so the virus divides us again."


• Mexican Meal Prep (Week 18)
• Feta Lovers (Week 17)
• Asparagus Season! (Week 16)
• Quick Pickles (Week 15)
• Celebration Breads & Cakes (Week 14)
• Sides for Spring Celebrations (Week 13)
• Cabbage Fever (Week 12 & apparently we're fellow cabbage lovers!)
• Spring Pies & Tarts (Week 11)
• Rotisserie Chicken Recipes (Week 10)
• Dried Beans for Bridge Season (Week 9)
• Breakfast Occasions (Week 8)
• Dinner for ♥♥ (Week 7)
• Winter Salads (Week 6)
• Leaning into Lentils (Week 5)
• Quick Breads (Week 4 & your favorite topic so far this year!)
• Winter Dinners (Week 3)
• Winter Plant-Based Dinners (Week 2)
• A Cozy Cool Down (Week 1)

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from the last week, not including the oatmeal, salad dressing and sautéed greens on repeat this time of year.

• THIS WEEK Day One of our second Deep Mexico, I googled "Mexican oatmeal" and, well, zilch. It was pre-coffee early, so my only thought was to drop a couple of cinnamon sticks into the pot while the oats cooked. My husband loved even the subtle outcome! Perhaps no wonder, since he nearly always douses oatmeal with ground cinnamon and chopped fruit. I was less excited, since my usual morning tack is to add an egg. But maybe ground cumin seeds? Something else savory? It was a simple switch-up, worth experimenting with.
• THE RECIPE Creamy Oatmeal Three tricks for the very best oatmeal, all easy! (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK ... so I returned to an old favorite, cooking oats in the microwave and stirring in a little peanut butter. Swoon ...
• THE RECIPE Microwave Creamy Oatmeal with Peanut Butter My long-time morning ritual ... nearly every single day.

• THIS WEEK I was sooooo excited to find some Rancho Gordo heirloom beans at Whole Foods! They cooked up great! But ... to my taste, no different than plain ol' bags of beans from a low shelf at the grocery. What am I missing?
• THE RECIPE How to Cook Dried Beans from Scratch Mexican-Style (Slow Cooker or Oven Slow-Cooking) Easy, economical, delicious. (PIN This)

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Mexican Rice For tacos, fajitas, quesadillas and more. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Mexican Cauliflower "Rice" Turn a head of cauliflower into a healthy, flavorful stand-in for rice.

• THE RECIPE Afghan Chicken & Rice Casserole (Kabeli Palau) Unusual, amazing combination of ingredients. (PIN This)
• SERVE WITH Afghan Eggplant & Tomato Casserole (Borani Banjan) An explosion of tastes and textures and temperatures.

• THE RECIPE My Favorite Graham Cracker Crust A crisp, sturdy crust, not too sweet, not too buttery. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE No-Bake Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust (Homemade Chocolate Cookies) Half chocolate, half graham cracker. (PIN This)

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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