It’s strawberry season in the sunshine state! And this heavenly scented bowl of goodness celebrates everything about it. I love strawberries. I was about to type that there are very few things better than in season sweet strawberries. But then my brain chimed in and named at least 8 other things. That was helpful… swiftly moving on.
Arriving at the Farmers market on Monday, I could already smell that sweet scent from walking into the market. I knew fine well I’d be going home with a flat full of stawberries before I’d even laid eyes on them. So after distractedly chucking other fruits and veggies into my bag I doubled back to the stand with the particular flat that caught my eye… what can I say? I’m a huge believer of love at first sight. Well. The rest is history.
Wandering out I spotted a beautiful Basil plant that I’d swear was calling my name. And since basil and strawberries are a match made in heaven, that little baby came home with me too. For those of you new to this magical flavour combination, give it a go. Pop some fresh basil on your next bowl of strawberries. You can thank me later.
Any way enough of my blabbering.
Let the strawberry recipes begin….
Smoothie :
1 frozen Banana
1 Cup hulled strawberries
Almond milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla paste (optional but so worth it)
You know the deal. Blitz it in the blender.
Strawberry and Basil Chia Seed Jam.
2 Cups of Strawberries
1/4 Cup something sweet- Sugar or Honey
Splash of water
A small bunch of fresh Basil – make it into a mini bouquet garni tied with some string in you can.
2 tbs Chia Seeds
Chop all the strawberries and add your sweetener and water to a sauce pan bring this to a simmer and keep it going for 10 minutes. Stir and squish the strawberries together. Once everything is nice and soft and sweet, decant into a heatproof bowl and slide your little bunch of basil into the jam. Leave this to cool. The leaves will go all wilt-y and brown but it should infuse the jam pretty well. Remove the now squishy bouquet when it’s cool and stir through the chia seeds. Give this a half hour to set. Then spoon onto smoothie bowls galore or stick it with peanut butter in a sandwhich. It’s beautiful stirred into porridge or rice pudding too.. I’ll stop talking now.
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