{A Happy Mother's Day} Double Strawberry Basil Tart

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's day! As I become older and finding myself having to juggle more things, I realize more and more how amazing my Mom really is.  To successfully take care of her career, her home and the family is no small feat, and I can only hope to be as strong and productive some day.

 There are many amazing brunch places out here in Los Angeles, but Cy and I decided to cook brunch for my parents this year to show our appreciation - including this Double Strawberry & Basil tart that turned out amazingly well :) I made it because I really love the Double Blueberry tart recipe, and figured if it works for blueberries it must work for strawberries as well.

I made a strawberry & basil jam to spread on the bottom of the tart and simply topped it with fresh strawberries and basil - served with some vanilla creme fraiche, it's springtime in your mouth.

Strawberry Elderflower Frozen Yogurt

This week at the farmer's market, one of the stands had the little wild strawberries that tend to be so much sweeter than their larger counterpart.  I regret not buying more, as these were so sweet, they almost tasted like candy.  

Which reminds me of something my little sis said to me when we were young. "How come the strawberry flavored sweets taste like that? That's not even what real strawberries taste like."  The Japanese tend to really like "strawberry-flavored" candy, so they have everything from strawberry flavored kit kats and oreos, to strawberry flavored mochi.  We didn't realize at the time that the flavor of strawberries we find at regular American grocery are incredibly diluted to what they are supposed to taste like when grown under best conditions.  

When my sis bit into a strawberry for the first time in Japan, she actually exclaimed, "Now I know why 'strawberry-flavored' sweets taste the way they do".  And if any of you have had strawberries in Japan, then I'm sure you know what she means.  In anycase, the point of this long story was that these little strawberries from the farmer's market were sweet enough to be its own dessert.  However, this frozen yogurt makes for a refreshing treat too ;)

Not to mention, it's super easy to make!  It's basically just greek yogurt, strawberries, some elderflower liquor and a little bit of sweetner thrown into the ice cream maker.  All the Vitamin C and other antioxidants in the strawberries combined with the high protein, pro-biotic goodness of greek yogurt makes for one amazing dessert/snack.  

A Happy V-day with "Healthy" Strawberry and Banana Muffins

Happy Valentine's Day!  I definitely don't believe that we need a holiday to show the people we care about how special they are...but, the day is a good excuse to make cute heart shaped goodies.

I happen to think that one of the best features of the muffin is its consistency.  And sometimes, you just want to sink your teeth into that warm soft cake in all of its carbolicious glory.  He won't admit to it, but I know Cy has those moments too.  So as a compromise, I tried to make a "healthier" version so that Cy can indulge too...and I can enjoy them with less guilt ;)

"Healthy" Strawberry Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

2........eggs

1/4c...unsweetened applesauce

1/2c...plain yogurt

2tbsp..honey

1tsp....vanilla extract

2-3.....bananas (mashed)

1c......almond meal

1/2c...whole wheat flour

1/2c...oats

1tsp...baking soda

1tbsp..ground cinnamon

1c.......fresh strawberries (chopped)

Recipe:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 cup muffin tin with liners.

2) In a large bowl, mix together all wet ingredients (eggs, applesauce, yogurt, honey vanilla, and bananas).

3) In another bowl, mix together dry ingredients (almond meal, whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon).

4) Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  It's important not to overmix since we are using some wheat flour - this is the secret to fluffy muffins! 

5) Stir in the strawberries, and fill the muffin liners evenly with the batter. 

6) Bake for about 20min or until the muffin tops spring back when pressed lightly.  Let muffins cool and 

    ENJOY!

*I decorated mine with strawberry slices cut out to look like a heart ;)

*Also, this is another very versatile recipe.  If you don't have almond meal, feel free to use all wheat flour.  Or you can even add maybe a 1/4c of flax seeds instead of oats for some extra fiber.