For this week’s Fresh Produce Tuesday series, we are featuring many amazing strawberry recipes. Strawberries are my all-time favorite fruit. I enjoy them almost year-round, but the most delicious ones are the fresh, local strawberries found every June from local farms. I love that strawberries are so versatile- I enjoy them in a smoothie or with Greek yogurt in the morning, with a spinach salad for dinner, in a sweet dessert, or I just pop them in my mouth just as they are.

I’ve been noticing fresh spring produce is abundant lately at the farmer’s markets. Here are recipe ideas for Asparagus, Artichokes, Spring Onions, Peas, Garlic Scapes & Spring Garlic, Rhubarb, Fava Beans, Radishes, Lettuce, and Morels in case you missed any of the previous weeks of our series.

I made this strawberry shortcake recipe a few weeks ago and loved how it turned out. I was a little shocked how much heavy cream was used in the shortcake base alone, but it created a perfectly tasting cake to douse with strawberries and whipped cream.

Here are 9 additional strawberry recipes that I love:

Fresh Strawberry Pie from Brown Eyed Baker
Homemade Strawberry Lemonade from My Baking Addiction
Strawberry Balsamic Thyme Freezer Jam from Foodie with Family
Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream from Martha Stewart Living, February 2009
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt from Pink Parsley
Strawberry, Pistachio, and Goat Cheese Pizza from Cooking Light, May 2009
Strawberry Spinach Salad from Our Best Bites
Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles from Baker’s Royale
Strawberry Wine Coolers from Annie’s Eats

Here’s your chance to link up you favorite strawberry recipe. It would be great if you could link back to 2 Sisters 2 Cities or add our button to your strawberry post (our button can be found on the top of the right-hand column), but it is not required. Readers, please “like” the recipes below that you like the best!

Here is the Fresh Produce Tuesday schedule for the next few weeks:

Week #12- June 12th: Kale
Week #13- June 19th: Carrots
Week #14- June 26th: Chard

Happy Valentine’s Day! I had hoped to make heart cut-out cookies like Sara did at forever and a recipe, but I ran out of time. I did decide at the last-minute to make chocolate-covered strawberries to go on the side of the dessert planned for tonight. This is a very simple recipe, but I have a couple warnings:

1. If you don’t have a double-boiler and are just holding a pot over another pot of boiling water, don’t freak out if the water bubbles out at you and fling a chocolate strawberry all over yourself and the kitchen.

2. If you have already flung a chocolate strawberry all over yourself and kitchen, don’t answer the door for the dry cleaning delivery man. I did not realize I had spilled chocolate all over my shirt. Everywhere. I must have looked like such a hot mess when I answered the door.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Ingredients:
-1 pound strawberries, rinsed and patted dry
-8 oz 70% cacao chocolate bar, chopped into small pieces
-1/2 inch square paraffin
-1 tablespoon butter
-Any other ingredients you want to dip in chocolate (I used bananas and pretzels)

Directions:
Combine the chocolate, paraffin, and butter in the top portion of a double boiler (or a small sauce pan if you don’t have one). Allow the water in the bottom portion of a double boiler (or a larger sauce pan) to boil. Hold the small pan over the boiling water (don’t let it touch the bottom of the larger pan) and continually stir the chocolate mixture until everything is fully melted.

Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the strawberry into the melted chocolate and roll it around until 85% of it is covered with the chocolate. Place the strawberry on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Once the strawberries are done, dip any other ingredients you want in the chocolate. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for an hour or until chocolate has set.

I also made some chocolate-covered pretzels and bananas. When I think of chocolate-covered bananas, I always think of the Bluth family banana stand on Arrested Development:

Tonight’s V’day dinner menu is:
-Whole Foods pre-made crab cakes with homemade tartar sauce
-Moroccan-spiced rack of lamb with pomegranate reduction (from the Bon Appetit Fast Fresh Easy cookbook)
-Couscous with pine nuts and mint
-Baked acorn squash with yogurt and mint
–Molten chocolate cake with chocolate-covered strawberries on the side

Do you have any plans for tonight?

-m