Hey! Hope everyone is having a great week. I’m at lake crescent taking a much needed break from the city, kayaking, hiking and trying to teach Roux to swim. It feels like summer is really here and the farmer’s market is in full swing. Last week I picked up peas, zucchini, basil, cucumbers, peaches, and all the berries. With the insanely warm weather we’ve been having the berries started going bad before we could eat them all, but I was determined not to let any go to waste. They aren’t perfect looking, and are even a little wrinkled and bruised (they had a rough ride home on the back of my bike) but that’s ok with me. I think there’s something beautiful about produce that isn’t perfect and I hope that you’ll see the inherent beauty too. Twenty percent of the produce grown in the U.S. goes to waste because it doesn’t fit the strict cosmetic standards set by grocery stores, and expected by consumers, resulting in wasted resources and huge environmental impacts. Several organizations like Imperfect Produce and Imperfectly Delicious are working to change this by educating consumers, working with farmers and gleaning imperfect produce to sell in discounted CSA shares or incorporate into food service industry menus. After all, it’s the flavor that matters most right?
I dressed up these strawberries by tossing them with coconut sugar and freshly grated ginger for a rich roasted flavor and a little zing. I served them with sheep milk yogurt, apriums, toasted pistachios and chia seeds but they’d be great on strawberry shortcakes or over ice cream too. The styling in this post was inspired by Tara O’Brady’s recipe for Chia Pudding with Fruit and Golden Honey Elixer.
Gingered Strawberries
Serves 1
INGREDIENTS
1 cup strawberries hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
Sheep milk yogurt
Sliced apriums or apricots
Toasted and chopped pistachios
Chia seeds
PROCEDURE
Gently toss the strawberries with the sugar and ginger until the sugar has dissolved and the strawberries start to release their juices. Serve with sheep milk yogurt, sliced apriums, toasted pistachios and chia seeds.
Gorgeous plating! So beautiful 🙂
xo
Very very beautiful pictures.
So sad about the ugly duckling produce! Thank you for reminding us to not waste food simply because of its cosmetic shortcomings, especially when you stop to see how stunning they look here. This dish is so creative and gorgeous Sasha! I hope you had the most relaxing week at the lake, sounds just perfect – xx
You bet and thank you! XO
loving your pictures! looking forward to see more!
I keep thinking, and occasionally writing, how beautiful your photos are, but I have to say it’s not just your photography, you also have a great eye for food styling/composition. Beautiful!
Thank you so much! That’s so sweet of you to say.
gorgeous, lady! i’m just going to stare at this beautiful plate for the duration of the day!
hehe!
I just love your posts! And I love your photos even more! Would you be so kind as to share what kind of equipment you use to take the images and post them on WordPress?
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Thank you so much. I use a Sony a7 with a couple different lenses.
Glad to hear you’ve been taking a well-deserved and much needed break, Sasha. And I sure hope you are feeling more motivated and less discouraged again, after last week’s down days.
Also, I really couldn’t agree more, and I find it absolutely ridiculous, and dare I say disrespectful, ignorant and discriminating, to let perfectly good produce go to waste solely because it doesn’t meet the industries’ standards. So all hail the slightly misshaped and battered food, because as you say, it’s what’s on the inside, that incomparable goodness, that matters 🙂
Finally, thanks for another refreshing post, beautiful, and enjoy the rest of the week xx
PS: Is it just me who sees the yin-yang symbol on that plate, or was it indeed your intention to make it look like that?
Thank you so much for all your kind words of support. It means so much. And I hadn’t noticed the yin yang…but now I see it! Funny…