easy english muffins

last weekend, between barbecues, fireworks, lazy drives for ice cream in the thing, yardwork, and 90+ degree days, i decided it was time to bake something yeasty. [and check something off the list at the same time!]

strawberry rolls

this is the last post of strawberry week! be sure to check out the other sweet treats here. 

most sunday mornings i get up first, make myself some coffee, pour a bowl of cereal/fruit with yogurt, and watch the food network for an hour or so. last weekend, i caught claire robinson pulling picture perfect blueberry strudels out of the oven to finish her elaborate weekend brunch. as much as i love all things strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry, one berry i've never really cared for was the blueberry. it does absolutely nothing for me. luckily i had a box of puff pastry dough sitting in the freezer and a few cups of fresh strawberries left and the strudel was mine!

strawberry sour cream ice cream

when i visited my parents a few weekends ago to make jam with my mom, she wanted to be sure we tried her strawberry ice cream - made from the same homegrown berries - before we left. not only was it the perfect shade of pink, but it was completely solid. when i was finally able to scoop it, the ice cream had an odd texture, almost brittle. rather than being smooth and creamy, it was harsh and brittle. sure, the flavor was great, but the texture was all wrong.

which brings me to this. sour cream ice cream. yea, it also sounds odd. but let me tell you, i've seen this recipe everywhere. and once you get the first taste, it's understandable why.

white chocolate strawberry jam cookies

a couple weekends ago, we spent a saturday at my parents' for three reasons: my mom's double nickel birthday, father's day, and to make as many four ounce jars of strawberry jam as we could. an hour and a half into it, we made four batches of jam, jarred close to thirty jars, and were starting our clean up when mom stopped mid-sentence "now really, why does anybody ever buy jam? it's so easy to make. it takes no time, it just dirties a lot of pots." i think she's on to something.

if you've never made your own jam before, it's easy. unbelievably easy and pretty dang hard to mess it up. last year, i went directly to the source - my almost eighty year old grandfather, who has been making jam longer than i've been alive - and learned a few tips to make jamming even easier.

strawberry lemon bars

while there's no doubt i am a lover of berries through and through, there are very few berry and fruit combinations that i really like. strawberry + lemon is one of them. it doesn't hurt that jason loves lemon desserts. which is shocking, since he mentions often that he doesn't "like dessert." yes, really. which is actually good for me, since his lack of a sweet tooth often limits how much i bake. my pants are thankful.