Fruit On Tuesday ~ Week 1 {Strawberry Shortcake}

Today, I am beginning my new summer recipe series Fruit On Tuesday! 

My first recipe series was born after a post-holiday meltdown. After I pulled myself together that frenzied Tuesday afternoon, restoring a bit of order to my home and making a tried-and-true soup for dinner, I hatched a plan to make soup for dinner--a different soup for dinner--every Tuesday that winter, and share the recipes with you. Thus began Soup On Tuesday.

Last summer, we had Salad On Tuesday. (And you can bet I'll be pulling out some of those recipes again this summer too!)  

This past winter, I made Bread On Tuesday.  Nothing like the aroma and taste of hot-from-the-oven bread.

In this Fruit On Tuesday series, I am going to challenge myself to use fruits in creative ways. Again I'll be sharing some old favorites as well as some brand new (to me) recipes. We'll be  using fruit to make everything from pie to salad, from sauce to salsa, from cake to chutney.  

Today's recipe is of the tried-and-true variety. We were blessed with oodles of strawberries in our garden this year! Strawberry shortcake is just one of the ways we used some of our bounty.  

My shortcake is not really cake-y. There is no shortening (is it really "shortcake" then?) and no eggs. It is more like a slightly sweetened, buttery biscuit, and I make them in individual portions.  

Makes 8. Ingredients: 2 to 3 cups capped, sliced, and slightly sugared  (1/4 cup?) strawberries   ~ 2 cups all purpose flour  1/4 cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt  1 stick butter 2/3 cup milk or half-and-half ~ 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar Directions: Cap and slice strawberries.   Sprinkle a little sugar over them and stir.  Set aside while you prepare the shortcakes.   Preheat oven to 450° F.      For shortcakes, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in medium bowl; mix well.   Cut cold butter into dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly.   Add milk; stir quickly with fork just until dough begins to hold together.  Turn onto floured surface, knead several times, and roll  to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out 8 rounds with a large cutter (I use a drinking glass) and place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 9 minutes. Meanwhile, whip heavy cream and confectioner's sugar together until stiff peaks form.   Slice warm shortcake in half.  Fill with berries and sweetened whipped cream.

Do you eat more fresh fruit during the summer months?  Do you find ways to use in-season fruits in your cooking?


(Links to all posts in Fruit on Tuesday can be found ~here~.)

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Linking to Finished Friday at All Our Days.