Monday, April 20, 2009

Strawberry Shortstack

I can't seem to get enough strawberries these days. I cruised through 4 lbs of them in about a week, just eating them raw (stemmed and halved, with my fingers), and then had to pick up another flat of them over the weekend. It's insidious. I never was a real big fruit eater until recently. I guess I always felt like fruit was a little too on-the-nose. "Oh, you're so sweet and delicious, fruit." It's like, we get it. I usually opted instead for vegetables, which are under-appreciated and therefore have way more street cred.

Berries are great, though (no doy). They're kind of tart, loaded with Vitamin C and other antioxidants, and are low in calories. And they make an excellent frou-frou breakfast of strawberry shortcake. In pancake form.

I whipped up a batch of basic buttermilk pancakes, adding a scant tablespoon of crème fraîche for a bit of twang (add a little extra sugar to the batter to offset this). I made a quick strawberry compote by stemming and halving about 2 cups of strawberries and simmering them in about a half cup of sugar, a tablespoon of butter and 3 tablespoons of kirschwasser.

Top with fresh vanilla whipped cream (do this yourself - it's worth it), and since you aren't drinking mimosas these days have a nice bubbly apple cider with a splash of mango nectar (float a strawberry in there for show).

26 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

Very nice - I've been on a bit of a berry kick recently too. About 3 times in the last fortnight I've had a punnet of raspberries with some yoghurt for lunch. Which I really don't get, as I am not much of a fruit eater.

anno said...

Mmmm... delicious! With berries that good, I think I'd eat them non-stop until the season was over or I had to pause to try that compote.

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Mmmmm...great looking stack! Personally, I'd wash it down with a strong cup of English Breakfast! Great pics Heather!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

I love strawberries. When I was pregnant with my oldest I ate them all the time. It took me up til June then I switched to Grapefruit. She was born the begiining of July so it worked out well! Love the pancakes!

Manggy said...

Ooh, more sweets on GtV? I'm loving this pregnancy, heh ;) Oh man, I'm craving this (and the drink, too, from the description!) at 15 minutes past midnight! Ahrr!

Pam said...

Tasty breakfast - awesome pictures!

Brooke said...

I want that. I'm usually not a pancake person because it's like dessert for breakfast and that just seems wrong. Gimme a banger in the mouth and some hashbrowns instead. But this one may sway me. Anything topped with strawberries and cream is fine in my book.

Anonymous said...

The strawberries in Cali are just sweet and prime right now. We just went through 2 pints this weekend, but we didn't think about this one. Could be a must have for next weekend.

The Spiteful Chef said...

You're going to have a pink baby if you keep this up...wait.

Pancakes are awesome. I don't care how many times people have had them, or how many people say "I don't really 'do' pancakes." They're full of shit. Everybody secretly loves them.

peter said...

I had something funny to say but Brooke's comment got me all distracted so now I'm just going to bed.

Dewi said...

Can't get enough of strawberries, it just a perfect season to enjoy them.
Cheers,
elra

Emily said...

Delicious! I've been loving pancakes these days.

Gorgeous pictures.

Peter M said...

Heath, your prego-appetite has some positive affect on your dishes...simple but freakin' delish!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Yum yummmm yum yum and I love your pictures!

Heather said...

Alicia - Ooh, the raspberries here are amazing and worth waiting for.

Anno - I am just finishing the last of the flat this morning. Might need to get more...

Petah, dahling - A nice cup of tea is definitely a welcome addition to this breakfast. I prefer Earl Grey, myself. :)

Judy - I've been hitting the citrus pretty hard, too. :P

Marky - I have been eating a lot of sweets lately! No wonder I'm gaining weight. :\

Pam - Thank you. Get your berries while you can!

Brookie - If I'd just kept a banger in my mouth I wouldn'ta gotten myself into this jam.

Chrystal - The ones I've been getting are from Cali. You guys are a few months ahead of us on produce.

Kristie - Pancakes are a Thing and all the haters can suck it.

Jube - She does paint a picture, doesn't she?

Elra - I never want berry season to end!

Emmy - Pammycakes are the best! I've been eating a lot of them lately.

El Greco - I'm starting to get my groove back, slowly. I'm off the Spaghettio's at least.

Laura - Thanks! The morning light really helped these shots out. I was glad they didn't need any 'shopping. :)

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

I'm still waiting for berry season to begin around here. I will definitely be doing the shortcake thing in a month or so.

Fresh whipped cream is da bomb!

Unknown said...

Just went through my first flat. Now you've gone and made me think I need to get another! Well, there are worse things, I admit!

Langdon Cook said...

We've been plowing through the organic strawberries from TJ's. They're probably from some ungodly distance away like Fiji but my daughter is an addict and I can't help but feed the addiction when I look into those soulful, berry-craving eyes. Ha! Get ready...

Traci said...

I ate several pounds of fruit a day when I was pg. Especially oranges. I'd slice them in half, then just devour them while standing over the sink like I hadn't eaten in days or something. It was weird.

My drink while pg was just plain carbonated water, like Perrier, but I'd buy the cheap generic grocery store version, then with a splash -- but just a splash -- of fruit juice. Orange was my favorite (surprise surprise). I also would buy the guava and strawberry and papaya nectars (in a can) from the Hispanic foods section at the grocery store.

I actually lost weight! The more fruit I ate meant I ate less tater tots!

Anonymous said...

Look like the pictures on Gourmet magazine. Damn, you're getting good with that camera. I'm too lazy to learn. Looks fabulous Voodoolily!

PS: Brooke's got a potty mouth!

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook said...

Beautiful dish -- simple and well put together. I hate froofy desserts, so this is up my alley...

Jude said...

Underappreciated = street cred? Reminds me of SWPL :)
Kirsch is so good on sweet stuff. I wonder why.

glamah16 said...

Love my fruit. Makes me feel less gulty when I eat.

Leigh said...

don't you love the word 'shortstack' ? so cute.

Unknown said...

Wow, lovely photos. Yummy!Love strawberries, love pancakes. Am so excited for breakfast. I will surely try this stuff.
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Anonymous said...

That looks sooooo good.