Strawberry Time!

I love strawberries. I had heard the rumor that the Farmer's Market had some while we were gone in Spain, but they sold out quickly (ten minutes) as soon as the market started last weekend. The lady told me that she would have more during the Tues/Thurs markets, so I ended up scoring a couple of baskets during the week. They were tender and juicy, but since they weren't treated with chemicals like some of the berries that you would buy in a grocery store, they got soft quicker than store bought ones. Since they were just soft and not rotten, I could still use them in a cooked recipe with no problem. I was reading my twitter feed list and found this great recipe from Gourmet magazine. It's basically like strawberry shortcake without all the work!

STRAWBERRY DUMPLING recipe from Ruth Cousineau at Gourmet Magazine

The dumpling after cooking.

1 qt strawberries, trimmed and thickly sliced (about 4 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup whole milk (I used 2% because that's all I had)


Accompaniment:
heavy cream (didn't have any, but I am sure that it would be divine)


Stir together strawberries and sugar in a 4-qt heavy saucepan and let stand, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 15 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter using a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Stir in milk until just blended, then add mixture to boiling berries and stir once or twice. Tightly cover saucepan and reduce heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until dumpling looks dry on top, 15 to 18 minutes. Let stand off heat, uncovered, 5 minutes before serving.