Strawberry bars

Strawberry season is over. So sad - end of summer and all that, but also allows for some good deals. Two quart containers sold for $2.50 at the store last week. Those containers can go for as much as $7.99, so two-fiddy's a good price. I inspected the containers - no obvious mold and a great smell of strawberries. (Always smell the food you buy.)

I bought two containers of strawberries; juiced one and put the other in the fridge. Forgot about it for a couple of days so it was a little um juicy when remembered. About two berries were edible; the rest I headed and popped in a saucepan with water, boiled down for a couple of hours until they formed a quick jam. 

garnished with powdered sugar and lavender buds

It wasn't very sweet - enough for a savory garnish but not to stand alone as a dessert. I gave it to the kids with some sugar when I was making the ratatouille. When I ground the almonds, I gave them a taste of the resulting almond butter, suggesting they try it with the strawberries. It was a hit! We discussed myriad ways to serve them - on a graham cracker crumb crust; with whipped cream; as mini bars; one ice cream. So much fun and of course pretty healthy being only almonds and strawberries. Yum.

I also find it fun to allow the eaters to participate in making their dessert, so being able to shape the almond butter, sprinkle sugar over top, and add fresh flower garnishes (in this case lavender buds) and the like added to its eatability. It was all gone - they licked the bowl and the spoon and even the grinder blades (I know) to get every last ounce of deliciousness. Now that's how healthy eating should be!