Berry crazy

I heart all things strawberry. To satisfy my cravings for those juicy, sweet morsels, I have a 20-foot bed of them in my backyard and a few fraises de bois plants out front. Sadly, they don’t produce enough to sate my desires.

Luckily, I got strawberries, rhubarb and fava beans in this week’s community-supported agriculture box. The first two will obviously need to become a pie. The favas I plan to blanch and peel and toss with thinly sliced strawberries and pecorino cheese, per the new Beginnings cookbook by San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino. With some balsamic vinaigrette and a few baby arugula leaves, it’s as gorgeous as it is unexpected.

I can hardly bear to cook down strawberries to make jam, but I can simply layer fresh berries on a sandwich with almond butter for an updated PB&J. I’m also planning to make plenty of paletas this summer, in the style of Fat Face popsicles. Chef Jaymes Luu makes strawberry-lemonade and strawberry-coconut versions. I want to add a bit of savory and try strawberry-thyme or strawberry-balsamic with black pepper.