Grilled Balsamic Strawberries

My friend Daria visited us from San Francisco this week & suggested we grill some strawberries for dessert. We never ended up doing it while she was here but in her honor we did it tonight.

You can just see the grill marks on that front strawberry.

I went back & forth on how to best do this. Slice them & cook them in a grilling basket? Just put them on the grill whole? Finally I decided to skewer them whole, though I was a little worried they might soften too much & fall off the skewers.

It ended up working just fine & we were able to turn the skewers without losing any strawberries. They came off the grill warm & slightly soft & perfect on top of French vanilla ice cream. The balsamic flavor didn't come across very strong so next time I may pour a little more over the top of the strawberries & ice cream. Matt thought they didn't need anything else. This would be a really nice ending to any bbq.


8 large strawberries, tops cut off
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t olive oil
1 t brown sugar

Put the strawberries on two wooden or metal skewers (if using wood make sure to soak them in water first). Mix the balsamic, oil & sugar together. Brush the berries on all side with the balsamic mixture. Place over direct medium heat on the grill. Cook for 4 - 6 minutes turning once or twice. Take the strawberries off the skewers, slice & serve over ice cream.

Serves 2

What's in CSA box #5

We are on a flex plan with our CSA, which means we can choose which weeks we want a box, so because we were on vacation last week we had three weeks between deliveries instead of two. Our veggie drawers were looking pretty bare.


Fennel - One of these I'll roast with the beets for a salad. The other may be cooked with onions to go on a steak.

Red Beets - Oh, do I love beets. This is our first batch & candy striped & golden are yet to come.

Leaf Lettuce - For salads & on sandwiches

Cauliflower - I think this will be BBQed as a side dish with Indian BBQ Sauce.

Red Kale - Its too warm to use this in our favorite kale soup so I'll have to find a good summer use.

Red Kohlrabi - Probably will go in a slaw.

Purple Scallions - I might cook these up with the fennel.

Sugar Snap Peas - I think these will just get steamed tonight & eaten as a side dish

Strawberries - These are the last local strawberries of the season. Perhaps another shortcake is in order.

Fresh Garlic - We use garlic in a lot of cooking so this will be easy to use.

Camp Food!

If you head up to Northern Minnesota in the summer you have to have a fish fry & the fish has to be Walleye.

My dad brings his fryer up, sets it up on a picnic table & fries up his fresh catch. Unfortunately, this year the fish haven't been biting but luckily he had some from a trip to Canada this spring.
First course, fried cheese curds.

If you aren't from Minnesota, Wisconsin or Quebec you might not be familiar with with this regional delicacy but oh do we love them here. Salty, squeaky, rubbery bits of cheesy goodness that are only made better by battering & deep frying them. Usually they are coated with a beer-based batter but my Dad used an onion ring batter he had on hand. Imagine the best mozzarella sticks you've ever eaten, I could have just eaten these all night!
Second course, this cut onion rings.

Crisp with a light batter, just perfect.
Third course, fried walleye

Walleye is only found in the Northern US & Canada. It is a very light, flaky, white fish & considered the best tasting freshwater fish. It's also the MN state fish. My Dad cuts the fillets into nuggets that he then soaks in egg & milk. Right before frying they are coated in Shore Lunch. Served with my mom's homemade tarter sauce while sitting next to the lake, its the perfect fish dinner.

What we did with CSA box #4

1. the box 2. fresh local strawberries 3. steak salad with strawberry vinaigrette
4. strawberry shortcake 5. fresh strawberry cake 6. sweet & spicy stir-fry 7. kohlrabi slaw 8. danish braid with rhubarb raspberry filling 9. simple stir-fry 10. sautéed garlic scapes & zucchini

Ok, I cheated a bit with the Danish Braid as the rhubarb wasn't from this box but a past one but since it was for the Daring Bakers Challenge I wasn't allowed to post it until later.

Gone Fishing

We're heading up North for the holiday weekend & hopefully some fresh caught walleye!
Happy 4th of July everyone!