Strawberry Picking
As I have mentioned before, we are in the middle of strawberry season here in Florida. This past Saturday, a friend and I took the boys up to Palm City to go strawberry picking for some Valentine’s Day fun. Sometimes, I forget what ripe, freshly picked strawberries are supposed to taste like. Pure sweetness that brings me back to the times we used to pick strawberries from my grandparents’ farm.
It’s amazing to watch boys at play, digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, looking for bugs. I have never been particularly physical and have always been very tidy, clean and organized, so I am now discovering a new side of me thanks to my little boy. It took several good scrubbings to get those hands, feet and faces clean.
We picked two large baskets of strawberries, which is definitely more than what we can consume in a couple of days. We shared some with neighbors, froze some for later consumption and I have been baking away with the rest. I am also planning on making some more strawberry pate de fruit, strawberry sorbet, strawberry shortcakes and strawberry jam, which I will share with you later.
Here is one of C’s favorite desserts, which is yogurt panna cotta with layers of strawberry mousse and strawberry gelee topped with meringue sticks. And then one of my favorites, which is an apple and strawberry galette. I know I said we really don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, but maybe I lied… just a little. Hope you had a great weekend too!
Yogurt Panna Cotta
I used homemade yogurt for this, which is a bit thinner than commercial yogurt. You can also use buttermilk or creme fraiche. The bit of acidity is really nice.
200 grams heavy cream
45 grams sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 grams sheet gelatin
100 grams plain yogurt
In a small saucepan, cook the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla bean until it comes to a boil. In the meantime, soak the gelatin in ice water. When the cream has come to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Whisk to dissolve it. Pour this into a clean bowl and let it cool to about body temperature. Add the yogurt and whisk well.
Pour the panna cotta into your molds or jars and let it set in the refrigerator.
Strawberry Mousse
100 grams strawberry puree
10 grams sugar
2 grams sheet gelatin
75 grams heavy cream, soft peaks
Warm half of the strawberry puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatin in ice water. Add the softened gelatin to the warm strawberry puree. Add the rest of the puree and let it cool.
Fold in the whipped cream into the puree base. Pour this mousse on top of the yogurt panna cotta and let it set in the refrigerator.
Strawberry Gelee
150 grams strawberry puree
30 grams sugar
2 gram sheet gelatin
Warm half of the strawberry puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatin in ice water. Add the softened gelatin to the warm strawberry puree. Add the rest of the puree and let it cool.
Pour this gelee on top of the strawberry mousse and let it set in the refrigerator.
Meringue sticks sound like a great idea! That galette is gorgeous, too. I have to wait for summer to go strawberry picking, boo.
I went strawberry picking last December, although I did not enjoy it much; I think we picked the wrong place as there were too many people and not enough strawberries. Plus, the arid landscape of the strawberry farm did nothing to inspire efforts to pick my own strawberries, so I just let my brother and sister do the dirty work for me. But admittedly, the strawberries were delicious although not as pretty as the ones you picked. Love the galette and the pannacotta! Was just thinking of making a fig and blackberry galette this week!
It’s so great to go strawberry picking! Your Panna Cotta dessert and tarts look delightful! Sooooo good…
Cheers,
Rosa
a mis hijas les habría encantado estar allí también… recoger fresas sintiendo el sol en la piel… qué suerte!
Everything sounds as music to my ears,….mmmmmmm…. I just have to wait until it is summer for the strawberries!
Lucky you! It’s -5°C here and the only fresh fruits are apples and oranges :/ I want some of that strawberries! Could you send some? :)
These panna cottas and tartlets are lovely and mouthwatering. Although there is snow here, I feel a bit in spring thanks to you! ;)
That’s so fun! Everything looks delicious!
What a beautiful website. Thanks for the memory of picking strawberries. I used to live in FL and now have to wait until June to pick strawberries here in MN.
What a beautiful website. Thanks for the memory of picking strawberries. I used to live in FL and now have to wait until June to pick the red jewels here in MN.
I can’t wait to taste a really good strawberry – for me, I think it will be a few more weeks. Your galettes are so tantalizing and I love the tangy and textural elements of the yogurt strawberry treat. This will one for the middle of summer for sure.
Your son and his pal are absolutely adorable. I love the way he’s clinging to that basket of gorgeous berries!
So wonderful!!
strawberries!!! so envious…it’s still winter weather here in vA though we had a warm spell last week. Everything looks delicious, Aran!
OMG, i can’t read your blog for the next weeks if you write about strawberries any longer ;-)!
Strawberries are still a thing for dreams this time of year in MN! They look fabulous. I can’t wait to go berry picking with my boys!
Oh panna cotta is just about my favorite dessert ever…I will most certainly be trying this version! I have great memories of picking strawberries as a kid near my great aunt’s house in southern california. Ah, how I long for that during the winter of my discontent here in New York!
I made a flan over the weekend, and my uncle said next up is panna cotta. This recipe sounds wonderful, and your children are beautiful.
Lovely photos, the kids look so cute with their strawberry faces!
I picked up a bunch of strawberries at the grocery store on Friday night and they were horrid. All I could think about was how lucky you are that it’s strawberry season in FL.
(And your pics just keeping more gorgeous with every post.)
oh my god so pretty! i love galette pastry shells like that, ahk! can’t wait for strawberries though; had a bit of snow here yesterday, oh and today….but soon. trop mignon les garcons~
Some of my favorite childhood memories are picking strawberries in Belle Plaine, Ks. My mother, sister, and I would pile in a van with my childhood best friend and her family to pick berries all afternoon. We’d fill several flats, but we’d also gorge ourselves on berries!
Thank you for sharing your stories.
i absolutely admire your food photos, and all the other ones you’ve posted for that matter! am i correct to assume it’s a DSLR you use, with a touch of photoshopping? i can only wish my dishes could look as good!
Meringue sticks??Wow. Magical romantic pictures of beautiful strawberries! I love the strawberry blossoms!Strawberry picking must be so much fun!
Hello!
My daughter and I, are madly in love with your recipes and pictures:)
Thank you for super inspiration!
Have a great week!
Sanne & Irene in Norway.
Fantastic photos and the recipes sounds great. Other then the fact that I will have to wait for the summer to arrive to have fresh strawberries…:( Love your blog!
i totally need that strawberry and apple galette with my morning coffee! amazing Aran!
You have me wishing for it to be strawberry season here!!! Your pics are incredible!
I tried pannacotta for the first time on Valentines Day, as my hubby made one wirh raspberries (see my blog :) ) I loved it!!! Such a delightful dessert! Yours look incredible!
I love the idea of the meringue sticks!
Nice photos! We are far from strawberries season here… I wish I could go strawberry picking again.. great fun!
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!
Strawberry fields (of desserts)…forever! It’s all so fresh and sunny. :-) Thank you for the respite from my cold Seattle world!
Those photos’ are like a breath of fresh spring air for me!! It’s making me very anxious to when the temperatures around here stay up above freezing!! Every time I visit your blog I find myself renewed and re-inspired with your wonderful and beautiful creations!!
so fresh and spring-y, lovely aran! and what a cute little strawberry picker you have!
Dream and delight. I can’t wait for strawberry season!
Ok, so now my strawberries from Kroger look less than desirable:( I’m completely intriqued by these meringue sticks, thanks so much for sharing – as always!
I am speechless….these are the most gorgeous photos of strawberries I have ever seen and that dessert?! YOWZA! I mean….wow. really. And your little one, is a cutie pie! Love.
xo
Melis
Estoy deseando que las fresas bajen un poco de precio para empezar a hacer cositas… mermeladas, mousses, esas galletes tan ricas, helados,… mwe soprende que se pueda ir la campo a recoger las fresas, debería existir esas costumbre aquí tambie.n…
Besos de fresas,
Ana
yummy stuff. i do not know that i am talented enough to do this.
oh wow, i love both recipes, but i think i could actually make the apple and strawberry galette! my husband would love it.
Nothing beats freshly picked strawberries…well, one little guy by your side can….so can panna cottas and strawberry gelee…I am easy…send both the little one and the pannas for a little vacay my way, ok? Allright you can come too :)
No fair! I have to wait another 5-6 months before we can even dream of going strawberry picking in new york. looks so yummy, and gorgeous pictures!
I wish we were in strawberries season. Love the beautiful pictures.
This is awesomw Aran, & bookmarked. Your son is a poppet & I can just imagine all the scrubbin’ it must have taken. I love the starwberry apple galetts…STUUNING!!
Wow, those look so good! I love the flavour of the smaller varieties of strawberry. All your strawberry creations look amazing and your photos get more and more amazing. I hope you get a book deal soon so I can flip through it on my couch for inspiration.
Hi Aran
Acabo de estar tomando un café con tu tía Bego e inmediatamente me he sumergido en tu blog. Sigue siendo una delicia de verdad. Y felicidades por la victoria bloggera. Aquí nos tuviste a todos los votantes pendientes de un hilo. Peor un hilo fuerte y seguro. Cuando vengas por aquí, ya sabes…las pastas las pondremos nosotras y tú el café…aunque ez una puesta un poco descabellada…
Your pictures look amazing… And the recipes are so gorgeous! Special thanks to you!
Cheers,
Miette
That brings back lots of memories for me growing up within biking distance of a strawberry farm in Upstate NY. The pictures of the boys tug at my heartstrings most of all. I know I loved nothing more than watching my kids have their “first” experiences at so many things. When my son ,who is almost 13, was little like your’s he had a very similar head of hair!
The recipes look scrumptious and so fresh. I am eager to try the panna cotta!
I’ts look delicious!! ^0^
I hope I can made it one day ^^
Kiss!!
Wow, these strawberry desserts look so delicious!!! One question? What would a conversion for gelatin sheets be for a Canadian cook who only can get Knox Gelatin packets? thank you for your help.
Oh I am sooo jealous!!! Beautiful Aran!
Aran, great photos, as always!
I havent’ been able to find sheet gelatin, so do you know how much powdered gelatin equals one sheet of gelatin? Thanks so much!
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. i am dying at these.
This blog is so beautiful. And the photos…. As I would be able to prepare pictures like this, I’m very happy.
Your son is very very cute.
You are so lucky, ’cause you can eat fresh strawberry. I leave in Hungary, and in here, the weather is not very good. The snow falls now. I have to wait the fresh strawberryes.:(
Petra
I love your blog, the photos are so beautiful…..x
it’s winter here in the uk (a fact consolidated with 6inches of snow last week!) so I’ll have to wait a while before I can try the recipes in this post….but thank you for reminding us how much fun strawberry picking can be…..
take care, sharon x
Thank you everyone! I know some of you still have to wait for strawberry season but it will come soon. I feel lucky right now!
April and Bigspoonbakery- the sheet gelatin to powder gelatin conversion is not always exact because there are different kinds of strengths amongst sheet gelatins. as a general rule, for “gold” strength sheet gelatin (which is what I use), 1 gram of sheet gelatin equals 1 gram of powder gelatin. Like I said, this is a guesstimate and I have not tried this particular recipe with powder gelatin, but it should work. Let me know if you do try it, ok?
Thanks!
À garder précieusement de côté et à déguster avec les premières Mara.
just beautiful, I wish I could get strawberries fresh. The homemade yogurt panna cotta sounds amazing. I truly believe in great fresh dairy products.
These photos are so beautiful! I can’t believe is strawberry season already for you. It is so cold here, and I have been dreaming about summer fruits a lot lately!
In the meantime, I’ve started my own food blog. So, if you ever feel like checking it out, it’s http://cookwithfire.blogspot.com/
Cheers!
My dear – you have made quite a splash here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article5561425.ece
Congratulations! Although the author either can’t read or can’t write because she says you just started the blog this year (when I have been enjoying your blog for longer than just a month plus!)
On a related topic – I am sooooo jealous of your strawberry season, but even more than that, I just adore the pictures of the boys with the strawberries. Very sweet in so many ways. You have a beautiful child.
The galette looks amazing. CAn we have the recipe please?
Thanks!
Lucky you living in Florida, we’ll have to wait for a while until we have good strawberries.
Lovely desserts, very spring-y!
mmmm strawberries
i love them in a smoothie
Low self-confidence?
HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYY… i think..i’m told….
For the longest time I detested strawberries. Now I SERIOUSLY cannot get enough of them…in any form.
OMG this is so gorgeous I have to share it with my readers!!
Your galette looks just heavenly!
Freshly picked strawberries are a dream. I love the galettes, they look absolutely delicious!
clearly i need to live in Florida.
I loved that Yogurt panna cotta recipe. It’s a wonderful and healthy dessert. Also I like the idea of using homemade yogurt instead of commercial one.
I’m trying to make time in my schedule to go pick strawberries again (I’ve already been once this season) and I’m aiming for next week. I have even more inspiration now that I’ve seen your recipes! I found your blog on the 50 top food blogs article at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article5561425.ece (which I’ve linked to on my blog) and I’m glad I took the time to check it out! :)
what is the recipe for the strawberry apple galette? it looks so fanstastic.
Rachel- sorry i didn’t include the recipe. the crust is a basic pie dough crust and the filling is just diced up strawberries, apples, a bit of sugar, a bit of flour and a bit of lemon juice. i didn’t follow a recipe so tasted it and eyeballed it that’s why i just didn’t write the recipe in this post, but that’s why it’s so simple!
thank you!
There is not a strawberry farm near by where I live and the nearest one is like an hour and 1/2 away so I’m giving serious thought if I want to do the drive for some fresh strawberries….
Vi
strawberry picking… a great idea to take your beloved one/s for a fun day out. I think I Know where I’m going to take H in June… Oxford for strawbeery picking and delicious lunch at the Trout (best thing you can do in Oxford!) Of course, would love to give you the strawberries so that you could make more delicious creations! Congrats!
Hi ! Amezing recipe ! It look delicious and it sound delicious !
I love the way you turn every little thing into art !
I’d like to try the Yogurt Panna Cotta recipe for my mothers birthday though I am not very good at cooking. Can you please tell me if I don’t have sheet gelatin how much of regular (fluid) gelatin should I use for it? How much is one gelatin sheet in fluid ? measures ? Thank you in advance !
Anonymous- i have never encoutered fluid gelatin. are you referring to powdered gelatin that has been bloomed in water and then melted?
this is for powder gelatin. it’s hard to make a 1 to 1 conversion because all sheet gelatin is not alike. there are different blooms and not all sheets weigh the same. but as a good rule you can say 1 gram of sheet gelatin equals 1 gram of powder gelatin. test the recipe this way and then make adjustments if necessary.
How cute of him carring the strawberries! You have some of the prettiest photos! Just love them. Daisy~
Elle est sublime cette photo
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hello Aran,
First, what a pleasure to read your blog ! All your photos are extraordinary beautiful !
I would love to make your panna cotta for dessert for my guest next week, but i’ve got two small questions for you :
1- How many glasses can i fill with this recipe?
2- I’ve read you’re from France (right ? :D), and so do I, so, is heavy cream similar to “crème fleurette” ?
Thanks Thanks Thanks !
XXX
Valerie- depends on the size of your glasses and how much you pour in each one but if I remember correctly, I got 4 out of this one.
I am Basque but not from the French side but from the Spanish side. Not sure about creme fleurette.
Thank you for your kind words and hope your guests like it!
Beautiful photographs, looks delicious and wonderful!
I just stumbled upon your blog yesterday after looking on Pinterest for mousse recipes.
I’ve noticed that you mostly use fruit puree but I couldn’t find a recipe for how to make the puree on your website.
I was wondering if you just blend up fruits without adding anything because most puree recipes I have seen have x amount of fruit with x amount of sugar, however you seem to add sugar afterwards in the mousse recipe. I wanted to make this recipe because I have some freshly made strawberry puree in the fridge, but because of the added sugar in it I am wondering if it’s ok or if it will turn out too sweet.
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