A flat of strawberries

Other women are excited by new clothes, jewelry, or shoes. 

I get all worked up when my CSA farmer announces that extra flats of strawberries are available for purchase. I immediately responded to his email and bought this extra 12 pints of berries, because what single woman doesn't need a flat of strawberries?

It makes me happy just looking at them lined up in the refrigerator.

I brought the extra flat of berries home last night, along with collard greens, turnips, radishes, spinach, and 2 additional pints of strawberries, bringing the grand total to 14 pints. Everything is fresh and lovely, but I need to hop on the berry thing.

Eight pints went into the freezer. They'll stay there for a week or so, when I find time to make preserves. Many will go into homemade ice cream tonight. The rest I'll consume over the next few days — with yogurt in the morning, with cream for dessert, or macerated with balsamic vinegar and tossed with a handful of arugula from my back porch. This early summer salad is so simple it doesn't really require a recipe, but I've done my best guesstimating quantities. Be sure to use a high-quality vinegar.

Strawberries and Arugula with Balsamic

Serves 2

1/2 cup of strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced

pinch of sugar

pinch of kosher salt

2-3 teaspoons high-quality balsamic vinegar (I'm using a lovely fig-balsamic this time)

a few turns of freshly ground black pepper

a couple of handfuls of arugula

extra virgin olive oil

Toss the sliced berries with sugar, salt and balsamic vinegar. Let them sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then combine with the arugula. Add freshly ground pepper to taste, drizzle with olive oil, and toss gently to combine.