There is little I can do about the chaos in our world. The chaos in my refrigerator, however, is another story. With my Type A personality and too much free time, I organized my ice box until the last sticky jar of maraschino cherries was examined and found unexpired. Satisfying? Incredibly. Tinged with regret? Unfortunately. The exercise revealed a collection of strawberries in varying stages of decomposition. It’s never desirable to waste food, and now it feels downright shameful. I picked through each pint, separating the barely bruised from the fearfully fuzzy, yielding a bowl of berries that required immediate use.
If you, too, find yourself at the frantic end of the fruit timeline, may I suggest making a compote? It’s a fancy phrase for a cooked fruit syrup, and it’s just the thing to stretch the edibility of your produce by a few more days. Simply simmer your berries with a splash of vanilla and a spoonful of honey. The compote will keep in the refrigerator for three days, where it’s ready to be enjoyed over pancakes, yogurt and shortcake.
You can make a quick and easy shortcake from ingredients you keep on hand. To improve the nutrition, I suggest swapping half of the usual white flour with protein- and fiber-rich whole-wheat flour. Yes, the whole-wheat flour makes the shortcake denser, and yes, the easiest leavener, yeast, is currently in short supply. To balance the heft of whole wheat, I add an egg, baking powder and buttermilk. You forgot to lay in a supply of buttermilk? Me too. Instead, I sour regular milk with fresh lemon juice. (Vinegar works, too.) Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients, and press the dough into a cast-iron skillet or baking dish. Twenty minutes later, you have a delicious dessert that is nutritious to boot.
This shortcake easily stretches to 10 servings, which is double the number of folks currently loitering in my house. We saved the leftovers and discovered that it tastes even better the next morning, when the strawberries and melted banana whip had soaked into the shortcake. In an upside-down time, a little dessert for breakfast tastes deliciously sensible.
STRAWBERRY WHOLE-WHEAT SHORTCAKE WITH BANANA WHIP
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