Tex here, fresh off a weekend at our family ranch. This weekend held extra meaning for me, but not because it was Labor Day. You see, today our "farm" looks like this.
But two years ago this weekend, it looked like this.
Yes, that's smoke. Notice how everything is brown. We were in the midst of one of the worst droughts in Texas history. Throw in thirty mile per hour winds and sparks from a downed power line and you have a recipe for disaster.
This marked the beginning of one of the roughest seasons of our lives. Today we stand on the other side, scarred, but in awe of God's mighty power.
I kept the eats as easy as possible this weekend. And while our resident GAL was crossing the line from summer to fall, I was still celebrating summer. And what says summer better than strawberries and strawberry shortcake. This isn't near as yummy as Jan's strawberry shortcake (recipe here), but when you're feeling lazy, it fits the bill just fine.
First you need some strawberries.
Slice them into a bowl (yes, you must rinse them first) and add some sugar. I had two quarts, so I added somewhere between 3/4 and 1 cup of sugar. Stir and set aside. You want to get those juices flowing. The strawberries, that is. Now yours.
Next you'll need some of these. (Ruthy, stop rolling your eyes. We're doing lazy eats today)
A store-bought angel food cake will work too. (Actually, I prefer it, but this was all I could find)
You may also want some of this.
Now for the assembly. My lovely assistant, Michael, will show you how he likes his shortcake.
You start with this.
Then you add a layer of whipped cream. Personally, I like to add my berries first, but this is his dessert, so I'm not saying a word.
Oh, look. Somebody left me a tip! :)
Then you fill the center with the strawberry mixture.
Now, ever so carefully, you spoon your strawberries around the sides.
Then you add more whipped cream. And the extra dollop in the center is essential.
Perfecto!
The best thing about lazy eats, is that you can just put the stuff on the counter and let everyone fix for themselves. Of course, when it involves a can of whipped cream, that could spell trouble.
Do you ever have lazy eats? If so, what?
hmm I call that the homemade version LOL- my lazy version is going to Luby's and getting it already made! (or searching the grocery store for something close - I've even grabbed the frozen weight watchers though didn't stop at just one...)
ReplyDeleteI remember 2 yrs ago - sigh - a friend almost lost her home in Bastrop - hers was one of the few left standing. My dad was living 4 hrs away and there were fires on 3 sides of him - nothing but a mile or so from him on one side and too close for comfort on 2 other sides. my 2nd cousins had friends lose their homes or come darned close. Didn't know when or where another fire would break out :-( and I thought hurricanes were bad here in Houston - at least you know they're coming but not fires and tornadoes :-(
I think all my eats are lazy 'cause this is the first I've hears of anyone actually baking the cake for strawberry shortcake LOL! hoo boy!
oooh almost forgot- I THINK I may have a bread tutor!! a semi-friend posted on facebook a loaf of bread she'd made and one of her friends (that I friended as well) said she grew up making homemade bread with her grandma and knew ALL the tips! another friend posted she had made bread but would like to learn more and I posted I wanted to learn too! soo..hopefully I can get with her and learn to make stuff with yeast! totally cool!
Susanna
A bread tutor? I love it! And it would be so much fun with other people.
DeleteSusanna, our fire started the same day as the Bastrop fires and several people, including a good friend of ours, lost their homes. :( Like you said, no warning. And when the authorities say go, you really don't have much choice. All Barbara had time to grab was photo albums. Luckily she did, because she lost everything else. Of course, no she has a beautiful new home. At the time of the fire, she said, "Well, I was wanting to redecorate, though this wasn't quite what I had in mind."
Fires are one of the worst natural disasters - partly because so often they aren't natural at all. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your ranch looks semi-green this year! Droughts are no fun.
And I love the way your Michael fixes his strawberry shortcake! My guys usually just stick to the cake. No strawberries, no whipped cream. I ask them how they can call it strawberry shortcake, but they never answer. Their mouths are too full of cake!
And the HEB brand on your whipped cream sure brought back memories! One was built in Abilene about a year before we moved. I loved it :)
Jan, I love HEB. We don't have any in the area where I live, so I sometimes stock up on certain items when I'm down there. Did you know they now sell the Whataburger Fancy Ketchup? YUM!
DeleteSemi-green is right. But expected in Texas. At least during the summer.
Strawberry Shortcake without the strawberries? Silly boys.
YUMOLA!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy life is an easy eat. Take a container of Stouffer's Lasagna and put it in a 11 x 9 pan and pretend I made it. My mother doesn't know. Please do not tell her.
stouffer's is much better than my homemade, so that's my go-to also, Tina!
DeleteI'm impressed, Tina. You actually transfer it to another pan. Great idea.
DeleteWhen my boys were little they loved a movie called Wild America. In it, the mom would take a frozen pie out of the box and transfer it to one of her own pie pans because her husband refused to eat store-bought pies. I thought that was one smart woman. :)
Mindy, I make this often! The best part of building for me: Lots of juice to saturate the cake! It makes it much moister. :) :)
ReplyDeleteExactly! I do the same thing. That's what the cake is for. But apparently my son does not get that. Oh, well. As long as he eats it. :)
DeleteIce cream is our favorite lazy eat. And there is all that calcium you know.
ReplyDeleteWe are complaining about the excess rain this year but just two years ago, everything was dry and we had a Peat Bog fire that sent smoke over the entire state!
Glad things are looking up. Or coming down for you.
Julie, after 2011, I swore I would never complain about rain again. What is a Peat Bog? Is that like where they store Peat Moss? :)
DeleteAh, yes...the virtues of ice cream. Why didn't I think of that?
Oh my stars, I didn't even hardly think of rolling my eyes when you used that chemical-laced Twinkie-look-alike piece of cake!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThat was so funny, Mindy!!!!! I'm dying laughing, it was a hoot and I cheat, too. I buy the Angel Food cakes at the store bakery because they're easier than making biscuits and I don't always have time or the inclination to turn the oven on when it's crazy hot. So that's pretty much the same thing.
You know what else I do, though? I freeze sponge cakes in the cooler weather. I use the Betty Crocker recipe and it's delightful and freezes wonderfully. Which reminds me, I have TWO CAKES IN THE FREEZER!!!! (runs her fastest to remove them because cakes don't last forever!!!!) :)
I love strawberry shortcake. I love the look, the taste, the scent and I'm all over using that aerosol can and LOVING it!!!! You made me grin, Tex!
Liar, liar, pants on fire! Ruthy, maybe you weren't rolling your eyes, but you were thinking about it. :) But I love you anyway. And I do live angel food cake.
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