Strawberry Cravings

One of my favorite things about spring is eating fresh, delicious produce. I have been craving strawberries for a while now, but have been waiting patiently for the price to go down so that I can enjoy them without spending too much. Yesterday, I was at Whole Foods picking up a few things, and I saw them. Ripe, delicious strawberries. 2 pounds for 5 bucks. I almost jumped for joy.

Calmly, I picked up a package of strawberries and gently lowered them into my cart, when I noticed the Angel Food cake sitting next to them. Above the cake was a sign saying: "Berries, Cream, & Angel Food cake...doesn't Mom deserve the best?" My immediate thought was "ohmygosh, Strawberry Shortcake!!!!!" My next thought was, "Oh yeah, my parents are coming this weekend...I bet my mom would eat this with me." Followed by: "Oh yeah, it's Mother's Day Sunday." I was not about to purchase a Whole Foods Angel Food cake, but I did buy some freshly made whipped cream and ended up getting a pound cake at the commissary.

When I got home from the store, I dug into those berries and I would be lying if I didn't say that I sampled the whipped cream. (Heavenly.) After dinner last night, Mike and I made ourselves some Strawberry Shortcake. This morning, I woke and thought, "Well, there's two whole pounds there...I don't want them to go bad!" In my magazine there was a recipe for "Strawberry and Almond Oatmeal" so I decided to give it a shot, and let me tell you: if you are a strawberry fan, you need to make yourself this oatmeal right now. Nevermind if it's breakfast time or not...it's delicious!

Combine 1/2 c water, 1/2 c milk, & 1/2 c oatmeal in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low until oatmeal reaches desired consistency. Combine oatmeal with 3/4 c fresh (or frozen...but make sure they're thawed!) strawberries, 2 T sliced almonds, & 1 t brown sugar. YUM.

After I fixed myself this little delicacy, I noticed that half of my two-pound carton of strawberries is already gone. Whoops!