Strawberries Filled with Almond Cream

One week of work done. . .a killer one this week!  Yes, I am pissed about having to work for no pay during my summer vacation.  At some point, its not the $ that matters most...its the freedom to do what you want.  There are times when I feel working in a different field would have been much less complicated.  Arggghhhhh!!!

I have 3 meetings this week, and I'm expecting a less-than-favorable turnout for 2 of the 3 meetings.  The 3rd meeting is about the us drones getting more work so I'm sure everyone will be present. 

D1 received her internship assignment:  Gemini Observatory (the building, not the telescope site...whew).  I guess I'll be packing lunch for her on her "work days" or I'll need to send her to Imiloa with some $ to buy lunch.  I'm hoping she'll finish her 60 hours before the summer is over, and I'm hoping she'll get through her internship smoothly.  I think I'll try and help her out a bit by making this dessert to share.  Her contact has a British accent, so no doubt he is familiar with the strawberries and cream tradition at Wimbledon.

A month ago, when I went to Texas, I was so ono for strawberries.  I kept thinking that I would order tons of fresh strawberry desserts.  To my surprise, I came across NO fresh strawberry desserts.  The closest thing was a cheesecake at the Salt Grass Steak House which had a ribbon of strawberry goo swirled in.  While the cheesecake was good, it was not the flavor I was searching for...sweet/tart fresh strawberries.

I have a go-to list of fresh strawberry dessert recipes:  pie, pie with a cream cheese layer, sauce for ice cream, bundt cake, layer cake, frosting, etc.  But nothing was sounding like "the" thing to make.  I remembered seeing a Taste of Home post on Facebook for filled strawberries, and that is where this journey began.  Because of my personality when it comes to cooking, I try and find several different recipes for a dish before I decided on the dish to try.  After the Taste of Home recipe, I found several other recipes worthy of trying, but I settled on a recipe from a Good Housekeeping cookbook.  Unfortunately, when it came time to actually make the recipe, I discovered I was short on some of the ingredients.  I had to make do with what I had on hand, but it turned out well.  In fact, it turned out better than the actual recipe (I tried it later) because the filling was stiffer.  The stiffer filling means that this can be prepared the night before.

Both D1 and D2 gobbled several of these (these were jumbo sized berries).  D2 insisted on taking one to her teacher the next day.  D1 wanted to bring this to her Biology class party on the last day of school, but the 2 supermarkets I went to were both completely out of strawberries, and I did not feel like paying the ransom for Waimea strawberries at Island Naturals.  Don't be sad for D1; she ended up taking Rainbow Jello instead.

Sewing lessons for D1 & D2 begin tomorrow.  I took both girls to the fabric store to choose supplies.  It didn't go too well...D2 wanted to buy everything, and D1 took a long time to decide what to sew (she took sewing lessons before so can begin with a pattern, rather than a tote bag or pillowcase).  D1 will need to schedule her internship hours around sewing, but I don't anticipate that being a problem.  Luckily, the Rents, now iPad users, haven't asked us for too much tech support (although there are several of us who can share the pleasure).  Now if I could only get this inconvenience called work out of the way, I'd have way more time to do the things I WANT to do on MY vacation.  

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Strawberries Filled with Almond Cream

     25 jumbo strawberries

     3/4 c heavy whipping cream

     3/4 c milk

     1 small box vanilla instant pudding

     1/2 tsp almond extract

Wash and dry berries.  Slice off stem end.  Using a sharp paring knife, slice an "x" deep into berries without cutting all the way down.  Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl, combine milk and pudding.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Add almond extract and whipped cream.  Fit a pastry bag with a #10 or #12 round tip (depending on the size of berries).  Fill pastry bag with pudding mixture.  Pipe pudding into strawberries, spreading petals open with fingers to allow more cream to fit.

A word to the lazy:  an alternate way of serving this would be to quarter or slice the strawberries and serve the filling in a small dish.  The filling can be spooned over the cut strawberries.  Slicing the strawberries and using them as scoops for the filling works well too.

If you're still with me, please allow me to share some pics I took this past week:

Nymphaea Devin M.A. Medeiros:  plant given to me by Gu.  I've been waiting a long time for this to bloom.

Stephanotis:  I've been waiting a long time for this to bloom too.  I think I finally have enough blooms to make a lei.  I just don't need a lei at the moment.  The vines are so thick that some cardinals made a nest amongst the growth.

Finally got a pic of both babies together.