My friend Cheryl believes that most people forget to look up and view the sky on a regular basis. I find this hard to believe. I spend a lot of time looking up, in part, because I was educated to do so.
One of the joys of my college liberal-arts degree was, and remains, my minor in astronomy. I never wanted to be an astronomer. I enjoyed studying astronomy, however. It grounded me in our world and in our universe. It still does.
On clear nights, I keep track of the movement of the seasons by charting the progress of the constellations through the sky — just as people did in ancient times. The moon’s phases mark the progress of each month from new moon through full.
And the sun … well, the sun’s migration along the horizon is particularly striking here in western Massachusetts.
At the time of the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its southernmost point, the morning light appears outside my bedroom window over a high mountain. That mountain makes the winter sunrise even later than it would normally be at this latitude, around 9:30 in the morning.
Today is the summer solstice — and the sun has moved dramatically to the north. Yes, I know that technically the earth has moved, not the sun, but let’s not quibble. The sun appears to have moved.
From my point of view, the sun now rises above the barn across the street at Red Top, the home of my neighbors. I don’t actually see the sunrise from my window, unless I get up to take my dog out around 5:30 and peer northward.
I’m not generally a sunrise kind of girl, because I’m not a morning kind of girl. At this time of year, however, I enjoy contemplating the sun as it appears over that barn. I can, and do, always go back to sleep.
The sun will start moving to the south again tomorrow. Today, however, it seems briefly to stand still.
Its bright northern light represents all the ripeness that summer offers — daylilies and corn and tomatoes; hours to spend chatting with neighbors on the shore or gliding through cool, clear water; shared stories and sandwiches on the porch.
And, of course, that light brings with it the peak season for another symbol of the onset of summer — the strawberry. Nurtured by the long hours of sunlight, this berry arrives in mid to late June to announce the new season.
Its bright color, its yielding texture and, above all, its sumptuous flavor abound with sweetness. Kneeling in a field of strawberries to pick them is one of summer’s most sensuous experiences.
I’m torn when it comes to cooking with strawberries in season. The child in me wants to eat them unadorned out of the box; they really don’t need any additional ingredients.
The cook in me wants to experiment with their sweet flavor — to make something new and different with this amazing fruit.
The housewife in me wants to preserve the berries’ flavor by freezing them or making jam or strawberry vinegar.
Some years I indulge all three parts of my culinary psyche. Some years I just stick to being a child. I eat as many juicy, ripe berries as I can and let tomorrow take care of itself. And I continue to look up at the sky. I find that when I’m looking up, the world is looking up as well.
Here are a couple of strawberry recipes in case you’d like to play with strawberries while you’re looking up. Happy solstice — and happy strawberry season.
Strawberry Salsa
I love salsa — and I hate waiting for tomato season to make it. This strawberry version is easy to put together, looks spectacular and tastes fabulous.
Ingredients:
the juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less, to taste)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups strawberries, chopped fairly small
Instructions:
In a bowl stir together the lime juice and the salt. Stir in the pepper, the onion, and the cilantro until blended; then add the strawberries.
Refrigerate the salsa for a couple of hours for maximum flavor. Serve with tortilla chips, over chicken or fish, or with crackers and cream cheese. Makes a little over 2 cups.
Strawberry Cream-Cheese Tart
This recipe has many steps so technically it takes a lot of time. Most of the time is spent waiting for portions of the tart to cool, however, so it’s not hard. And it’s a showstopper. I tend to make it the day before I serve it.
Yes, you may use a store-bought crust, but this one isn’t hard. You may also use lemon juice instead of key lime.
Ingredients:
for the tart shell:
½ cup (1 stick) sweet butter, softened
cup granulated sugar
1- cups all-purpose flour
teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
for the filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup key-lime juice
for the topping:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup sugar
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons key-lime juice
4 tablespoons cold water
3-½ cups halved strawberries, divided
Instructions:
Begin with the crust. In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and the sugar until they are just blended. Add the flour and the salt, and stir until the mixture seems crumbly. (It will be dry.)
In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk and the vanilla; drizzle this mixture over the flour mixture. Combine until the flour mixture is evenly moist; it will still be crumbly.
Grease a 9-inch tart pan. (You may use an 8-inch pie pan if you’d rather, but the tart is just beautiful.) Place the dough in the pan. Press it evenly over the bottom and up the sides of pan. Prick the bottom of the crust a bit to keep it from puffing up too much.
Put the crust in the freezer, uncovered, for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes or until it is golden brown. Cool it completely before filling it.
To make the filling beat the cream cheese until it is soft and smooth; then beat in the condensed milk and the key-lime juice. Spoon this mixture over the cooled crust, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before proceeding.
Finally, make the topping. In a heavy saucepan whisk together the cornstarch, the sugar, and the salt. Slowly whisk in the liquids. In a bowl, mash 1-1/2 cups of the berries. Add them to the cornstarch mixture. Let the mixture sit in the saucepan for 1 hour to juice up.
At the end of the hour bring the berry mixture to a boil, and boil it for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove it from the heat and let it sit until it reaches room temperature. Stir in the remaining uncooked berries.
Spoon the topping over the tart filling. Refrigerate the tart until you are ready to serve it. Garnish with additional strawberries and mint leaves if you wish. Serves 8.
Food writer Tinky Weisblat of Hawley is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” For more information about Tinky visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com.