First day of summer and we were out of the house earlier than we ever left for school.  You have to get to the farm early if you want to get the best strawberries!  We spent an hour at the farm and came home with 9 lbs of strawberries and 4 lbs of snap peas.  I probably shouldn’t say that we got “the best strawberries.”  The older kids did most of the picking while I tried to keep the twins from eating all of the strawberries.  I noticed some rather small, not-quite-ripe berries in our baskets when we got home.  Oh well, they worked just fine in the strawberry shortcake we made for dessert last night:

While it may be tempting to just pick up those spongy yellow cakes and a can of whipped cream, it’s so worth the extra time it takes to make it from scratch.  You’ll know exactly what’s in there.  Homemade organic whipped cream, fresh picked berries and whole wheat short cake.  Doesn’t that sound good!  (I think I’ll have to go make another!  ;) )

Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup evaporated cane juice (or white sugar)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup butter, cut in small pieces

3/4 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients in a food processor.  Add butter and process until you have a crumbly mixture.  Add olive oil and milk and process until dough forms a ball.  Spoon into a greased 8×8 pan and flatten with a spatula.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool and then cut into 9 squares.

4 cups strawberries

1 tbsp evaporated cane juice

Wash and hull the berries.  Mash 3/4 of the berries with a potato masher.  Slice the rest and mix those in with the sugar.

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp confectioners sugar

Whip cream with sugar until stiff.  I used a mixer with a wire whisk attachment.  (I find it’s helpful to chill the mixer bowl in the fridge before whipping.)

Split cakes in half.  Lay one half in dish and top with berries.  Cover with remaining half and a few more berries.  Add a dollop of whipped cream.

Time-saving tip: Double the shortcake batch and freeze half for the next time.  We made enough to have this dessert two more times.  It will only take about 15 minutes to get the berries and cream ready next time!