This month, Sandee and I wanted to go with something a little sweeter. Strawberries, luckily for us, are in season both here in the States and in Spain. Each May I look forward to tasting that perfect jeweled basket of aromatic, sweet strawberries and I couldn’t be more thrilled to find a friend across the Atlantic who revels in some of these same simple pleasures of life.

The recipes we make each month we keep a surprise for each other until the very last moment. We don’t see what the other has done until the day before we post. We then swap recipes—Sandee translates and I create the photo montages of our pictures—it’s great teamwork! This month we were both surprised and delighted with the hot/cold aspect of our recipes. The roasted strawberries are hot, messy, and sexy. Sandee’s ice bowl with sangria is cold, composed, and has a lovely surprise finish.

I was inspired to try roasted strawberries when a blog post over at Three to One, by Dimity Jones popped into my inbox. I was totally seduced by the simplicity of the recipe and the idea of roasting a spring fruit (not even a vegetable)—I tend to save cooking methods like roasting for fall and winter time foods, but am so glad I broke out of that box. The balsamic complimented the sweetness of the berries, bringing out their natural brightness. The brown sugar did it’s job of creating the most amazing caramelized strawberry ooze that begged to be scraped from the pan and licked from the fork. And the smell—the smell!—of these babies cooking is absolutely intoxicating. Strawberry fields were literally in my apartment as they sizzled on their hot little pan, eeking out beautiful dark red juices and creating one of the best strawberry desserts I’ve had in a long while. Personally, I ate this straight from the pan. At one point, I tried to put it on a plate, but really, the forks in the photo do not lie (I ate this directly from the pan and I would have had all my friends do the same if they had been around). However, these berries would also be smashing over some crumbly short bread or biscuit or with a dollop of crème fraiche.

Make sure to travel to Sandee’s blog, La Receta de la Felicidad to check out her frozen bowl of sangria recipe, it’s stunning and is perfect for a hot, spring day. Cheers!

Slow Roasted Strawberries

recipe inspired by Three to One

2 pounds strawberries, fresh or frozen

6 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

1-2 teaspoons flaky sea salt

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Toss the strawberries, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet and bake for 1.5 hours. You’ll know when they are getting near done, your house will fill with the most amazing smell of strawberries. When finished, take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle with the sea salt, serve warm with an optional scoop of creme fraiche, vanilla ice cream, or chopped dark chocolate. However, they really are fantastic on their own.

Fresas asadas

receta inspirada por Three to One

2 libras de fresas (aproximadamente 1 Kg), frescas o congeladas

6 cucharadas de azúcar moreno

3 cucharadas de vinagre balsámico

1-2 cucharaditas de té de sal marina en escamas

Precalienta el horno a 250º F (120ºC). Mezcla las fresas, el azúcar y el vinagre. Coloca la mezcla sobre una bandeja de horno, y hornea una hora y media aproximadamente. Sabrás que están listas cuando tu casa se inunde con el increíble aroma de las fresas asadas. Saca del horno, espolvorea con la sal, y sírvelas templadas con una bola de helado de vainilla, creme fraîche, o chocolate en trocitos. En cualquier caso, están fantásticas solas!