Strawberry Balsamic Vanilla Sodas

I�m going to keep this pretty short and sweet.
Today is/would have been my dad�s 63rd birthday. We�re having a little family birthday-Easter celebration. I'm making a twist on his favorite spring dessert (a tart with mascarpone and fresh strawberries), we're going to play several rounds of ruthless, competitive, cross-country croquet, eat a lot of Amanda�s amazing pulled ham, and of course, we're going to hunt some Easter eggs (with which we'll make classic deviled eggs, maybe this deconstructed egg salad, and probably this sriracha-sesame egg salad).

We�ll also sip on something fizzy, like these springy strawberry-balsamic-vanilla sodas! They�re sweet, but also a little tart, with tons of warm vanilla flavor. Super for a spring brunch or Easter lunch.

hbd, jfk. <3



Strawberry Balsamic Vanilla Sodas
Makes about 6 sodas

You can use regular vanilla extract, but I like the vanilla paste, because it adds little flecks of vanilla bean!

A little more than 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 Cup honey
1 Teaspoon vanilla paste (or regular vanilla extract)
1 Pinch sea salt
1 Pinch fresh ground black pepper
Ice & soda water to serve

To a saucepan, add all ingredients except ice and soda water. Stir together, and heat over medium-low heat until honey is dissolved and the berries start to break down, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature, the blend until smooth. You can strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth if you desire, but I like the berry seeds.

To serve, add about 1.5 tablespoons of syrup to a glass, fill with ice, then fill with soda water. Stir, and add more syrup as desired.

Strawberry Gingersnap Icebox Cake with Whipped Coconut Cream

I was really busy over the weekend with wedding stuff, and didn�t have a chance to do a Father�s Day post.

We�re making our invites and DIY decorations (with the help of some friends, of course, plus floral by my lovely friend Brit), and taking care of all the business�banquet permits, flatware rentals, parking permits for the� oh, wait that�s a surprise. etc�all by ourselves. I�m kind of a control freak, so I can�t imagine not doing it all, but man� this is hard work!

Wedding, wedding, wedding. Sorry, it�s all I talk about and think about and do right now. If you�re my sister/mom/fianc�/friends: thank you for your help and for putting up with my constant wedding chatter! PS. 107 days!

So anyway, I had a full Father�s day post planned, with some of my favorite things he used to make us when we were kids, but I didn�t get around to it yet. I will soon though. Because my dad is amazing and hilarious and I love him so much. Everyone who meets him loves him so much.

And he LOVES fresh strawberry pies. Every spring and summer, he whips up a million fresh strawberry pies. You know, the kind with a graham cracker crust, strawberry filling with maybe a layer of vanilla pudding or whipped cream.

This icebox cake is sort of a retro remix of the fresh strawberry pie. But the fresh strawberry pie is kinda retro too. So I mean� Retro remix of a retro recipe?

If you aren�t familiar with icebox cakes, they�re basically layered wafer cookies and whipped cream, chilled or frozen�the ultimate no bake summer dessert. The cookies soften in the whipped cream, and the whole thing kind of melds together into a cool, refreshing, super simple treat.

I added strawbs to this, because duh, and instead of classic wafers, I used gingersnaps, because strawberries and ginger go really well together! And also, I swapped out regular whipped cream with whipped coconut cream, and tossed a whole bunch of toasted coconut on top. The final product is creamy, slightly sweet, gingery, strawberry filled perfection.

Strawberry Gingersnap Icebox Cake with Whipped Coconut Cream

This recipe is a breeze to throw together, but you do need to plan ahead. The coconut milk needs to chill overnight before whipping, and then the cake itself needs to chill at least 8 hours for maximum cookie softness. If you do happen to dig in early, the cookies will be crunchy and everything will be less melded together, but it will still taste great!

2 cans full fat coconut milk

� cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound of fresh strawberries, sliced

About 30-40 gingersnap cookies (I used store bought�the thinner the better)

�-1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes

First, chill the coconut milk (this helps the solids separate from the liquids). Place both cans in the fridge overnight. 

Flip them upside down, open, and drain the liquid into another dish (set aside for a different use). Scoop the thick cream into a chilled bowl or bowl of your stand mixer, and whip until fluffy stiff peaks begin to form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, whip to combine/ until smooth.

Assemble: In a baking dish or pie plate (I used a standard pie plate), add a layer of cookies (not overlapping). Spread half of the whipped coconut cream on top, and top that with the sliced strawberries (these can overlap). Top with another layer of cookies, and then the remaining cream. 

Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Serve cold or room temp. 

Add the coconut just before serving.