Dying strawberry leaves yield an elusive aroma that seems to vanish as soon as it's perceived. The 18th century dowager Lady Ludlow claimed that only aristocratic families could detect the fleeting aroma.

Strawberry Flowers 

6 large strawberries
3 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature
before blending well with sour cream and powdered sugar.
Place in a pastry bad with a large tip and put into the refrigerator.  Wash berries and barely evenly slice the top away so that the berry will sit flat.  Make four cuts in each berry,
from the tip almost to the bottom. Do not cut all the way through the berry.  Gently spread the four sections slightly apart and pipe the cream cheese mixture into the center.

Strawberry Facial Mask

4 large strawberries
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey

To soften your skin, blend all in a blender, apply to your face
and lie down for 30 minutes. Remove with warm water.

June 1, 2007 Archive

Strawberry Fever
By Laurie Nienhaus
 

"If the moon gets stuck in a tree, cover the hole in the sky with a strawberry."            
From: If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
By Cooper Edens, 1992

  Few of us would disagree with Dr. William Butler, the 17th century English author who wrote, "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." Today, whether seen in tilting champagne glasses, covered in chocolate, or married with the finest of foods on auspicious occasions, the sumptuous flavor of a fresh strawberry ensures it to be among the first offerings to disappear at any gathering or party.

  This was not always the case. Thankfully, we're well past worrying about the strawberry's possible contamination by snakes and toads, which of course would make it unfit for consumption. And, few pregnant women now avoid strawberries for fear that their child will then be born with a strawberry mark somewhere upon his or her person.

  There is so much more to the strawberry than meets the eye. It may or may not alleviate melancholy and fainting or prove a cure for fever, gout and halitosis as the ancient Romans believed, but a handful does have the FDA's suggested allotment of vitamin C as well as substantial amounts of vitamin A and potassium.

  And while it's certainly unpractical to bathe in strawberries, as did Madame Tallien, a favorite in Napolean's court (such a bath requires roughly twenty-two pounds of berries), the strawberry is hard to beat as a topical skin care product. It is soothing to sunburn, is a known collagen booster, and will even aid in the whitening of your teeth.

  The strawberry is not a fruit that lingers and perhaps this is the reason it has captured the imagination and thoughts of people throughout time. It's central to countless stories and paintings. Medieval stonemasons carved strawberry images on altars and at the tops of church pillars as a symbol of perfection and eternal salvation. As elves are believed to be extraordinarily found of strawberries, there were those in European history who tied baskets of them to the horns of their cattle with the hopes that the elves would then play their part to ensure healthy summer calves.

  Cousin to the rose and harbinger of summer, the delicate heart-shaped strawberry has been universally loved for centuries and, so it is said, has the ability to arouse rare passions.  Those inclined to scoff at such a claim should consider that the strawberry is also a symbol of Venus, the Goddess of Love, and that when strawberries are given to an admirer, it means, "You intoxicate me."  Surely a few personal experiments are in order before centuries of legend and symbolism are cast aside?

  Breaking a double strawberry in half and sharing it with a gentleman is said to increase your chances of falling in love with one another. This might indeed be an excellent way to begin your experimentation.

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