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Vegan Cooking
Strawberries and the 4th of July
by Mary Eileen Finch
 Summer seems to make me crave fresh fruit and strawberries are one of my favorites. After a long winter of less than appealing produce, ripe berries from the farmer's market always catch my eye. So, I usually make a cake with strawberries and blueberries for July 4th. The perfect dessert after a day of veggie dogs, vegan potato salad and baked beans! While your cake is baking, ponder these facts:
- Americans consume an average of 4.85 pounds of strawberries per capita each year.
- Besides being versatile and delicious, strawberries also pack a nutritional punch. They are an excellent source of Vitamin C, fiber, folic acid and potassium. All that, and they're low in calories and fat-free too!
- There are approximately 200 seeds in the average strawberry.
- Eight medium strawberries contain 140% of the U.S. RDA for Vitamin C. That's more than oranges.
- In France, strawberries are believed to be a potent aphrodisiac. Newlyweds were served strawberry soup made from thinned sour cream, strawberries; an herb called borage and powdered sugar.
- During medieval times, strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace and prosperity.
- The strawberry is recognized as representing absolute perfection in the Victorian language of flowers.
- The first American species of strawberries was cultivated about 1835.
Whip "Cream"
- 1 pack silken style tofu
- 1/2-cup maple syrup
- 1-teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8-teaspoon sea salt
Blend all in a blender until smooth. Pour into bowl, cover and chill overnight.
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Easy White Cake
- 2 1/4 cup unbleached white flour
- 1-tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2-teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2-teaspoon salt
- 1 2/3 cups evaporated cane juice
- 1/2-cup soy margarine
- 1-cup Very Vanilla Soymilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Egg Replacer to equal 3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour cake pan. Prepare egg replacer in medium bowl. Beat in sugar, margarine, milk and vanilla. Beat for 5 minutes. In small bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into wet mixture and mix well. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 30 -40 minutes.
Flag Cake Recipe
- 2 pints of strawberries
- 1 recipe of white cake
- 1 1/3 cups of blueberries
- 1 recipe of whipped topping
Mix up and bake cake in a 13 x 9 - inch pan. Let cool.
Slice 1 cup of strawberries, set aside. Halve remaining strawberries, set aside.
Top cake (in pan) with 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1 cup blueberries
and all of the whipped topping. Arrange remaining strawberry halves
and blueberries on whipped topping to create a flag design. Blueberries in the top left corner to represent the stars and strawberries in rolls to form the stripes.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Strawberry Shortcake
Using the same recipes you can also make strawberry shortcake. The Native Americans crushed strawberries in a mortar, mixed them with meal and made strawberry bread. After trying this bread, colonists came up with their own version, and Strawberry Shortcake was developed.
I pour the cake batter into two round 9-inch pans and bake for 25 minutes. After they have cooled, slice each one in half. You will now have four layers of cake. Place one layer on serving platter and cover with whip cream and strawberries. Set another layer on top and spread with more whip cream and strawberries and repeat until you have used all layers of cake. Top with a dollop of whip cream and garnish with the last of your berries.
Strawberry Parfait
My son, who isn't a real big cake fan, prefers it when I make this berry and cream dish. Make a double batch of the whip cream and dice the strawberries. This looks cute when you use clear containers. You can make a big one in a single bowl or individual ones in little custard cups.
Start with a layer of whip cream, top with strawberries and then a layer of blue berries. Keep adding layers until you have used all your ingredients. These are great for the little ones at 4th of July parties.
Children love to help in the kitchen. Make a day of it by letting them pick the best-looking berries at the store or market. They can help to wash and dry the fruit and than fill the glasses. They enjoy their food so much more when they have helped to prepare it.
Mary Eileen Finch, CD (DONA) lives in Arkansas along with her inspiring husband, Jason, and their three adorable children, Rebecca, Jarod, and Alex. She is a certified labor doula and a vegan of seven years.
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