Had a long, doting visit with The Guy at the hospital. I’m good like that. 3-4 months of being on crutches, with limited mobility?Surgery to install a metal plate with four screws, at least? Bah.
What to bring someone in the hospital, especially a romantic foodie someone? Strawberries chopped into smaller bits, marinated in only a touch of balsamic vinegar with fresh-cracked black pepper. Beats the shit out of the mush they serve on those horrific little plastic trays.
If you’ve never tried it, you absolutely must. It’s one of the most sophisticated, delicious ways to eat strawberries, and I’ve never met a man who didn’t love them. The tartness of the vinegar and spiciness of the pepper serve to really bring out the sweetness in berries, even in the bland California ones that show up far too early in the season. It’s nothing like you imagine… fabulous.
Take a pint of fresh strawberries, chop them up into a bowl, add about a tablespoon or so of quality balsamic vinegar (if you’ve got a $3 bottle, just throw the damned thing out! Horror of horrors!), and about a half-teaspoon to a teaspoon of cracked black pepper. (Particularly good on strawberries is Black Tellicherry peppercorns.)
Let them marinate a couple hours, and serve just in a bowl, just like that. You can have some dark chocolate with it, or you can serve it with gingersnaps, that sort of thing. Almost anything works, and even alone is great. It’s a really great date dessert, and it’s never failed to get me action. 😉
The Guy loved them, although the nurse came up, leaned down and said, “You know he’s not dying, right? It’s just an ankle. He will live to see another day.” Yeah, yeah, thanks, babe.
The Cunting Linguist
It seems I always have something on the tip of my tongue.
Here I was thinking strawberries titillate on their lonesome. You have given this kid some wicked ideas, thanks!
And only 10 minutes apart? Bravo!
You’ve confused me with the “and only 10 minutes apart? Bravo!” comment.
Am I a bear of little brain, or did I miss something?
Yeah, the strawberries take an already orgasmic fruit up a notch, and makes an underwhelming out-of-season fruit that much better. Enjoy. 🙂
Sorry for the confusion, it seems it is my calling card. The comment referred to your correction of my assumption (in the Many Coincidences TB) that you and your new beau lived far apart.
So I gave you a “Bravo!” Any couple that avoids Long Distance (which I never have) deserves a rousing “Bravo!”
…mmmmmmmmmmmmmm….Strawberries.
i had to re-read the strawberry thing, twice.
sounds awful, but i’ll try anything once! 😉
PS: LOL. Yes, we live just about 10 minutes apart. Living in the city, I’ve learned that even an hour apart can be a hassle, so it’s nice to be in such close proximity. 🙂
Sexpot — Ha! It may SOUND awful, but you’ll be addicted. After that, only the ripest, sweetest berry will be suitable for nakedness for you. The rest of the time, you’ll think “MMmmm… I’ll marinate these.”
Silly skeptics, Steff’s always right. 😉
(Actually, this recipe’s used by almost all the best chefs. It’s one of those ones you hear when you watch FoodTV or whatever nice and closely. They’ll always comment when making things with strawberries that one thing you can do is this with the berries. Often, they’ll even use fresh chopped mint with it — which I’ve never done, since I don’t really like mint much. But the recipe’s really known in the French cooking quarters, though, the Frenchies dig it, and they know a little somethin’ about romance, I’m told. Wait, I’m part French! 🙂
The strawberries were awesome, especially in contrast with the canned fruit salad they brought me as part of my ‘lunch’ yesterday. If I gotta hobble around on a fried drumstick, I’d much rather do it on a bellyful of strawberries, balsamic and pepper.
(Steff also brought me some blueberries lightly sprinkled with sugar. Did I pick a winner or what?)
The irony factor is amusing: Steff gets sick and I play nursey by bringing her chicken soup. Then I bust my leg and get a little somethin’-somethin’ in return.
We’ll manage. 🙂
Hope so. 😛 You had to cut across the lawn, huh? 😛 Heh.
Being a lover of strawberries, strawberry vinaigrette (I make my own, that and raspberry), and of black pepper, I am looking forward to trying this. I wouldn’t-a thought. Thanks for the tip!