Strawberry Shortcake

Fresh strawberries are one of life's miracles, especially if they're local, organically grown, and you pick them yourself. Try asking at your local Coop or health food store for the names of local farmers who will let you pick your own. Of course, the ultimate strawberry experience is gathering and eating Wild Strawberries.

When you've eaten your fill of strawberries out of hand, cut up a quart or two (after removing the hulls, of course), stir in a little maple syrup, and chill for a couple of hours. Later on, in the cool of the evening, turn on the oven and bake...

This rich, melt-in-your-mouth shortcake uses a simple, effective, homemade baking powder to replace the usual store-bought baking powder that contains hefty amounts of Aluminum. Who knows what Aluminum does to your body? It seems sensible to avoid it if possible.

-Alan Wagener

Chilled Strawberries

• 2-4 quarts strawberries, hulls removed, sliced or chopped into large pieces.
• 2-5 Tbsp maple syrup

Whipped cream

• 1 pint heavy cream (organic, Jersey,) if you can get it.
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda

• 5 Tbsp cultured sweet, unsalted butter (Organic, softened or cut into pats) If you use salted butter, reduce the salt above to 1/2 tsp.

• About 1/2 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt or buttermilk (don't use yogurt that has non-fat milk added).

Slice the shortcake or biscuits so there's a top and bottom half.

To make one large cake, put the bottom half on a plate, sliced side up. Cover with strawberries and douse liberally with juice. Cover with a thick layer of whipped cream. You can stop here, to make an open-face cake, or continue: Douse the top slice of cake with juice. Invert it over the whipped cream. Serve immediately. To serve, cut into pieces put each on a plate and drizzle with strawberries and juice and a dollop of whipped cream.

To make individual servings from scratch, put a single serving-sized piece of plain shortcake on a dessert plate or bowl and add toppings as above. Serve immediately...if you can wait that long!