By Haying starts in two weeks. The alfalfa in the lower pasture is heading and the timothy is knee-high and the weather looks like it'll hold through July, which is what you want. I've been servicing the equipment — the swather, the rake, the baler — going through everything that needs going through before you put it into hard use. Dad helps when he can. I've been watching how he handles the wrenches this year, whether the hand strength is there. Mostly it is. The carbidopa-levodopa is doing its job.
Had a good conversation with Dr. Meyers at Valley Equine this week after a referral call. She's been dealing with a wave of COVID-related disruption to equine research she'd been part of, conference cancellations, that kind of thing. She mentioned a horse welfare organization in Billings that was looking for certified farriers willing to donate time to rescue horses, animals seized from neglect situations that needed rehabilitation. I said I'd do one day a month. She said she'd make the connection.
I'm thirty-five now. My birthday was June 7th, which I don't make much of. Mom made a cake — chocolate with cream cheese frosting, the one she's made since I was small — and we had it after dinner. Dad put his hand on my shoulder when he sat down, which is his version of many things. I'm thirty-five and sober and my work is growing and my parents are still in the house and my hands know how to do things that matter. That's a reasonable set of facts to have at thirty-five.
Strawberries from the garden this week — the first harvest, the ones that make every other strawberry taste like a memory of a strawberry. I ate them on shortcake with heavy cream whipped by hand because the electric mixer is somewhere in the basement and I didn't go looking for it. The shortcake biscuit was the simple kind — flour, butter, cream, a little sugar. Honest summer food.
Those first strawberries from the garden — the ones I mentioned eating on shortcake with hand-whipped cream — they’re the kind of thing that make you want to draw it out, find another way to hold onto that flavor before the season moves on. This strawberry shortcake smoothie does exactly that: all the same notes as the biscuit and berries I had that evening, just easier to take out to the swather while the morning is still cool and the work is waiting.
Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled
- 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup whole milk (or cream for a richer version)
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup crumbled shortcake biscuit or golden Oreos, divided
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
Instructions
- Blend the base. Add the strawberries, Greek yogurt, milk, heavy cream, honey, vanilla extract, and ice to a blender. Blend on high for 45–60 seconds until completely smooth and creamy.
- Taste and adjust. Taste the smoothie and add more honey if your berries need it, or a splash more milk if the texture is thicker than you like. Fresh garden strawberries are sweet enough that you may not need the full measure of honey.
- Layer the glasses. Drop a spoonful of crumbled shortcake biscuit into the bottom of two tall glasses. Pour the smoothie over top, filling each glass about three-quarters full.
- Finish and serve. Top each glass with the remaining crumbled biscuit. Serve immediately while the biscuit still has a little texture against the cold smoothie.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 135mg