By Calving is in full swing. Fourteen calves on the ground, one more heifer close, everybody doing well except a bull calf born Sunday who is small but determined — he had trouble nursing for the first two days and I spent a lot of time Sunday night and Monday in the calving pen with him, guiding him to the udder, making sure he was getting colostrum. By Tuesday he figured it out. He's small but he's going. I've been calling him Stubborn in my head, which is not a name I'm going to tell Patrick because Dad names the cattle by number and ear tag and thinks naming them is the first step toward keeping them as pets.
The weather has been cooperating — highs in the forties, minimal new snow, the ground drying enough to check the pasture fence on horseback. I went out Tuesday morning on Juniper, who I've been riding regularly enough that she's started showing up at the gate when she sees me coming, which Tom Whelan says means she likes me or she's learned that I bring treats, and with Juniper it's probably both.
My leg has been bothering me more this week. The shrapnel in the right leg has a way of making itself known in the wet cold of early spring — an aching that isn't debilitating but that's there, a reminder that things happened that can't unhappen. I mentioned it to Dr. Stein at my Monday appointment and he referred me to the VA physical therapy department. I said I'd think about it. He gave me the look. I said I'd call them. I meant it this time.
Seventy-seven days dry. Mom made her rhubarb pie — the first of the year, the rhubarb coming up in the garden bed, the season's first pie. It tasted like spring and kept it.
Mom’s rhubarb pie was the first of the year — rhubarb up in the garden bed, the season finally delivering on something it had been promising for weeks — and it landed exactly right after a stretch that had asked a lot of all of us. There’s something about the first fruit dessert of spring that feels less like a recipe and more like a signal. This strawberry torte gives me that same feeling: simple enough to make on a tired evening, bright enough to remind you the calendar is turning, and exactly the kind of thing you bring to a table that has earned a little sweetness.
Strawberry Torte
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon turbinado or coarse sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan or round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Make the batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then mix in vanilla.
- Combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined — the batter will be thick. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
- Prepare the strawberries. Toss halved strawberries with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Arrange the strawberries cut-side down over the top of the batter in a single layer, pressing them in gently.
- Top and bake. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar evenly over the strawberries. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake portion comes out clean.
- Cool and serve. Let the torte cool in the pan for 15 minutes before releasing the springform sides or running a knife around the edge. Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or with a dollop of whipped cream.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 130mg