How I Finally Got Started

It has only taken about six years, one failed attempt, and the evolution of technology, for me to do this thing. I have talked myself out of writing this blog hundreds, if not thousands of times, so why am I doing this now? My answer, believe it or not, is yoga and a little help from my friends. Okay, let me explain that a little better…

So, I have been on a bit of a yoga journey for almost two years now, taking trainings with the Sadhana Yoga School. Truly life changing, folks! Our training group recently started an exploration of dharma - the idea of understanding and focusing on our right work or actions in the world. Then I piped up and said I have this silly idea of writing this blog - and maybe someday a cookbook. So, then I explained all of the reasons I have talked myself out of it. I mean, doing this thing couldn’t really be my dharma, could it? How would I even know? The group discussed…

The answer basically boiled down to this: “Try it and see what happens.”

The next step in the assignment was come up with a recipe and share it on my socials. Mind you, this was happening in late June in New England, so obviously… it had to be strawberries! I mean, my parents didn’t call me Sarah Strawberry for nothing!

Also, speaking of getting a little help from my friends, I have been part of an amazing women’s group for the past two years. The Women’s Collective NH is a place where we share our joys, struggles, and growth, we have fun together, and we volunteer together. I made this for our most recent meeting and they enjoyed it on bagels. Here’s what I came up with to celebrate strawberries and kick off this writing experiment.

Peppery Roasted Strawberry Dulce de Leche Schmeer

Ingredients:

• 1 quart fresh strawberries, trimmed and cut in quarters-ish

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 8-oz block cream cheese, room temperature

• 3 Tablespoons prepared dulce de leche

• 3 teaspoons freshly ground Sichuan pepper

• pinch of salt

• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Make the schmeer:

First, roast the strawberries with the sugar, black pepper, and vanilla, in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. I used an 8x11 roasting pan and everything was cramped, which made my sauce thinner and less jammy than other roasted strawberry sauces - perfect for this recipe and for topping ice cream! Stir this several times and watch for burning. Stop roasting when it’s thick enough for your purposes.

Separately, whip together the cream cheese, dulce de leche, lemon juice, Sichuan pepper, and salt. Fold in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the cooled roasted strawberry sauce.

Serve schmeered on bagels, or with pretzels or crackers. I recommend Jack's Crackers, especially the white wine flavor. Try it with sharp cheddar cheese, too - trust me.

Got left-overs? I took about a cup and a half of the schmeer and mixed it with an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt (I used nonfat, but you do you). Then I folded in another 1/4 cup of roasted strawberry sauce and filled my freezer pop molds with it. Yummy!