Strawberry Rosewater Gelato

Rosewater is used in many different cultures to flavor desserts. In Iran it is also added to tea, ice cream, cookies and other sweets in small quantities, and in the Arab world and India it is used to flavour milk and dairy-based dishes such as rice pudding. In Malaysia and Singapore, rose water is mixed with milk, sugar and pink food colouring to make a sweet drink called bandung.



I was thrilled to find some at an ethnic grocery store, and I pulled together this gelato. This would have been perfect with a little madeline cookie on the side.

Strawberry Balsamic ice cream

Some people shy away from the combination of strawberries and balsamic vinegar. But if you use good quality vinegar, you'll see how the flavors complement each other. If you want to continue playing with the flavors, try this New York Times recipe.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

With summer comes strawberries, and with strawberries comes strawberry rhubarb pie! These pies paired nicely with cinnamon graham cracker ice cream.

Like ice cream, pie ingredients are simple and pure: fruit, flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Berry pies can get runny and overly sweet, but you can balance the flavor and texture with tapioca (or crumble topping) and rhubarb. I owe a big thanks to Four and Twenty Blackbirds, from whom I learned all I know about pies.

It's best not to mess with a good thing. My pies turned out perfectly, but my hipstamatic photo made me wish I had stuck with my regular camera. You be the judge.
I would have photographed it again, but the pies disappeared shortly after they came out of the oven.