In Praise of Plain Berries

It used to be that every fourth of July, I would make a plump and perfect strawberry shortcake. This involved carefully picking out the strawberries, baking up an enormous homemade shortcake full of white flour and refined sugar, and whipping up pints of sugary whipped cream. 

So delicious!! But majorly unhealthy.

We live in a different age now — thankfully it's a more health conscious time. So, with that in mind, I've decided that this fourth of July, I'll go ahead and prepare a large bowl of mixed berries with nary a hint of added sweetness. Pure food... perfect, healthy, and naturally sweet. I think it's a better choice for the times. And my waistline!

Raspberries, Pancakes and Toothpicks, Oh My!

Playing with toothpicks today. Yes, toothpicks! You see, these raspberries were being a bit unruly when I set up this shot. I would just get the berries lined up correctly when they would decide to come tumbling off the pancake stacks. So I broke out the styling kit. About half of the raspberries are now securely anchored to the pancake stacks with toothpicks. Provides a great structure for difficult foods.