Winter must have read my haiku because it looks like it has finally left the Northern Hemisphere.
You can all thank me later.
But in all seriousness, it seems that the dreary days of rain, sleet, snow, and holing up at home until the thermometer passes 40F on a consistent basis are over. Birds have returned North, singing their lovely songs as they perch on tree branches adorned with tiny green buds. I can hear the sounds of children playing on the streets of Manhattan below. I can run outdoors and feel the cool breeze of the Hudson River caress my face as I run along Riverside Park, or smell the nascent flowers as I join the joggers in Central Park to get my daily dose of cardio. The only thing missing are the sounds of lawnmowers mowing and the smell of fresh cut grass, but unfortunately there is very little grass in Manhattan, so I'll just have to recall those scents and sounds from my childhood memories. Or find a patch of grass and wait until someone comes and mows it, but that would just be weird.
I have recently stocked up on delicious, fresh strawberries that only cost $3.50 a pint ($3.50 a pint!) from the vegetable carts on the street. They are one of my favorite things about this city. I can buy crappy strawberries at the supermarket for $6.00 a pint ($6.00 a pint!) or I can get them from the wily vendor on the street corner who always tries to get me to spend more money by offering me a taste of a cherry, then placing a whole bag of cherries in my hand to get me to buy them, but I'm smarter than that and resist his advances. So away I walk with my deliciously inexpensive strawberries, humming to myself as I walk back to my apartment, passing young mothers on their daily walks with baby carriages in tow and dogs trailing by their sides.
I love Spring.
These are the perfect spring cookie. I wanted to change the flavors from raspberry and hazelnuts to strawberries and pistachios to celebrate the oncoming of the new season. I followed the traditional route and cooked some strawberry jam, spooned it into the depths of the cookie, and waited for it to cool so it would become deliciously smooth and slightly chewy to contrast with the soft crunch of the cookie, but I also decided to macerate some strawberries and pool the freshly macerated strawberries into the thumb-made canyon of the cookies. Now THOSE were extraordinary. The sweet, juicy strawberries still had a little texture and were absolutely phenomenal. If me trying this cookie were a daytime commercial, little cartoon birds would have flown around my head as I raised my head and took a deep breath and smiled as I chewed as the voiceover artist spoke my inner monologue. But beware, they need to be eaten right away, because the macerated strawberries will make the cookies soft and they will fall apart. But eating them right away was fine by me.
Happy Spring. :)
Check out Mike of Ugly Dude Food for the recipe and don't forget to look at the rest of TWD!
i'll thank you now! hooray for the sunshine and big ol' blobs of strawberry jam. :)
Posted by: grace | March 10, 2010 at 06:59 AM
Oh, strawberries! Their little heart shapes make me so happy. It's drizzly and dreary today but the sight of these thumbprint cookies lighten the mood.
Posted by: Tangled Noodle | March 10, 2010 at 09:23 AM
OMG that opening paragraph about spring, fabulous! What a way with words you have my dear :) The snow has about melted off my deck, I could shovel the rest off i suppose ;) These look amazing and kudos to you for getting those strawberries!
I am reaching out to my fellow foodies today to see if they on my Food Bloggers Discussion List. If you are not we would love to have you! Email me amanda AT amandascookin.com
Posted by: Amanda | March 10, 2010 at 09:40 AM
I have pistachios down in my pantry.
Why do I never think of using them till it is to late???
Yours look wonderful.
Posted by: chocolatechic | March 10, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Pistachios are such a great idea! Maybe if I had used those, I would have had little cartoon birds flying around my head.
Posted by: Jill | March 10, 2010 at 11:28 AM
I think that using pistachios was so darn inspired, way to go. I feel the same way about spring that you do, and I'm glad that you're getting a chance to enjoy it. The fresh macerated strawberries look amazing.
Posted by: Jessica | March 10, 2010 at 01:41 PM
Homemade strawberry jam...awesome!
Happy Spring :)
ps. It's Japadog that might be coming to NYC!
Posted by: Phyllis | March 10, 2010 at 01:51 PM
Those strawberries look amazing and give me hope that spring is truly around the corner. I haven't worn a coat this week which is a good sign...
Posted by: Kelly D | March 10, 2010 at 01:56 PM
You're making me want to go run around NYC! Sigh. I was there 2 years ago in April and it was so beautiful! April's coming!
The cookies sound (and look) GREAT! Yummy flavors.
Posted by: Katrina | March 10, 2010 at 02:09 PM
Wow, pistachios sounds amazing! What gorgeous strawberries!
Posted by: Jodie | March 10, 2010 at 04:40 PM
Happy spring to you too! These sound ah-mazing. I'm practically tasting the homemade strawberry jam right now. You deserve the little cartoon birds around your head, for sure.
Posted by: Elizabeth - Cake or Death | March 11, 2010 at 02:25 AM
i used to think the city fruit vendors were a little dodgy, but now i buy from them all the time! these look delicious, and i today i'll be checking out the strawberries from my corner fruit dude!!
Posted by: steph (whisk/spoon) | March 11, 2010 at 08:14 AM
What perfect cookies for spring! OK, so today's a little grey and gloomy, but your pictures perked me back up.
Posted by: Jessica | March 11, 2010 at 03:00 PM
I hadn't even considered pistachios for some reason. That's a wonderful idea!
Posted by: Ashle | March 11, 2010 at 04:42 PM
I love pistachio cookies,but the strawberry jam make these cookies better!!!
Posted by: Erica | March 15, 2010 at 08:44 PM
mmm yummy. i hope you bought shelled pistacios cos i personally hate shelling them! lol
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