Strawberries and dumplings

Strawberries and dumplings? At first it sounds like an odd combination, but then you start to really think about it and it's brilliant! Especially when strawberries are in season.

And if you're like me, you have a weakness for all things made out of flour.

Strawberries and dumplings
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 quart strawberries, trimmed and thickly sliced (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup turbinado or brown sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Accompaniment: Heavy cream

Stir together strawberries, sugar and lemon in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and let stand, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 15 minutes. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Heat the milk and butter together just until the butter melts.

Stir milk into flour mixture with wooden spoon until will combined.

Gather golf ball sized amounts of batter and spoon over fruit, covering fruit and leaving about 1/4 in. between each dumpling. *Notice: I didn't really do this, you can just pull them apart in the end if your saucepan does not yield enough space.

Tightly cover saucepan and reduce heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until dumpling looks dry on top, 15 to 18 minutes; the dumplings will have doubled in size. Let stand off heat, uncovered, five minutes, then drizzle with heavy cream right before serving.

**This would also be really good with homemade vanilla ice cream.

 Mom really enjoyed them.

And so did I. This dessert was just up my alley.