Feasting on Art

In honour of the 4th of July, I put together a small selection of nostalgia inducing recipes. I am travelling back to the States in three short weeks and after two years away, I am feeling pretty sentimental! Sunday is the 4th of July and perhaps one (or all) of these recipes will inspire a few Independence Day menus. I will be celebrating with my closest ex-pat friend here in Sydney and if my oven was not still broken the chocolate chip cookies would be at the top of my ‘to make’ list. Happy 4th everyone!

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With the 4th of July just around the corner I wanted to be sure to post a couple of recipes in time for the festivities.  In the 1850′s, strawberry shortcake parties were a popular way to celebrate the arrival of summer (2). This sweet dessert is traditionally made with baking soda to produce a crumbly biscuit often referred to as a scone in the UK. For a lower calorie version of the dessert, angel food cake is used to replace the shortcake (my version includes a variant of this cake). In Japan a sponge cake is used to instead of shortcake and is commonly served at Christmas and at birthdays (3). The oldest printed reference is from Michigan from the 1840′s (4) and because I am a native Michigander it is only appropriate that I choose this dessert to celebrate the 4th!

Bryant Chapin, Still Life of Overturned Basket of Strawberries, 1922,
Oil on canvas, 33 x 43 cm, Private Collection

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