Lemon Coconut and Strawberry "Shortcake" Cupcakes

 We've redesigned our entire backyard this year and have been hard at work rearranging, creating new garden boxes and re-purposing our old patio. Part of all the movement included digging up hundreds of our old strawberry plants and replanting them in their new home. We've got a whole dedicated area for them now and hope they go crazy and produce tons of new berries. We figured with all the movement they wouldn't produce anything this year but after getting them back in the ground, they perked right up and are now in full blossom and ready to fruit! Our Minnesota winter puts us behind most of the country though so it will still be a few weeks before we get to pick the fruit.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Macerated Strawberries and Balsamic Vinegar

On one of my recent food truck forays, I tried a panna cotta from the Get Sauced truck in downtown Minneapolis. I had bought it and brought it back to my desk to eat while I worked. As I sat there eating bite after bite I was just blown away by the way that these simple flavors had combined to create such a complex eating experience. I think my co-workers might have got a little annoyed because after every bite I had to remind them how amazing this was. And I wasn't sharing.