At an intersection just down from my neighborhood, there is a white canopy-style tent set up on the side of the road. The tent is the home of a fruit and vegetable stand, and, while it probably should be a temporary thing (city ordinances and all that), the fruit stand and the guy running it are always there. Pretty much every day. He usually sells Plant City strawberries, and occasionally the sign will read “beefstake tomatoes.” I never buy the tomatoes, mostly because I’m perpetually annoyed that he can’t spell beefsteak. I do buy the strawberries, however.

Plant City is in Hillsborough County, about 25 miles east of Tampa. Plant City is most known for strawberries, and there is a big festival each year – the Florida Strawberry Festival – honoring and celebrating that fact. And those strawberries are good. Really, really good.

So, since we’re overrun with fresh strawberries, I decided to put some to use. And, since I try to at least consider eating healthy (whether or not it actually ends up happening), I pulled a recipe from one of my favorite food magazines – Cooking Light. It was also a great chance to try out my new tart pan.

The crust is a graham cracker crust, and I followed the recipe instructions exactly. However, when I poured it into the tart pan and pressed the graham cracker mixture into place, there were some bare spots in the pan. It was easy to fix. I made another batch of the crust and just used what I needed to fill in the holes.

I also used the light cream cheese called for in the recipe. You could use regular cream cheese, but honestly? I don’t think you need to. It was plenty rich and creamy without the extra fat from regular cream cheese.

The strawberry puree glaze was wonderful, and the recipe actually makes about twice as much as is needed for the tart. I saved half of the glaze with the intention of using it over ice cream, or perhaps stirred in some steel cut oats.

The strawberry-almond cream tart was so delicious that it’s easy to forget that it’s relatively healthy. It took us a handful of days, but the four of us managed to polish it off without too much difficulty.

When I was growing up, I was forced to eat a lot of things that I didn’t want to eat. And my parents – I probably have to blame my dad for this one – were firm believers in the clean-your-plate philosophy. I have vivid memories of swallowing stewed tomatoes whole just to get them off my plate. Other foods that I learned to swallow without chewing? Cooked carrots, Brussels sprouts, and rutabaga. And there were probably more.

Over the years, I’ve overcome my dislike for tomatoes. In fact, I adore tomatoes and would eat them with each meal if possible. I have learned to love Brussels sprouts, and they’re one of my new favorite vegetables. And, recently, I’ve learned to appreciate – and yes, even like – the rutabaga. At a recent dinner, my dad made rutabagas for a side dish, and they were delicious. Even my six year old daughter ate them, and she even wanted seconds.

When I saw a recipe for shaved rutabaga in the latest issue of Food and Wine, I just had to make it. It was delicious – tender and slightly sweet, buttery, with just a hint of black pepper. Plus, I got to play with my new mandoline. And I didn’t lose a finger doing it.

I still don’t like cooked carrots, in case you were wondering.

So, how about  you? Are there any vegetables you have had a love-hate (or hate-love or hate-hate) relationship with?

We love to make pork tenderloin, especially during grilling season when we can just throw it on the gas grill outside on our back patio. And here in Florida, the weather is suited for outdoor grilling most of the year. Well, this winter has been cold, but I really can’t complain all that much.

My brother-in-law turned us on to a really easy marinade for pork tenderloins using Dale’s Seasoning. It’s so simple just to marinade the pork for an hour or so before grilling, and the meat has wonderful flavor. In fact, it’s usually our go-to marinade for this cut of meat.

The April 2010 issue of Food and Wine magazine arrived in our mailbox this past week, and on page 48 is a recipe for Spicy Lemon-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin. Since we like lemon, rosemary, and most anything spicy, I thought we’d give it a try. I’ve listed the recipe below, but it’s really very simple — olive oil, fresh lemon juice, rosemary leaves, crushed red pepper, and garlic cloves. And pork tenderloins. That’s it.

The recipe called for searing in a skillet, but since I’d been on my feet most of the day, I convinced my husband to fire up the gas grill and take over for me.

The verdict? The meat was very tender, with great flavor from the marinade. And it was spicy. Probably a bit too spicy for the kids, and maybe a tad too spicy for me, but my husband really enjoyed it. When he gets seconds, I know we’ve hit on a good recipe. He went for seconds of this.

I had been thinking of a white wine to cut through the spiciness of the marinade, perhaps a dry Reisling. Food and Wine recommended a Syrah, so I decided to go with their suggestion. The 2008 Mollydooker Two Left Feet is a mostly Shiraz (Syrah) blend. Great wine, very big and bold, and high alcohol (16%). I think a Reisling would have been a better choice for these spices, though.

And if anyone is wondering, that side dish in the photos is rutabaga. A post on that is coming soon.