Dreaming of strawberries

I am a little obsessed with strawberries at the moment. For the last four weeks I have been waiting for one of my days off to coincide with some dry weather so that I could go back to the PYO at Enfield and get some more strawberries.

Strawberries are so beautiful. Their garish colour is the classic definition of red. Their smell is perfumed and heady. And the taste...oh, my goodness fresh strawberries really do taste amazing!

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I picked three overflowing punnets of strawberries this morning and I now have to do something with them quickly before they go off. So here is my list of good things to do with a kitchen full of ripe strawberries:

• Eat them. Just as they are. Straight from the plant. This is absolutely the best thing you can do with them.
• Make them into strawberry sauce. Put three or four large handfuls of hulled strawberries into a blender together with 2 tablespoons hot water and 2 tablespoons icing sugar. Whizz to a sauce. This freezes really well.
• Turn them into jam.
• Use them as a topping for a cheesecake.
• Drop them into a glass of champagne. Drink the champagne and then fish out the strawberries in a slightly giggly, drunken fashion and eat them. You will probably make a mess of that pretty summery top you are wearing.
• Mash a bowlful up with a fork. Whip a tub of double cream so that it stands in soft peaks. Then fold the strawberries into the cream to make a strawberry fool.
• When you've really had your fill of strawberries and can't face eating any more, give one to four hungry hens and watch it disappear in 2 seconds flat. Then laugh as the hens start jumping up and down with excitement and squawking to demand more.