In this week’s CSA, we received assurance that spring is upon us: strawberries.

And after all the root vegetables and greens (good as they were), these delicious, bright red little berries were a welcomed sight.

I love cooking in the spring. It’s a time for fresh ingredients, lighter dishes, cocktails in a pitcher out on the porch, tea lights burning and friends gathered around. It’s a time for pies, tarts, cobblers, and bars, all of which are usually fruit-based and are just the right way to end a spring day.

And in the spring, I love nothing more than to cook as Southern as possible. Of all my back issues of Southern Living magazine, the ones with the most wear and tears are the spring and summer issues.

Strawberry cobbler | Pic by Andrea Nolan

For this week’s recipe, however, I turned to a different beacon of Southern light:  Paula Deen. She catches a lot of flak for cooking dishes that are just plain unhealthy—heavy on butter or lard or heavy cream. But to me, the dishes she cooks say “home.” With the strawberries this week, I made a variation of Paula’s strawberry cobbler. Since I didn’t have enough strawberries, I supplemented with blueberries (which are always on sale these days at the grocery stores), and I halved the recipe. Also, the recipe calls for cooking the cobbler in small ramekins for individual servings. In the CSAcation kitchen, we’re on a budget, so I used an 8×8 glass casserole dish, which worked just as well.

Strawberry Cobbler

12 cups sliced fresh strawberries, about 4 pounds

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¾ cup quick-cooking oats

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Berry-palooza | Pic by Andrea Nolan

In a large saucepan, combine berries and sugar. Let stand for 30 minutes. (The berries will macerate, releasing their juices.)

Cook strawberry mixture, stirring frequently, over medium heat for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until blended. Stir cornstarch mixture into berry mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 1 minute or until mixture is thickened. Spoon mixture into 6 (5-oz) ovenproof ramekins.

In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Divide mixture evenly over strawberry mixture.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm.

In my variation on this recipe, I used about 4 cups sliced strawberries and one pint of blueberries. I halved all the other ingredients. I served this cobbler warm with vanilla ice cream, and it was divine, homey and comforting with the right amount of tart flavor to it.

If spring has sprung, then I’m one happy girl, and there’s a lot more good cooking in my future. Eat well, CSAcationers, and take care.