Ina Garten Kicks off Strawberry Season with 4 Recipes That Have Us Heading to the Farmers Market

In an ideal world, we have no obligations except to visit the farmers market, stock up on the most gorgeous produce available and head home to cook with it in our stunning East Hampton kitchen. Sadly, we can’t all have Ina Garten’s life—but at least she’ll let us pretend with four new recipes for strawberry season.

“I love strawberry season when all the farmers markets are piled high with local strawberries!” she recently wrote on her Instagram. “To celebrate, I’m posting a week of my favorite strawberry recipes starting with the one I make every year—my classic Strawberry Country Cake! Delicious!!”

She followed up with an even more impressive recipe for Strawberry Tarts. “Strawberry Tarts always make me think of springtime in Paris when gorgeous berries take over the street markets. My tarts have a classic butter crust, a layer of pastry cream and fresh strawberries plus an apricot glaze and and some crunchy pistachios. Oui, s’il vous plaît!”

“Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries is one of my easiest desserts for a dinner party,” Garten shared in her next post. “You make the panna cotta in advance (in one bowl!) and the strawberries are simply tossed with sugar and balsamic vinegar before serving. The creamy pudding and sweet berries are perfect together!”

Of course, only Ms. Garten could catch everyone’s attention with a make-ahead, one-bowl dessert: If you scroll through the comments, you’ll find none other than Jennifer Garner asking, “This also looks like a great option for breakfast, right?”

Finally, Ina phoned a friend and fellow cookbook author for the most recent berry recipe. “My friend @sarahleahchase grew up in Cape Cod and when strawberries were finally in season, her family would make strawberry shortcakes—not for dessert, but for dinner! (I wish my family was that much fun growing up!) These Red Berry Shortcakes with Honey and Yogurt are an updated version of Sarah’s family recipe. You’ll love them!”

Is this the excuse to spend our entire grocery budget at the farmers market that we were looking for all along? Seems like it. Thanks, Ina, love you.