The Other Yogurt

By Katie Barreira

When Greek yogurt arrived in supermarkets, it was a revelation. With a texture closer to crème fraîche, the thick, creamy yogurt was immediately embraced as a substitute for mayonnaise in dips, ice cream atop pie, and sour cream on chili.

Now, it seems, Greek yogurt has flooded the market. And while I wouldn’t want to live in a world without this super-rich, highly strained yogurt, I worry for the forsaken plain yogurt. With its pourable consistency, refreshing tang and light mouth feel, regular old yogurt is still my favorite. I use it in my morning cereal instead of milk, for a filling breakfast that’s packed with probiotics.

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Strawberry Shortcake on a Stick

By Katie Barreira

Ripe summer berries always make me crave jammy, jewel-toned desserts like pies, cobblers and crisps. But it just seems cruel, for both cooks and eaters, to serve bubbling baked goods in this sizzling heat. The dilemma has inspired me to come up with frozen twists on some of my favorite oven-made treats.

This week, I had a hankering for late-season strawberry shortcake. So I took the traditional shortcake topping of sugar-sweetened strawberries, puréed it with rich, tangy Greek yogurt and poured it into popsicle molds. Then, to mimic the shortcake biscuits, I finely ground shortbread cookies for a crispy pop coating. The result was a hands-free and refreshing version of the original with all the intensity of flavor. These sticks totally hit the spot!

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