Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi

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Something brown, bubbly, and studded with strawberries came out of my oven last night, and I just stared it at because I didn’t know what it was. However, using the theory, “If you don’t know what something is, taste it,” I cut off a corner hoping it wouldn’t scream. (It didn’t.) Then, I decided that I liked it, but I just didn’t know what it was.

Was it a cake? Maybe. It kind of had the texture of the cake part of a pineapple upside down cake, but without the brown-sugar pineapple topping.

Was it a bread pudding of sorts? Maybe?

Was it a square, spongy pancake? Sort of?

None of this really mattered. At the time, here’s what mattered:

–it smelled delicious

–it tasted pretty good

–it did not try to eat me, poison me, or run off with my husband, cat, or son.

Also, Nate, Alex, and I ate the whole thing in one sitting, so it’s not too filling. There is definitely plenty of room to push this dessert into any space in the stomach that is not yet filled by other food.

If you would like to try this “Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi” (Transl.: Strawberry I Don’t Know What), the recipe follows:

¾ of granulated sugar

½ cup of flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 egg or ¼ cup of egg substitute

¾ cup of vanilla yogurt

¼ cup of chopped strawberries

Method:

–Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

–Mix the egg (or egg substitute) with the vanilla yogurt and strawberries in another bowl

–Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.

–Pour everything into an 8X8 baking dish and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with whipped cream and more strawberries, if desired.

Results: It’s not a glamorous dessert. It won’t win a prize at the fair. It will stare at you and make you feel uncomfortable, but it’s subtly sweet, unexpectedly addictive, and harmless. (I assume; it hasn’t been a full 24 hours yet.)

In Other News: I have a story in Wrongdoing Magazine—a rather dark story. Feel free to check it out on the link here: “Between the Scalloped Edges” (pages 219-221).

I also have a cocktail review in The Daily Drunk magazine. Feel free to read here: “Summer of ’21 Cocktail Review.”

Your Turn: What’s the strangest thing to come out of your oven, toaster, or microwave?

Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

37 thoughts on “Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi”

    1. Thanks for reading! This is one where I turned in my original story to the magazine, and the editors said, “Hey, wait! We think there’s a different story in there–if we just cut the entire beginning and ending.” I nearly panicked, but I trusted them, and I’m happy with the way the story turned out. It just goes to show that sometimes authors will write a story with a certain message/theme or image in mind, but if we’re not willing to let go and listen to our readers/editors, we might miss out. Cheers!

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  4. Your strawberry concoction sounds delicious. Tonight I had a piece of sourdough bread smothered in lashings of butter (on both sides) toasted in the oven and then I sprinkled some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on the toast and left it in the oven for a few more minutes. I ate it with avocado and sour cream and extra virgin olive oil drizzled tomato along with a piece of salmon which also came from the oven. If you’re on IG, here it is https://www.instagram.com/p/CO97RLYBHol/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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  9. “Scalloped Edges” is intense, very painful shards indeed. I see in your response to Liz G. above, that the editors did some cutting, they’re apparently pretty astute, because I’d never have guessed, the resulting story is very effective.
    As to the strangest thing to come out of my oven, that would be a package of meat, that someone tried to defrost, still wrapped in plastic, which melted and bonded the ribs to the wire shelf. Kind of interesting but a bit sinister-looking.

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    1. Thanks for reading my story! Yes, they cut a lot, but maintained the entire middle–which still has my voice and is my own writing–they just saw a story in the middle that I didn’t see–one that could stand on its own–who knew? And, that package of meat that bonded to the wire shelf–my goodness, what an image! This gives me plenty of ideas for stories right here. Cheers!

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  14. That sounds delicious! I’m sadly not very creative when it comes to things in the oven, so the only thing that comes out of mine are honey-covered toasts made with old-ish bread. They haven’t tried to attack, eat or rob me yet! 🙂

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