Strawberries are coming and Alejandra has recipes galore.  (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Alejandra Owens. You can find her at her food blog, One Bite At A Time. Alejandra also writes for City Eats DC, a Food Network site, where you can book dinner reservations. Follow her on Twitter at @frijolita and email her at alejandra[AT]borderstan.com. 

Last year, the most awful thing happened to me. I was at the grocery store, just weeks after the local strawberry season had ended and I was lamenting the lack of those little red jewels in my life. I was sad. I missed them!

So I bought a pint of the little buggers from The Teet.

Wow, was that a mistake. They were watery, tasteless and mealy. I mean, I didn’t really even understand what mealy felt like in my mouth until that moment. What the heck!? I had been eating grocery store strawberries my whole life (with the rare exception of cartons bought on the side of the road from Mexicans, who crossed the boarder to set up mini market stands — I grew up about 40 minutes from the U.S.–Mexico border) and in that moment, I felt screwed. Had they always tasted like that? Had I elevated myself to the next level of strawberry consciousness with my farmers market shopping ways?

I’m hoping I just landed a bad batch, ’cause as much as I try to shop local and seasonal, there are just moments, there are desserts, that call for strawberries when they’re not in season in like, you know, Pennsylvania!!!

This week’s FreshFarm Markets‘ newsletter mentioned that Garner’s Produce would have strawberries at the Penn Quarter market and I got tres excited. I’m not sure if they’ll be at Dupont Circle this Sunday, but you know what, we can throw a strawberry party now, just so we’re ready.

Here are some strawberry recipes to get you started:

• Todd Thrasher’s Strawberry Smash sounds tart and refreshing for you boozehounds.
• Not Derby Pie has an off-beat but delicious sounding Strawberry Avocado Salad (bonus: essential tip about using salad dressing included).
• Breakfast is calling and Adventures in Shaw has Strawberry Scones for you to start the day.
• Yours truly brings you Strawberry Rhubarb Meringue Bars for a luscious, cool  dessert.
• Pete Bakes likes to wrap his strawberries in…bacon. I think I’m speechless.
• PopTarts, hand pies, whatever you wanna call them, Modern Domestic (aka Jenna of Whisked!) has ‘em filled with strawberries for ya!

What’s on your market list for this weekend? Don’t forget, if you have questions about the market, just tweet me!

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