Fresh, ripe strawberries are a good thing. Very tasty locally grown organic ones are starting to show up at the farmers' markets again. As one who tends to gild the lily ("Excess in everything! Moderations is for monks." being words to live by -- at least some of the time :), I have not been able to leave the berries in their native form but have been dipping them in Scharffenberger 76% chocolate.

"But wait", says you, "Scharffenberger doesn't make a 76%."

"Right." says I.

Not every strawberry in a pint can handle the rigors of immersion in chocolate. This is a good thing. This is a good thing because these berries can be sliced and covered with natila, a Peruvian concoction of soft goat cheese 'preserved' with lots of brown sugar and molasses. I'm told that the sugar keeps the cheese fresh for up to three months without refridgeration. My personal experience is that even with refridgeration the shelflife of natila is considerably less than twenty-four hours (my sweet tooth may be a factor in the results of this study - or maybe it's the strawberries).