It’s a lovely day in our neighborhood. The temperature, the air, the birds, and the beautiful blooming iris from Yarda’s Ditchwater Iris all tell us that spring is here. Before I launch into the rhapsody that is spring for all of us — strawberries — I would like to share an “a-ha” moment I experienced recently.

In this land of bounty we call home — Placer County — we don’t think much about food shortages and interruption of our food supply. Yet the New York Times, The Sac Bee, and the Chronicle all have had lead stories about food shortages around the world. What struck me is the connection between support of local agriculture and food supply in the Philippines. Inefficient farming practices, increasing demand and using valuable land to grow food for export all contribute to a complex picture of unbalanced supply and demand for rice in the Philippines. Their people are dependent on imported rice, one of their main staples. Their dependence on imported rice has become a problem as the demand for rice worldwide increases. There isn’t as much rice available for import, thus a shortage. Of course, this is the simplified version of the story but now I understand we need to support local agriculture for yet another reason; we want to keep our local food supply strong and growing. We want our farmers to feed our local geographic area first. We need to strengthen our local food supply by buying local, increasing demand, and supporting local ranchers and farmers so that they will put more land into production. They will still supply the Bay Area with produce and meat, but, you know, they really wouldn’t have to if the demand became high enough right here in Placer County. So visit your farmers’ markers, farm stands, buy local at produce stores, and visit local farms. We have a sustainable food supply system county in Placer County. All we have to do is support it by buying local!

Ok, off of my soapbox and on to the fluff of the column. Literally.

Today’s recipe is fun to make and really delicious. It is called Strawberry Jubilee Parfait and made its debut on a box of tapioca pudding in the 1930s. The recipe has been changed over the years and adapted to more modern cooking techniques.

After you try this dessert you will know why all of those Jell-O desserts pale in comparison. The rich flavor of the fresh strawberries combined with the smooth tapioca and whipped cream is heavenly.

Enjoy spring by coming down to the farmers’ markets. By the end of May the Foothill Farmers’ Association will have six markets open. The Placer County Agriculture Guide features the market schedule. Look for the new market in Lincoln at Lincoln Market Place on Friday mornings, and the Granite Bay market on Thursday morning. Kaiser Roseville is now on Monday mornings and Colfax remains on Wednesday evenings at a new location at the Depot Freight parking lot. As always, our flagship, the Auburn Old Town Market is going strong and adding farmers daily.

I hear that peaches and berries are on their way…

Carol Arnold is the general manager of the Foothill Farmers’ Market Association. She can be reached at clarnold@yahoo.com.

Strawberry Jubilee Parfait

1 pound strawberries, hulled (1 heaping basket)

1 cup sugar

2 cups of water, approximately

1/3 cup quick cooking tapioca

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

Dice the strawberries. Add sugar and let stand at least 30 minutes — one hour is better.

Set a strainer over a bowl and drain the strawberries. Set them aside. Add enough water to the strawberry juice to make three cups total.

In a saucepan, mix together the water/juice mixture, tapioca, and salt. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat. The mixture will be thin at this point. Don’t over-cook.

Fold the drained strawberries into the tapioca mixture. Cool, stirring occasionally. The mixture will thicken as it cools.

When the mixture is cool, divide among four saucer champagne glasses or any other coupe-style stemmed glasses, like martini glasses. Chill the glasses uncovered and chill the remaining tapioca mixture.

Fold the cream into the remaining tapioca mixture, then pile into the glasses.

Serves 4.