Thursday, June 25, 2015

Summer Dessert

Yes, Summer is finally here! And with this, comes to mind a dessert that I have had for about 30 years. I make this every summer. Sometimes, I mix it up and experiment with different fruits ( because I am a rebel like that) and sometimes I stick with the basics.

This is my Strawberry Angel food Heaven Dessert.
To make things as simple and easy as possible, I am going to take the convenience route.

 Go buy a store bought Angel Food cake.
No worries that it will affect the overall taste. It will not. So don't go trying to make your own home made cake...trust me, it makes no difference. Tear this cake up into bite size pieces.  Keep in mind you want some big chunks in there as well. Set aside.

 Now take a box of strawberry jello and make it according to the quick set instructions:

This is for a 3 oz box

Stir 3/4 cup boiling water into gelatin in bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Mix 1/2 cup cold water and ice cubes to make 1 1/4 cups. Add to gelatin, stir until slightly thickened. Remove remaining ice. refrigerate 30 minutes for soft set or 1 - 1 1/2 hours until firm. 
When your jello is the consistency of egg yolks ( or runny snot, take your pick) then add either fresh or frozen strawberries to the mixture.

The next step is to prepare your whipping cream. Originally, this called for one container of Cool Whip but because I prefer REAL whipping cream, that is what I use instead. You can use Cool whip, I will not judge. ( or will I?)

Walk this jello over to your bowl of chunked up angel food cake. ( I might have made that word up)

Slowly fold your runny jello and berries into the bowl of cake. Add a dollop of whipped cream. Add more Jello. More  whip cream.
You want to gently fold it all together, not manhandle it. Manhandling it is for later.
 Now, you  pour all of this into a tube cake pan or just pour it into a bowl. I use both. Depends on who I am trying to impress.  This picture is of the mix poured into the cake tube.


If you use a large bowl, make it a pretty one, so at least you get presentation points.
Then you simply scoop out the servings you want.
This dessert tastes like a mixture of shortcake and angel food cake. For obvious reasons.
As I said before...I experiment.
Sometimes it's strawberries, sometimes it's
raspberries, or peaches.
Use whatever you like. Only, if you use Raspberries, use Raspberry Jello. Duh.
 Alright, there you have it! A great fourth of July recipe to bring or , to just make and hoard.
I repeat. I will not judge.
You're welcome.



Sunday, June 14, 2015

It's a beautiful hot almost summer day and I have to be productive.
I have to.
I could get in the pool but then I would be staring at what I should be doing and then have to get out.
So I avoid the pool and tackle the......plastic adirondack chairs.
You know the type....you buy them in a pinch and then you regret the color or the chair itself and it ends up on the side of the yard never to be used again.
Well. No longer.
Today we are doing something about it.
See? I told you do. Plain. Boring. Blah.
So today I am going to show you what I did to /for them.
I began by painting with a can of outdoor spray paint. Good on plastics. I decided to make it two tones to match my new umbrella I am in love with. Yep. I said it.
I sprayed several of the slats an aqua color. Then I let that dry. In this heat and weather, that equated to about 3 minutes. So I gave it a good ten, just to be sure. That, and I started to overheat and had to get some ice tea.
Making sure the paint was on there good , I used painters tape to lay over the aqua color.So that when I added the next color, it would not overlap.
Then I used a Royal Blue spray paint that I got at Hobby Lobby for an amazing price of 4.19 a can, on sale. Seriously a great price.
I gave the chair three coats of the Royal blue. Now, I know this make look a little streaky but for those of you who KNOW me, it is not.It's just the glare from the sun.
So I will let this set for a day and then put it next to my happy new umbrella.
Did I mention I love that thing?
In case you missed it, this is that bad boy.
So now you know why I choose the colors for the chairs that I did.
Chairs, Plural. I did two. In this heat. '
I am exhausted. I need more sweet tea.
What do YOU want to paint today?