DESSERTS

It's been a while, I know. A few ideas for easy, quick, summer desserts. Not exactly my idea of true cooking, but, I don't typically make dessert, so when we need something quick for dinner guests, I typically throw one of the following together:

Faux Pavlova:
- fresh fruit in season, washed and sliced or cubed (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, nectarines, plum, apricots, pluots, mango, kiwi; or any combination)
- whipped cream, lightly sweetened with brown sugar
- homemade meringues OR purchased vanilla meringues

Per person:

- lightly crush 2 meringues
- in individual trifle bowl, place a layer of meringue
- place a thin layer of fruit on top of meringue
- place a thin layer of whipped cream on top of meringue
- repeat one or two times till full, top should be whipped cream sprinkled lightly with meringue

Fruit crisp
- blend three cups of fruit (any blend of stone fruit or berries you like, I typically will do: blueberry/peach; raspberry/apricot; strawberry/plum)
- lightly grease 8 x8 pan
- combine 1/2 cup steel cut oats/ 1/2 cup flour/1/2 cup brown sugar/1 tsp vanilla/ 1/4 tsp cinnamon/ 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/2 cup butter, cut in to chunks (easiest to mush with fork or fingers)
- sprinkle topping all over pan of fruit.
- bake at 375 until bubbly and crisp
- serve with high quality vanilla ice cream or whipped cream sweetened with brown sugar or grade B maple syrup

Quick trifle (serves 10-12)
- glass trifle dish (full size or individual)
- several packages of fresh ady fingers, or two-three packages dry cookie type italian lady fingers
- 2 cups cups homemade or purchased lemon curd (trader joes or dundee's only, other brands taste like artificial lemon)
- 16 oz container of thick greek yogurt, greek yogurt cheese, or Lebne (mediterranean yogurt cheese)
- in bowl, stir together lemon curd and thick greek yogurt
- very lightly sweetened whipped cream (8 oz whipping cream before whipping)
- fold 1/2 of whipped cream in to lemon curd mixture
- fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)
- line bottom of trifle dish with lady fingers, layer with lemon curd mixture, berries, and whipped cream (reserve enough cream for top of trifle). Repeat until reaching the top of trifle dish. Finish with whipped cream and fresh berries on top.
- Refrigerate until serving