Magical Summer Night

Now that warm weather is here, I find myself choosing recipes that are light and refreshing, which usually means more fresh fruit and vegetables and less cooking and baking. Slowly but surely, we are part of gatherings around the grill or on the deck.

I remember one summer holiday when our family was invited to an evening potluck at our friends’ house. They live in an old farmhouse just outside of town that my brother discovered and resurrected and rented for awhile. I stayed there one summer when I was in high school and then later my husband-to-be and brother-in-law-to-be rented “the farm” as it was known when they were working and in college. The place has some history and now our friends live there and have made it come to life, both on the inside and the outside where the potluck was to be held.

On a beautiful summer evening, we were all to bring dishes to share and those going were bringing their best to suit the backyard environment. I chose to make a trifle, knowing how good and refreshing it is at the end of a hot day. Because of the weather, we decided it would be fun to bike out and so we needed to rig a carrier onto my bike for the trifle. Jim found an old crate and with bungee cords we tied it onto the back of the bike, then placed the trifle very carefully into it, propped into place with crumpled newspapers.  We slowly made our way through Shanklin Park and up Plymouth Avenue with no damage, then biked the rest of way on flat roads to the gathering.

Sure enough, everyone had brought delicious fare, from fresh salads in solid clay bowls, homemade breads and chips in baskets and meats from the market laid out to grill, to colorful fruit on glass plates and drinks setting in tubs of ice, and an array of fabulous desserts. The food was displayed artistically. The scene was like a picture out of a book. We had a really relaxing and enjoyable time outside in our friends’ serene and lush backyard. Time slowed down. Kids were playing, clumps of people talking, others gathered around the food or the flower gardens. Soon lightning bugs came out as dusk fell and evening arrived. A dampness started to fill the air. And then slowly but surely, folks began to leave in small groups here and there. The trifle was gone, enjoyed by many, and now it was time for us to go too. Back into the crate went the trifle dish, back onto our bikes went we but the road home was more dangerous than the road there. It was dark and we had no lights. We carefully made our way back into town and decided to take the millrace bike path back to our house and it is then that we realized how dark it had become. We slowly biked along the race hardly seeing the path or each other until we finally and safely made it to our street and the welcome street lights of town. That ride in the dark will always be tied to the great food and atmosphere at our friends’ house and the night of the trifle. It was a night of  summer magic.

Here’s the recipe for the trifle below.

Trifle:

Make the cake and pastry cream the morning or day before you want to serve the trifle.

Busy Day Cake:

1 2/3 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 egg

2/3 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

Put flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add butter, milk, egg and vanilla all at once and beat well for 2 1/2 minutes. Pour into greased rectangular pan 8 x 12 inches. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Pastry Cream:

3 c. half and half

½ c. cornstarch

1 c. sugar

1 c. water

6 egg yolks

2 t. vanilla

In saucepan, heat up half and half until it begins to simmer. In the meantime, mix cornstarch and sugar in a bowl. With a whisk, whip in water until smooth. Add egg yolks and beat to incorporate.

When half and half is simmering, slowly add half of it to the cornstarch mixture, whisking while adding. Whisk this into the half and half in the pan and continue to whisk over medium heat until the pastry cream thickens. Immediately remove from heat and keep whisking as you pour it into a bowl to cool. Add vanilla. Stir  frequently as it cools. Refrigerate.

1 small pkg strawberry jello

1 box of strawberries

3 or 4 bananas

1 pint whipped cream

Dark chocolate chips

Crumble the cake in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Slowly drizzle over it a mixture made with 1 package of jello well stirred with 1 c. boiling water and 1 c. cold water. Chill for one hour. Onto the cake mixture, make a layer of halved strawberries, then a layer of pastry cream, then a layer of sliced bananas, topped with a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, as desired. Chill. Serves 10.

You can vary this as needed, adding layers, varying the fruit, adding a little liqueur to the cake….