Saturday, July 04, 2009

A Red, White & Blue Sweet Freedom Saturday

How fitting for Sweet Freedom Saturday to coincide with Independence Day. I had many options for red and blue berry type treats to choose from Ricki’s book, but as it continues to be insanely hot here, a no-bake dessert was in order. I blended up some delicious Vanilla Pastry Crème to layer with fresh local berries. Yes, it's a simple offering, but beautiful fruit, just slightly enhanced, is a wonderful thing.



If I had had a pie crust in the freezer, I might have made a festive pie like the one pictured on the cover of Sweet Freedom.


Or a patriotic tart like I made last year.


I am thankful to live in America. There are many things to be proud of and to love about our country. But after seeing Food, Inc. last night, there is much that needs improving, much much more than I realized. Without commenting on big government, the food industry, and the general ill health of our citizens, let me urge you to do whatever you can to support local growers. Become a part of your community and patronize the farmers markets in your area. It really does matter that you eat locally, seasonally, organically, and naturally. And go see the movie!

Happy Independence Day!

15 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Gorgeous desserts!!

I'm proud too - wonderful words in honor of today's holiday, dear Diann!!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

That was some tart you made last year, just gorgeous, but this year's offering looks tasty too :)

Tami said...

What beautiful desserts-- and here's to great local food!

Andrea said...

Excellent choice for a hot weather dessert. It looks very refreshing.

We found organic berries and beautiful produce at our local farmer's market today. The zucchini was so fresh and flavorful it was like a totally different vegetable from the supermarket variety.

Amy said...

Mmm that looks like the perfect dessert for a hot night! Happy 4th of July :)

Jes said...

I love the simple, no-bake fruit bowl! I hope you had a lovely 4th!

Crystal said...

Is that topped with coconut? Yummy! All your pictures look great and oh so tempting!

Sheree' said...

Happy 4th to you too! Thank you for your hugs and thoughts. One day at a time. It is so hot here and your simple red, white, and blue dessert looks wonderfully refreshing! Hugs

Anonymous said...

Simple is usually best, especially where fruit is concerned.
Glad you had a happy holiday!

Erin said...

Your dessert looks a lot like mine did, except mine had pieces of pound cake too...blush...

I just saw Food Inc. on Friday. Because I'm already familiar with a lot of the material I felt that it was slow and didn't offer much new knowledge, but that's just me I think. For someone who doesn't know what's going on with the food industry I think it'd be a real eye opener, so I'd recommend it too.

Ricki said...

Sorry I'm soooo behind on blog reading! I love the look of this dish--what a perfect use for the cream! (And I can even have some if sweetened w/ stevia--whoo hoo!).

Hope you had a wonderful 4th (if you can remember that far back!) ;)

jessy said...

good call on the no-baking in the crazy heat, Diann! awesome on keeping it simple and yet deeeeelicious on the fresh fruit with Ricki's vanilla pastry crème! mmmmmmmmmmmm! hope you had a glorious 4th of july! hooray for some tasty red, white, and blue!

JENNA said...

I love your patriotic tart!

nora said...

That star tart is awesome! And I just learned on Kamutflake Girl's blog that blueberries can also be called starberries! hehe

Shaheen said...

That berry tart is gorgeous. I am harvesting a lot of raspberries and strawberries at the moment and am thinking about making one with the Welsh flag, the red dragon, but not sure about the green...