Note: This was written to go out yesterday but whoops! It got ‘stuck’….so hopefully you have a celebration still planned for this weekend!
The Fourth of July means summer is really, truly upon us. All of my childhood memories of this holiday involve sitting curbside along a parade route being awed by the marching bands and the firetrucks and of course fistfuls of candy tossed to the youngest onlookers! On my grandparents’ farm, the adage was that the corn should be “knee high by the 4th of July” and it was the time when homemade strawberry ice cream made an appearance – hand churned in a wooden freezer with salt in the bottom. There were sparklers to be twirled and fireflies to be caught and s’mores to be made late in the evening. Small town America seems to do patriotism better than anyone else; I hope you’ve found a favorite place to celebrate our freedom today…the simpler the better if you ask me! (Our annual neighborhood bike parade fits the bill.)
As you’re celebrating our nation’s birthday, here’s a little treat that’s a snap to make, but so pretty it’s worth of the occasion. I’ve used real whipped cream, but if you wanted to make this even healthier, you could substitute Greek Yogurt for the whipped cream. How fun would your kids think it was on Fourth of July morning if you served parfaits for breakfast?! Mine would love it! (PS That’s exactly what I did on Fox19 yesterday when I shared this and two more healthy treats for the 4th! Here’s the video clip.)
Happy 4th!
Berry Parfaits
serves 4
1 pint strawberries or raspberries
1 pint blueberries
1 c. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream and sugar with an electric mixer at high speed or an immersion blender until it forms stiff peaks. This takes just a minute or two and is the point at which when you turn off the beaters and lift them out of the whipped cream, the cream forms a “peak” and holds its shape.
2. Wash and cut strawberries into quarters. Wash blueberries.
3. In tall parfait glasses (or highball drinking glasses if you don’t have parfait glasses), layer strawberries, then a dollop of cream, then blueberries, then cream, alternating until you reach the top of the glass.