Berry De-Lite

I've been pregnant through 3 summers and I must say that on every hot day I am profoundly grateful that I'm not pregnant now. My first pregnancy I wore a bikini. I was young and cute and could pull it off. My second pregnancy I bought a huge, black maternity bathing suit and a kiddie wading pool. My toddler was excited about the pool, but got a pouty lower lip when he saw that mammoth mommy took up the whole pool.

The last time around I was a pro at keeping cool. Stay in the mall. Lurk near the frozen foods section. And above all else, do not turn on the oven to bake!

Luckily for those who don't enjoy sweltering, as well as a heat wave, summer also brings a bounty of fresh fruit that tastes fabulous without any cooking necessary. This berry dessert was originally intended as a pie filling, but I was not about to turn on the oven to make a pie crust, so it became parfaits. Beautiful parfaits, heady with splash of wine flavor, topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. Cool, fruity, and easy. What better summer dessert could you ask for?

Berry De-Lite Parfaits
- adapted from Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried, or frozen unsweetened whole blueberries
2 cups fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened whole raspberries
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dry white wine
2-1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 tsp unflavored gelatine
2 Tbsp creme de cassis
Whipped cream to top
Fresh berries to top

1- In a 1-1/2 quart nonreactive saucepan, combine 1 cup of the blueberries, 1 cup of the raspberries, the sugar, wine, and lemon juice. Set over low heat and cook gently, crushing the fruit with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

2- Pour the water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatine over the water and allow it to sit for about 3 minutes to soften. Stir the mixture over low heat just until the gelatine dissolves. Do not boil.

3- Stir the dissolved gelatine into the berry mixture, then stir in the remaining berries and the creme de cassis.

4- Transfer the hot berry mixture to a heatproof bowl and set it in a larger pan of ice water. Cool, stirring on and off, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of raw egg whites. Carefully spoon the mixture into parfait glasses. Cover the glasses with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours, or overnight.

5- Top the parfaits with whipped cream and fresh berries just before serving.