Chill Out

If your recent hobbies include sweating and avoiding blistering sun, you might be living in one of the many parts of the world that are experiencing the hottest part of the summer. I know I'm fighting the heat through a combination of finding cool lakes and even cooler air conditioning, but we still need to eat and just the thought of touching a stove is enough to wrinkle my brow. So I don't. It's salad and sandwich season in my house. If we need to get something hot, we turn to the electric pressure cooker, the slow cooker, and the grill. And, when it comes to dessert, keeping things cool is a snap!

Of course, ice cream and the like are easy to come by or make and we take on our share of those, but these pretty parfaits are an elegant way to end a meal and when you've been discovering just how much things like ankles can sweat, a little elegance can go a long way! I like to mix and match fresh and frozen fruit so there's a little extra chilly in the mix. The parfaits pictured include fresh strawberries and blueberries alongside frozen blackberries, but any combination of your favorite berries will do the trick!

You can also mix up the flavor of pudding used. I like the traditional combination of creamy vanilla with berries, but chocolate, cheesecake, and any number of other flavors will do the trick nicely. You can even choose the kinds of berries you include based on the flavor of pudding you use. The key is to relax and chill out!