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A fool for Father’s Day: No-cook summer dessert easy enough for kids

Recipe: Fresh raspberry fool with a rosy twist

This cool and pretty dessert is called a "fool" but the ease of making it is no joke.

This cool and pretty dessert is called a "fool" but the ease of making it is no joke. Debbie Arrington

A “fool” is one of the first desserts I learned to make, taught to me by my grandmother. It didn’t involve turning on the stove, so it was a good introduction. (And I got to use the mixer!) Plus I loved the name.

Fruit fools are sort of foody puns; the idea is to create something that looked “special enough for company,” but that could be put together quickly with ingredients on hand.

What better dessert for Father’s Day than a foody pun that kids can make?

Raspberry puree in a measuring cup
Fresh raspberries are gently mashed 
before being folded into the whipped cream.

I still use my grandmother’s parfait glasses, but this layered dessert works in mason jars or juice glasses, too – anything see-through so the colorful layers can be appreciated.

Rose syrup adds a subtle, fragrant note and its light pink color complements the raspberries. Grenadine and simple syrup work just as well as do fruit-flavored syrups.

Remember to gently fold the fruit into the whipped cream to maintain the stripes of pink, red and white.

Fresh raspberry fool

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh raspberries

3 tablespoons rose syrup (see note)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 sugar cookie or similar, crumbled

Instructions:

Rinse berries; save out a few berries for garnish. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine berries with rose syrup. (See note.) Set aside.

In a mixing bowl (with a hand mixer on medium speed) or a food processor, combine whipping cream, sugar and vanilla; whip until soft peaks form (only 1 or 2 minutes).

Transfer whipped cream to a medium bowl.

With a fork, mash the raspberries. Gently fold half of the raspberry mixture into the whipped cream. Only stir once or twice.

Creamy fruit mixture in a metal bowl
Gently stir cream mixture and berries so
the colorful stripes remain.

In a parfait glass or similar, scoop 1 tablespoon of the fruit puree. Top with 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream mixture. Then, top with another tablespoon of fruit puree and 2 more tablespoons of the whipped cream mixture.

Top with cookie crumbs and raspberry garnish. Serve cold.

(Dessert may be assembled in advance and refrigerated.)

Note: Grenadine, other fruit syrup or simple syrup may be substituted for rose syrup.

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Garden Checklist for week of April 27

Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.

* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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