How to make good fruits taste even better

Long, long ago in the olden days, summer fruits led the cook directly to the oven where shortcakes were baked. Before the advent of the mighty mixes, butter was cut into flour and sugar and baked into a flaky biscuit to be cooled, split, buttered and layered with sweetened fruit and whipped cream. For fancy occasions a pound cake or an angel food might be whipped up with many flips of the weary wrist. Cooled, sliced and served with soft summer fruits and whipped cream (maybe even ice cream) these desserts gave summer its identity.

Today, coming up with the sweet slices to be decked out with colorful fruits is so easy that we can spend a little of the time saved coming up with other things to be sliced and with sauces to further glorify the fruits. Here are some ideas for enhancing summer pleasures.

Amanda Gold's Simple Summer Sauces

Summer fruits when fully ripe require no enhancement. Often just cutting and simmering the fruit to release the juices makes a perfect sauce but we are always trying to expand upon perfection, aren't we? Just try spooning these simple sauces over vanilla ice cream, yogurt, angel food or pound cake, pancakes or waffles--even cottage cheese.

Blackberry Ginger

2 1/2 cups blackberries
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Granulated sugar, to taste

Combine berries and ginger in a saucepan and warm over low heat, mashing some of the blackberries and leaving others whole. Add sugar to taste as the fruit begins to release its juices; boil for a few minutes to thicken.

Raspberry-Lime Tarragon

1 lime
4 cups raspberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon minced tarragon, or dried tarragon to taste

Remove zest from lime and squeeze to release juice; combine with raspberries and sugar in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture cooks down and thickens slightly; remove from heat. Stir in tarragon.

Cherry Basil

Handful of basil stems (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 lemon
1 pound pitted cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon minced basil leaves

Place basil stems in a square of cheesecloth, bring corners to center and tie with string. Squeeze juice from lemon and place juice with basil stems, cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until cherries soften and release some of their juices. Remove from heat. Remove stems and stir in basil leaves before serving.

Vanilla Peach

4 peaches
1 vanilla bean
1/2 orange
Granulated sugar, optional

Peel, pit and thinly slice peaches. Combine in saucepan with seeds from vanilla bean and then add the pod itself. Squeeze juice of orange into pot and simmer over low heat until juices are released and mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Taste for sweetness and cook a bit longer if adding more sugar. Remove pod before serving. If serving with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt, omit vanilla bean from recipe.

Strawberry-Orange Lavender

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 teaspoons fresh lavender or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 orange, juice and zest

Place berries, lavender, sugar, orange juice and zest in saucepan and simmer over low heat until juices are released; allow to boil a few minutes longer until slightly thickened.

Blueberry & Nectarine Crisp

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and simply serve unadorned. Have no fear, it will disappear.
5 cups fresh blueberries
3 cups pitted and sliced nectarines or peaches
1 lemon's juice
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

1 1/2 cups regular oats
1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. Toss blueberries and nectarines together and arrange in baking dish. Whisk lemon juice with scraped vanilla bean seeds and toss over fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Topping: Mix together well the oats, flour and brown sugar. Add butter and work together with fingers to form clumps. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture, making sure to cover all of the way out to the edges. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until browned. Serve warm. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Lazy Angel Dessert

Bake or buy an angel food cake or serve on slices of pound cake. You can even use frozen or canned fruits when fresh are not in season.

2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk, can be low-fat
2 cups sour cream, can be low-fat
2 cups sliced peaches, nectarines, strawberries, or other berries
1 angel food cake

Combine pudding mixes, milk and sour cream; beat as directed on package. Refrigerate. At serving time, fold in chilled fruit, saving some fruit for garnish. Spoon generously over slices of cake and garnish with reserved fruit and a sprig of mint (if you are lucky enough to have a patch to pinch it from). Makes 8 to 10 servings.

August is every dessert lover's vision of heaven