Sensational Strawberries

Sweet and juicy strawberries have long been a favorite of mine. As a child, strawberries would signal the beginning of summer, which always had great things to come: school would be out, the annual Adairville Strawberry Festival always held in May, and warm weather in which I would spend the majority of the day roaming around the farm.

My Mom usually had a small strawberry patch that she pampered. Each year she'd proclaim that the first ripe strawberry was hers to eat. My Mom and I searched the strawberries daily to find the first ripe berry. One year, all the ripe strawberries seemed to be disappearing. We'd watch the berries turn from green to pink with only a day more needed to be gloriously red. Only to find the next day that the strawberry was gone. My Dad then found the culprit of our missing berries-- our dog! Blackie (the dog) was nosing through the berry patch each morning and eating the perfectly ripe berries before we could get to them. Can't say I blame him much, ripe strawberries fresh from the patch are the best.

My parents haven't had a strawberry patch in the last few years, so I get mine from the farmer's market. Since my Mom loves strawberries so much, I made her this Strawberry Trifle for Mother's Day. It was quite the success and a wonderful way to enjoy the sweet berries.

Strawberry Trifle
6 cups strawberries, divided into 2 and 4 cups
1 angel food cake
1 1-oz pkg instant Vanilla pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 8-oz Cool Whip
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cut angel food cake into 1 inch cubes and set aside. Prepare vanilla pudding according to package directions with the cold milk, set aside. Wash and cap strawberries. Slice all but two cups. Retain a few of the prettier berries for garnish.

To prepare filling: Mash 2 cups strawberries with a potato masher. Combine mashed strawberries and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press the strawberry mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Reserve strawberry liquid and discard pulp. If necessary, add water to make at least 1 cup of liquid.

Combine 2/3 cups sugar and cornstarch in a pan. Add the strawberry liquid stirring well with a whisk. Bring to a boil, cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Reduce heat, cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Stir sliced strawberries into filling mixture.

To assemble trifle: Layer half of angel food cake in trifle bowl, pressing down as needed. Spoon half of vanilla pudding over cake. Spread half of the strawberry filling mixture over cake and pudding. Spoon half of Cool Whip over strawberry filling and spread evenly. Repeat with angel food cake, pudding, strawberry filling, and Cool Whip for second layer. Decorate the top with the garnish strawberries. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Serves: 8-10 (unless you really like strawberries, then not so many!)