It's so warm, even the vintage fruit salad needs to be frozen!

It's a busy day, it's scorching hot out, and you - and/or your entire household - is suddenly in the mood for dessert tonight, but there's nary a popsicle, cookie crumb, or slice of cake to be had in the whole house, and the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven and risk the kitchen getting so warm the paint starts peeling off the walls (or at least the feeling that it could).

I've been there, believe, me I've been there. Canada certainly deserves its wintery rap, but we're no stranger to mind blowingly hot summertime temperatures either (don't let this year's rain here in B.C. fool you, I've been through my fair share of astronomically hot Canadian summers before), which means that over the years I've come to know just what to do in this kind of situation (especially when the ice cream man is no where in sight).

Frozen desserts and no-bake cheesecakes, my dears. Little, scrumptious summertime dessert godsends, I tell you, which can be jazzed up or striped down to your heart's content, and which spare you from having to even give the stove a passing glance (this point being of prime importance to those, like moi, who are not blessed with central air).

As August is the generally the sort of time when you're in the mood to entertain, serve up sweet treats after midweek meals for the kids, and perhaps bring something delightfully yummy with you to a neighbourhood barbeque, in celebration of the start of the the eight month of the year, today's post features a Frozen Fruit Salad from 1963 fits all of those bills wonderfully.



{Chocked full of fabulous vintage ingredients like maraschino cherries - a personal fave - and pineapple tidbits, this sweet, refreshing vintage Frozen Fruit Salad is as much fun to look at as it is to eat. Image via jackie121467 on Flickr.}


If the idea of adding mayonnaise to something you're likely going to eat for dessert (though, of course, you could always serve this fruit studded dish right alongside your lunch or dinner) doesn't exactly set you salivating, you can always leave it out and just up the whipped cream content by another 1/2 cup or so. Likewise, if this particular pairing of produce isn't your favourite, play around, swapping in or out, whatever you fancy. I could see fresh cherries and ripe summer peaches, partnered with almonds being an especially nice take on frozen fruit salad.

Though this dish is very much akin to ice cream in and of itself, if you wanted to you, you could always serve it with a little dollop of your favourite sorbet, sherbet, ice cream, or vegetarian ice cream (rice, soy, almond, coconut, etc) on top or to the side. Depending on what you add to your frozen salad, a little drizzle of chocolate sauce, caramel, or fruit coulis could be an especially nice touch, too.

August, though sometimes brutally warm, is a gorgeous, dreamy time of the year and one that deserves to be celebrating in ways both big and small, so why not do as I'll be doing this month and whip up a batch or two of delicious frozen fruit salad before autumn returns?

Wonderfully delicious, summertime-friendly Magic Chocolate Pie recipe

✯ Day 215 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Summer brings with it many interesting - sometimes even humorous - paradoxes, one of which is that it's amongst the most social times of the year (just think of the many barbeques, picnics, pool parties, graduations, bridal showers, weddings, and long weekend celebrations), yet it's also undoubtedly the toastiest. This leads to the conundrum of needing to whip up meals and desserts when your kitchen feels about as warm as the surface of the sun.

Aside from tried-and-true frozen desserts, chilled refrigerator pies that require little or no cooking can be a hostess' dream way to wrap up a great summertime meal. They're usually straightforward and relatively quick to prepare (especially if you use a precooked pie crust, either store bought or homemade in advance), can be relatively economical, and tend to be major crowd-pleasers.

Today's scrumptious Magic Chocolate Pie recipe is sure to appeal to chocoholics and those with a general sweet tooth alike.

I love that most of us have all the ingredients called for on hand right now (who wants to run out to the grocery store when the mercury is boiling over?) and this is one of those great dishes that still leaves you plenty of time to work on the other elements of your meal (or do whatever else you please).

{Click here for a larger version of this tasty Magic Chocolate Pie recipe, which comes by way of Shelf Life Taste Test on Flickr.}

 

This chocolaty 1950s dessert would work great after an array of meals, from a sit down buffet brunch for twelve to a burger and hot dog fest in backyard with the kids. You could add some nuts, caramel, coffee, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, or coconut to the mix (or as a decorative touch on top), or simply enjoy this sweet treat exactly as it appears in the recipe above.

No matter how you slice it, this is one fun, lovely summertime pie that keeps you from spending too much time in the kitchen this season while still delivering impressive, very inviting looking results - and that is definitely a culinary good thing!