Donnie's Kitchen

It was great to see so many of you at the presentation “Honoring and Caring for God’s Creation”. The presentation was excellent, the literature informative and helpful, the conversations and discussions were encouraging, and the fair trade coffee was wonderful. Thank-you to those who organized the morning. If you haven’t thought about how you, personally, could ‘go green’ there are many ideas that would be easy to implement. I know habits are hard to change, but with a little thought, preparation and commitment we could start with a small improvement and perhaps be inspired to make other changes. I’m working on using the cloth bags instead of plastic when I shop. If you want more information about ‘going green’ check out the February 2008 issue of the Virginia Advocate. It’s almost strawberry time in Virginia. Picking your own berries or buying local berries is better for the environment. During strawberry season I remember a good friend in Martinsville who was well-known for this dessert. I can’t wait to make it again this Spring…

Strawberry Fluff

Crust
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup melted butter
Mix all ingredients and press in 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Cheese Layer
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 large Cool Whip
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix softened cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla and Cool Whip. Mix and spread over cooled crust.

Fruit Layer

4 cups strawberries (sliced or mashed)
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
Red food coloring

Place 2 cups berries with juice in saucepan. Drain juice from remaining 2 cups berries. Pour juice into saucepan and save berries. Stir sugar, cornstarch and food coloring into saucepan with juice and berries. Cook and stir over low heat until thickened. Stir in drained berries and cool completely. Spread over cheese layer. Chill 12 hours before serving.

To save time (energy and a few calories) prepare crust and cheese layers and then top with fresh berries (or any other fruit).