STRAWBERRY SUMMER

Anna Cerova, Public Domain Pictures.net.

I am fortunate in the location I've picked to live now that I've downsized to one person (me) and small place. I've chosen a very Brooklyn-spot here in Northern California. By that I mean, everything I need is in walking distance: groceries, pharmacies, restaurants (several Zagat rated), theatre, library, town square, Saturday Farmers' Market, a museum (tiny - not like New York), and a public transportation hub were bus lines and train lines intersect. I love it. This is very un-California like where you have to get into a car to run the slightest errand. Right now we are having unaccustomed heat. Yesterday it was up to 110. Today 107 is predicted. No air conditioning. Usually the weather here is temperate and we all make do with fans.

I walked into Whole Foods yesterday and there was a wealth of organic strawberries, bright red, plump, and cheerful. What is a summer without strawberries? I rarely have them with cream as in Simic's poem above, but I do love them on top of cottage cheese with a sprinkle of slivered almonds. Unadultured strawberries are fine too ... Mother Nature's fast food. Mom would do with Jell-O, so here's another retro recipe for a too-hot-to-cook day, though I see it 66° now with a high of 75° predicted along with some rain in Brooklyn. It must be humid though.

MOM'S RETRO STRAWBERRY SUMMER JELLO DESSERT

The recipe

Serves six

• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 3-oz. package of strawberry flavored gelatin
• 10-oz. of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 8 3/4-oz. can of pineapple
• 1 fresh banana, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Empty the package of gelatin into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the gelatin and stir until it has desolved. Add the juice from the pineapple. Partially chill until the mixture is cook and starting to thicken but is not set. When the gelatin is cook, add the fruits and nuts. Pour into a one-quart mold. If you spray it with a cooking spray, it will be easier to unmold. When it is firm, unmold the gelatin dessert onto a pretty plate. Serve with fresh, unsweetened whipped cream.