4th of July Trifle

Note: The recipe follows after a really long chicken discussion (grin).

Ha. Fred thinks he’s so clever. The Urban Chicken discussion is not over! Our neighbor Karen was walking her cute little Bichon, Penny, in our circle on Sunday afternoon, so we popped out of the house to chat for a few minutes. I was busy Sunday afternoon creating this lovely trifle and Fred was tying his 185th Prusik knot of the day (Fred’s new hobby is hanging off granite cliffs in Little Cottonwood Canyon.)

So anyway, I was standing on the sidewalk telling Karen about my blog when Fred pipes up from the cement stoop. ‘Tell her about your crazy idea to have chickens in the backyard!’

I cringed. Karen was probably the last person I wanted to know I was entertaining the idea of chickens in the backyard. After all, she seems so chic and sophisticated. And we live in a nice country club neighborhood. But, most important? HER HUSBAND IS THE FORMER MAYOR. I'm sure chickens in this neighborhood would violate several dozen ordinances.

Karen looks at me, looks at Fred, looks back at me, takes a deep breathe and yells ‘DO IT!!!’

Fred turned every shade of purple, pointed his finger at her and said 'HEY, YOU'RE NOT HELPING! I looked at her dumbfounded. She said 'Yes, do it. There's another woman just down the street who has chickens. It's a great idea!' .... Oh, really? NICE.

Fred immediately threw her off our land, warning her to never darken our doorstep again. Ha, ha, ha. Check. One more vote for the crazy Chicken Lady.

Karen and Penny went home but I decided that it would be a GREAT idea to invite her and Steve over to try the trifle later that night. I was dying to ask more questions about the woman down the street. Five minutes after they walked through the door Karen says 'Hey, Honey, Liz wants to have chickens. Isn't that a great idea?' He didn't bat an eye. He told me 'Yes, you can do that. We passed that ordinance 15 years ago.' BINGO!!

Poor Fred. He's doomed. I think I better hide all the ropes.

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4th of July Trifle

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 store-bought pound cake (12 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 bar (8 ounces) Neufatel cheese, room temperature (or light cream cheese)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream (the unwhipped liquid in the case near half n half)
• 3 cups fresh blueberries (three 1/2-pint containers), rinsed and dried (I didn't have fresh so used frozen, thawed and drain juice)
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled, sliced and tossed in 3 Tbs sugar
  

In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of cake slices. Quarter each slice. Try to use up all the liquid. The pound cake can take it. It helps with the overall flavor of the final product.

With an electric mixer, beat the Neufatel with remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until lightened. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add heavy cream in a steady stream; continue beating until mixture is light and airy (mixture will be like a very soft whipped cream).

Arrange half the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish. Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over cake in dollops; spread to sides of dish. Scatter the blueberries on top. Repeat layering with remaining cake, cream-cheese mixture, and strawberries on top. Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.