SUMMER FRUIT SALAD
Pineapple Cream Cheese Dressing:
1/3 c. sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. orange juice
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened

Salad:
2 c. sliced fresh strawberries
2 c. pineapple tidbits
1 1/2 c. seedless green or red grapes, halved
1 1/2 c. diced peaches or nectarines
1 c. fresh blueberries or raspberries
1/4 c. sugar

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in juices until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount into the eggs; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat; cool slightly. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add juice mixture; mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In a large bowl, combine the fruit. Sprinkle with sugar; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve in a lettuce-lined bowl with the dressing.

FROM-YOUR-KITCHEN Things That Can Help Your Garden Grow

• Make flowers bloom like crazy with baking soda – you can sprinkle it on the surface of your soil to make your geraniums, coneflowers, daylilies and clematis bloom like crazy. That’s because baking soda is alkaline, and those flowers thrive on alkaline soil.
• Repel ants with cream of tartar – sprinkle a bit of cream of tartar on the perimeter of the table or wherever you want to “dust their trail”
• Repel squirrels with cayenne – Squirrels are adorable until they start digging up your daffodil and tulip bulbs. To deter them, sprinkle cayenne pepper around your bulb gardens. Reapply when you see the squirrels returned.
• Erase algae with white vinegar – Forget renting a power washer! All you need to get rid of that unwanted icky green stuff on your patio is to spray it with full-strength distilled white vinegar
• Use baking soda for sweeter tomatoes – A more alkaline soil makes tomatoes sweeter. To grow sweeter tomatoes, simply sprinkle baking soda on the surface of your soil in your tomato garden
• Clean and condition garden tools with olive oil – Rub olive oil onto the cutting and digging surfaces of your garden tools, as well as on your lawn mower blades. This will repel dirt and rust and make it easier to clean them next time.
• Fight fungus with baking soda – While baking soda doesn’t kill fungus, you can use it to prevent fungus because its alkalinity creates an environment hostile to fungal growth. Simply stir a teaspoon of baking soda into a liter of water and spray the leaves of your fungus-prone plants (these include tomatoes and lilacs).
• Turn pink hydrangeas blue with vinegar – Unlike baking soda, distilled white vinegar is acidic, and acidic soil is the secret to turning your pink hydrangeas blue. (Note: This doesn’t work on white hydrangeas.) Vinegar also enhances the soil of acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons and gardenias. Use a cup of white distilled vinegar to a gallon of tap water.
• Attract earthworms with coffee grounds – Adding coffee grounds to your soil benefits your soil by attracting earthworms and microorganisms (both of which make your soil healthier and more fertile). But note: fresh coffee grounds are acidic, whereas used coffee grounds are neutral. If you are enhancing the soil of an alkaline-soil loving plant (such as geraniums or sweet tomatoes), then used coffee grounds are the way to go.