"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?" ~ Albert Einstein

I guess that I would substitute "friends" for "violin" when BITE met recently on a sunny summer day! We had a little rearranging to do, and these are great gals, switching to a noon-time gathering in order to accommodate my schedule - Thank You!

As host, Ellen chose a wonderful summertime theme - fruit! We are at the height of our seasonal fruit here, so the timing was ideal. We headed out to the porch for our appetizer - I could sit there all day! Chris made two dishes for us to share. The first was a strawberry soup from the Disney Cookbook. Sadly, I did not get any photos of this refreshing concoction. 

Chris also made Mini Fruit Pizzas - on a sugar cookie crust - we felt spoiled before our meal even began. Another treat is that they looked as wonderful as they tasted!

Mini Fruit Pizzas with Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting

Inside, Ellen's beautiful table awaited us.

I prepared our side-dish, which was also, coincidentally, a fruit soup. I confess that cold soup is somewhat of an oxymoron to me. I love soup - piping hot soup, but I was willing to give this a go. Bruce and I have been enjoying smoothies at home this summer, so I think that they helped to transition me to the idea of a cold soup. It was yummy!

Cool Mixed Berry Soup

Ellen prepared the most unique foods! First up ~

Lavender Lemonade

Then, strawberry bread (no recipe - sorry) `

Ellen's entree was a marvelous burger (in both turkey and beef). Her burgers were made with blueberries (yes!) and blue cheese. They were a huge hit - so flavorful and not at all what I would have expected with fruit in the mix.

Blue Times Two Burger

The blueberry BBQ sauce that accompanies the burger - along with caramelized onions.

For dessert, Tierney prepated a summer pudding, taken from the recent cookbook written by her cousin, Abby Dodge. Desserts 4 Today is available through Amazon! I was instantly reminded of "trifle" when I tasted this fruity dessert - just wonderful and refreshing!

Strawberry Ginger Summer Pudding (recipe at end of post)

A wonderful gathering! Next month - I'm up! I have yet to decide a theme, so if you have any suggestions - shoot them my way!

Strawberry Ginger Summer Pudding