At the risk of being boring on the subject of Jello, I'm going to share a recipe that I got tonight for Strawberry Jello salad. It was brought to the potluck and I thought it was really good. After the potluck, there was a concert for World Hunger, and it was all very peppy and fun, and I got the recipe from my friend. Nothing like going to a Lutheran church on a Saturday night to talk about Jello! All proceeds from the CD go to World Hunger, the CD production was donated by individuals and grants, and if you want to make a gift to ELCA Lutheran World Hunger Relief and enjoy some great music, you can order it here.
Here is the recipe. Take 3 small packages of strawberry jello. Add 2 cups boiling water to the jello and mix until dissolved. Add one package of frozen strawberries. The Jello will begin the jell process. In a food processor, combine 2 bananas and 1 can of crushed pineapple with the juice. Add this, along with one cup of cold ice water, to the Jello mixture. At this point, my friend says she departs from the recipe, and pours the whole thing back into the food processor so that the strawberries are also shreddded. I think I will just leave that stop out, but I thought I would share what she said. Pour into a mold, refrigerate until jelled and serve. It was really delicious, and because it was all blended, you couldn't really tell which fruits were used. It was also pretty in color and Christmasy.
Careful attention to unmolding a jello salad is important. Dipping it into a bowl of hot water is the sure ruin of a good salad. I have found that wrapping the bottom of the mold with a slightly warm damp dish towel is a safe way to unmold. Jiggle slightly, breathe, be patient...Jello is fragile and will unmold in its own sweet time. Unmolding by holding the mold in a pan of hot water is the worst way, leading to a melted soft messy salad. Believe me. I know.
The potluck was a success, 35 people came, we had a lot of lovely food, and yes, everyone enjoyed the meatloaf. One person said, "Oh, my favorite food." Isn't it everyones?
So, to sum up my life in the last few posts, these are the things that I'm currently thinking a lot about: Jello, Christmas lights, Spongebob Squarepants, Dale Chihuly and the P-38 Lightning.
Yeekers.
