Free thinking and free writing: Jello

I agree! As long as it isn't the kind you have to add sugar!

Gotta go to the store, must have cherry jello.....very good

Oh, Cathy, if ever I was tempted to write L_L! Reminds me of the time I found iron pills in my mom's purse and thought they were red hots.

Alice, I'll have to add it to my list also, but I need to figure out how much Splenda to add.

Ron, good call. I agree wth you. Jell-o was always awesome as a kid, still is.

what about grape? oh, yum....

Ron,
To hold in my hand the spoon that was the first to crease the surface of a fresh bowl of orange Jello on a hot summer day was something I competed for as much as anything else in my preteen life.
Damn! It was good !

Strawberry is my favorite

My fondest Jello memory is slightly evil. I didn't stir it properly, so a thick sole of Jello developed on the bottom of the bowl. I "innocently" slopped it into my step-dad's dish because I hated him. Unable to scoop a spoonful, he bitterly complained about the injustice of what he'd been served. I tried not to smirk.

After a pot roasted, pork chopped, and Jello-licious childhood, I learned from the "cool" ones to scorn my mother's cooking and sneer at Jello. I worshipped Elizabeth David and The Julia. I could identify 6 different varieties of olives, make my own feta cheese, and make waterless taboulleh and babaganoush from scratch. I taught Peasant Cooking to fellow foodies and argued the merits of including lavender in a bouquet garni for lamb shanks.

Fast forward to matronhood and hard-earned self-confidence. One day I found myself in a discussion re. The Many Manifestations of Jello. I remembered my mother's Jello salads. She generally used lemon or pineapple Jello and they were true salads, filled with grated carrots, thinly sliced celery, grated yellow apples, crushed canned pineapple in juice, not syrup. She added mandarin orange slices and celery leaves. She served this on lettuce with sliced hardboiled eggs and topped it with thousand island dressing.. homemade.. the perfect summer lunch. How could I have scorned this tangy, tasty, imaginative, nicely balanced meal? I remembered her lime Jello with sliced bananas. I remembered Lemon Jello Aspic made with tomato juice and celery and parsley and black pepper.. this served with canned salmon salad and a dollop of Best Foods. I remembered strawberry Jello with strawberry jam stirred in, this served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I remembered orange Jello made with vanilla ice cream; raspberry Jello with rainbow sherbert on top. While my friends' mothers made Jello with canned fruit cocktail (gawd I hated that stuff.. still do) my mama made freestone peach jello using peach nectar and peach Jello. Sigh.

I have rediscovered both Jello and my mother's wonderful cooking. Last night it was roasted chicken rubbed with Bells Seasonings, lightly lumpy mashed potatoes with pan dripping gravy, fresh asparagus, and pineapple Jello salad with carrots, celery, grated apples, and mandarin oranges. Thanks Mom.

Wow! Ellen, your post brought back memories of similar concoctions from my youth.. so many great old ideas to try again...I , too, abandoned jello for awhile in early adulthood, but my husband became hooked on Jello Cups, and I have recently started craving them myself. You're never too old for jello!

Jonathan, thanks for getting this started. May there be many more.

Jessie, that makes me think of Grapette!

George, Stephen, I wouldn't quibble with those flavors either.

Mimi, that's what guys get for assuming it's someone else's job to make their jello.

Ellen, I seem to have seen various "foodie" type treats that call for gelatin. The only difference is that Jello starts with some flavor included. This sounds really great, especially with all the vegetables!

Kit, when Janie and I first went on the low starch diet, we ate sugar free raspberry Jello with raspberries and whipping cream mixed in. Not a low calorie or low fat dish, but ohhhhhhhh.