Friday, July 11, 2008

Ode to Jell-O

So, Jell-O. That's where it's at.
Can you tell I am a product of the 70's?
Actually something about summer gets me all hopped up on Jell-O.
It doesn't have to be crazy, fancy, swanky Jell-O like that which bedecks this hipster scene-
Oh, to only look 1/2 as glam as the lady in the striped dress.

Actually, I'm a simple girl with simple dreams. Just Jell-O, with fruit mixed in, pretty much rocks my world.
My all-time favorite is orange Jell-O with crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges.
Oh heavenly, fruit juicy goodness!
Lime with pineapple is pretty up there too.


Recently I picked up this Jell-O cookbook, less for me, and more under the (false) impression that it was worth something. Usually I have a good eye when thrifting, and a fairly good memory, which typically likes to serve me correctly. Not in this case. This book can be found pretty much everywhere for a couple of bucks, at the most, which is what I normally would have thought. But, for some bizarre reason I had this lightbulb flash while thrifting that I had seen it go for $15-$20 bucks on ebay recently. Not true. Maybe I confused it with "The Old Joys of Jell-O".
So now I am its proud owner indefinitely.

After having made fruited Jell-o, devouring it, only to make it again for three days straight, I realized this book is really where it truly belongs, not by chance, but perhaps by divine intervention.
I have to admit I've thought many times of hosting a retro themed party with a largely "molded" party spread...you know aspics and congealed salads galore.

With fabulous guests like this-
But with one caveat, it should be kitschy, but also good tasting. I am not into wasting tons of food just for the humor. The guilt is too great.

After thumbing through a few pages, I am now all giddy for this book. I want to experiment and see what retro food fare is worthy of a revival.

I do have to say upon first glance this recipe scared me. Barbecue Jell-O? I was almost certain it was going to contain meat, which freaked me out. Thank goodness I was wrong.

This is one I really will try-
Actually the fun & frothy little recipe above reminded me of my one time childhood fave, Jell-O 1-2-3-
Do you remember it too? The Jell-O dessert that magically separated into 3 distinct layers?
Then I realized that you can no longer buy Jell-O 123. Sad. And sadder still that it probably hasn't been on the market for 20 years or more, and I just noticed. I guess that's why they stopped selling it, customers like me. You can't quite make a killing on a product people think to buy once every twenty years or so.

But, wait!!!!

Now you can re-create it in your very own home--
Homemade Jell-O 1-2-3
What you need:

3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water with enough ice cubes added to equal 1 1/4 cups
1/2 cup whipped cream
3 oz package any flavor Jell-O

What you do:
In a blender, mix the gelatin and boiling water together. Add the ice cube/water mixture and mix until the ice cubes are melted. Add in the whipped cream & mix for 30 seconds. Pour into dessert/parfait glasses. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Voila! Serve & enjoy!


Peace, love & Jell-O!

p.s. Does anyone else think one of those kids in the very first photo at the top looks like Quinn Cummings of "The Goodbye Girl", or is it just me?

14 comments:

Julia said...

I LOVE old Jell-o cook books!! Once I made a Jell-o salad with ham and veggies. Then I brought it to a pot-luck! And laughed. 'cause ham and jell-o is gross!

Reenie said...

"The Old Joys of Jell-O".

Ah, how I laughed when I read that bit.... what a funny post !

Bristol said...

Enjoyed visitng your blog, very nice~
Bristol

Anonymous said...

Jell-O cracks me up! It also reminds me of when I lived in South Dakota and ever potluck I went there had at least two Jell-O molds! LOL Lime Jell-O with pineapple also reminds me of school lunch!

Lisa Johnson said...

Thanks for the stroll down Jello memory lane. I just printed out your jello 123 recipe. Gotta go get some whipped cream and try it out. Barbeque salad? Gross! hee hee

Lisa

Mrs.French said...

"Ode to Jell-O"...that's fantastic! I am a fan of finger jell-o myself...Oh and whatever happened to jell-o pops? I miss them so.

The Dyer Family said...

add about a half a cup of sour cream to your orange jello with mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple - makes it opaque and perrrrrfect. our mom likes to add nuts, but i prefer it super fruity and nut free (there is a dirty joke in there somewhere!). i will definitely try the jello 1-2-3. i had no idea you couldn't buy it anymore. :(
i also love me some green fluff - lime jello with lots of creamy additions. one of carrie's daughters had some a few summers ago, to which she declared, "that's some good ice cream!" too funny.

One Gal's Trash said...

Hi Karen,
Thanks for your comment. The whole jello thing is just so WRONG. Someone in my family used to make aspic..jello with some horrible chopped up canned veggies or something. It was a Thanksgiving tradition which has thankfully died out. I think you and I might have been seprated at birth. Our movie, book and interest lists are eerily similar. You have much groovier taste in music, however.
Sending good thoughts to your mom.
Pam

Unknown said...

i love jell... and i like your blog...;)

Anonymous said...

I've also had good luck with agar-agar which is more vegetarian-friendly. I love vintage cook books especially if someone has written in margin notes!

Anonymous said...

I'm a product of the 70's too, but could never really learn to like the jello with fruit combo. I like mine plain, and we used to make jello popsicles all the time. They were better than regular popsicles because they weren't so icy. Jello, jello, jello it's just fun to say too!

Niesz Vintage Home said...

Love it!
Just straight up Jell-o for me. Maybe a small dollup of Cool Whip.

The barbeque jell-o is not sitting well with me. LOL

Kimberly :)

Gina said...

you make me want it all over again : )

Sandy said...

Ah, yes, we all grew up with jello.

Even my 12 yr old LOVES it and always wants to make recipes. But she doesn't know the yukky recipes we used to eat. LOL!

Fun post.