Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Salad days
Not everything is about riding bikes, and here is one of them.
A couple weeks ago our down-the-street neighbor planned a little potluck gathering to welcome the new kids on the block.
AHA! I thought, what a perfect time to go back to childhood and make a Jello dish. Back then they were "salads". The inclusion can of pineapple or a single carrot could change a jiggly pan of assorted forms of sugar into a salad - that's a good one!
I decided to make the culinary masterpiece that my sisters and I remember as Mountain Dew Jello. Salad at its best! I got out the Tetmeyer cookbook and looked it up: easy enough, the recipe calls for a mere seven ingredients. However, we're not in the 70's anymore. Of the seven ingredients, I had one: the bananas. I still needed yellow Jello, pineapple, pineapple juice, Dream Whip, small marshmallows, a can of lemon pie filling, and the aforementioned Mt. Dew.
I put on a jacket and hat, grabbed my bag and hopped on my trusty steed for a drizzly ride up to the store, and it is here where the fun began.
I worked several years in a grocery store in my younger days, so I am not unfamiliar with them. Nevertheless I needed six "salad" ingredients that are not commonly stocked in the voluminous Tetmeyer pantry. Canned pineapple comes in at least 4 varieties. Crushed, rings, chunks, and tidbits. The recipe called for tidbits and it took a little bit to locate them. Next stop, jello aisle. No problems finding it, but it is 1/4 the size that I remember from stocking shelves 20 years ago. The 70's are still around, but judging from the lack of variety in the Jello section they are in decline. I stand there for a few minutes looking for the "big box" of yellow Jello. No such thing, but lucklily 2 smalls are the same as one big.
Next, marshmallows. These are easy, they are right above the Jello. All your major salad ingredients in one space. Convienent! Dream Whip should be here too. Whether from amnesia (really, I sklonked my head hard in a bike crash years ago) or just plain forgetfulness, I barely remember Dream Whip. I recall it coming in a packet - I think you mixed it with milk to make a, well, dreamy whip. I also know it goes in glumpy fruit salad, but that is another story. After a few trips up and down the "salad" aisly I decide Dream Whip is either not stocked or not made anymore. I'll have to improvise with pudding. Next up, lemon pie filling. Easy enough to find, it is right down the row with the other "salad" ingredients, but expensive! No wonder Bakers Square gets $10 per pie.
I pay up and hop back on my steed to get home and work some magic. Halfway home I realize I forgot the Mountain Dew. Back to the store, and another unfamiliar section, the soda aisle. I thought I could just pick up a bottle. The recipe calls for a bottle of the stuff, and I know that the standard bottle in the old days was 16oz. I'm hoping they have 1 liter or smaller bottles. No such luck, and 2 liters is WAAAAAAY too much. I settle for a cute little six pack of 8 oz cans. At least measuring will be easy and the extra will keep.
Back home, and more fun ensues.
The cooking directions in the Tetmeyer cookbook are vague. This would not have been a problem in my younger days, but it is now. I'm instructed to mix the Jello with a cup of pineapple juice and bottle of Mt Dew. This mix goes into the fridge until it starts to set up, then the pineapples, bananas and marshmallows go on top. The topping will be added after the whole thing sets up.
I have not made Jello for more than 2 decades, so I forget how long it takes to set up. I have wisely started hours before the potluck. I figure this salad is like a good stew or soup, and will benfit from some resting time to let the bouquet of the Mt Dew combine with the pineapple and yellow Jello, resulting in the flavor explosion that I remember from my childhood. After 20 minutes in the fridge I check the Jello mix. It is still pretty runny. At 40 minutes it is still pretty runny. After an hour it might be setting up a little. The bananas are already sliced, so I dump them in with the pineapple and marshmallows. If they sit out much longer they'll be brown and yucky.
Half an hour later there is no sign that setting up has progressed much. After an hour I still have a soup, not a salad. Hmmmm. Is there something in Mt. Dew that was not there when I was a kid? An anti-gel additive? Or maybe, just maybe I should have cooked the Jello first. The directions didn't say to cook it, but soup is getting me nowhere. I scoop the pineapples, bananas, and marshmallows out of the liqiud and heat it up with half the amount of liquid called for on the box directions. Next it is back into the fridge to let the jello do its magic. By some miracle it does firm up a little and I dump the soggy marshmallow mixture back onto the top. The creamy topping is pretty easy to make, but with the pudding it comes out very dense. No matter, since it tastes right.
Luckily for me the potluck has been called on account of cold weather. It will now just be a magical evening introducing my kids to the ambrosia known as Mountain Dew Jello. The passing of the torch. They'll make it for thier kids someday. What's not to like about sugar, sugar, bananas, sugar, pineapple, and a little caffiene for added fun? Strangely enough it takes more than various forms of sugar to get my kids to like "salad". Pippa thinks it is good enough to eat again, but other things are better. It takes me the better part of a week to polish off the rest of the pan. This salad turns out to be pretty good when you cut the sugar with some grapefruit.
Mt Dew anyone? I still have 4 cute little cans taking up space in the refrigerator.
A couple weeks ago our down-the-street neighbor planned a little potluck gathering to welcome the new kids on the block.
AHA! I thought, what a perfect time to go back to childhood and make a Jello dish. Back then they were "salads". The inclusion can of pineapple or a single carrot could change a jiggly pan of assorted forms of sugar into a salad - that's a good one!
I decided to make the culinary masterpiece that my sisters and I remember as Mountain Dew Jello. Salad at its best! I got out the Tetmeyer cookbook and looked it up: easy enough, the recipe calls for a mere seven ingredients. However, we're not in the 70's anymore. Of the seven ingredients, I had one: the bananas. I still needed yellow Jello, pineapple, pineapple juice, Dream Whip, small marshmallows, a can of lemon pie filling, and the aforementioned Mt. Dew.
I put on a jacket and hat, grabbed my bag and hopped on my trusty steed for a drizzly ride up to the store, and it is here where the fun began.
I worked several years in a grocery store in my younger days, so I am not unfamiliar with them. Nevertheless I needed six "salad" ingredients that are not commonly stocked in the voluminous Tetmeyer pantry. Canned pineapple comes in at least 4 varieties. Crushed, rings, chunks, and tidbits. The recipe called for tidbits and it took a little bit to locate them. Next stop, jello aisle. No problems finding it, but it is 1/4 the size that I remember from stocking shelves 20 years ago. The 70's are still around, but judging from the lack of variety in the Jello section they are in decline. I stand there for a few minutes looking for the "big box" of yellow Jello. No such thing, but lucklily 2 smalls are the same as one big.
Next, marshmallows. These are easy, they are right above the Jello. All your major salad ingredients in one space. Convienent! Dream Whip should be here too. Whether from amnesia (really, I sklonked my head hard in a bike crash years ago) or just plain forgetfulness, I barely remember Dream Whip. I recall it coming in a packet - I think you mixed it with milk to make a, well, dreamy whip. I also know it goes in glumpy fruit salad, but that is another story. After a few trips up and down the "salad" aisly I decide Dream Whip is either not stocked or not made anymore. I'll have to improvise with pudding. Next up, lemon pie filling. Easy enough to find, it is right down the row with the other "salad" ingredients, but expensive! No wonder Bakers Square gets $10 per pie.
I pay up and hop back on my steed to get home and work some magic. Halfway home I realize I forgot the Mountain Dew. Back to the store, and another unfamiliar section, the soda aisle. I thought I could just pick up a bottle. The recipe calls for a bottle of the stuff, and I know that the standard bottle in the old days was 16oz. I'm hoping they have 1 liter or smaller bottles. No such luck, and 2 liters is WAAAAAAY too much. I settle for a cute little six pack of 8 oz cans. At least measuring will be easy and the extra will keep.
Back home, and more fun ensues.
The cooking directions in the Tetmeyer cookbook are vague. This would not have been a problem in my younger days, but it is now. I'm instructed to mix the Jello with a cup of pineapple juice and bottle of Mt Dew. This mix goes into the fridge until it starts to set up, then the pineapples, bananas and marshmallows go on top. The topping will be added after the whole thing sets up.
I have not made Jello for more than 2 decades, so I forget how long it takes to set up. I have wisely started hours before the potluck. I figure this salad is like a good stew or soup, and will benfit from some resting time to let the bouquet of the Mt Dew combine with the pineapple and yellow Jello, resulting in the flavor explosion that I remember from my childhood. After 20 minutes in the fridge I check the Jello mix. It is still pretty runny. At 40 minutes it is still pretty runny. After an hour it might be setting up a little. The bananas are already sliced, so I dump them in with the pineapple and marshmallows. If they sit out much longer they'll be brown and yucky.
Half an hour later there is no sign that setting up has progressed much. After an hour I still have a soup, not a salad. Hmmmm. Is there something in Mt. Dew that was not there when I was a kid? An anti-gel additive? Or maybe, just maybe I should have cooked the Jello first. The directions didn't say to cook it, but soup is getting me nowhere. I scoop the pineapples, bananas, and marshmallows out of the liqiud and heat it up with half the amount of liquid called for on the box directions. Next it is back into the fridge to let the jello do its magic. By some miracle it does firm up a little and I dump the soggy marshmallow mixture back onto the top. The creamy topping is pretty easy to make, but with the pudding it comes out very dense. No matter, since it tastes right.
Luckily for me the potluck has been called on account of cold weather. It will now just be a magical evening introducing my kids to the ambrosia known as Mountain Dew Jello. The passing of the torch. They'll make it for thier kids someday. What's not to like about sugar, sugar, bananas, sugar, pineapple, and a little caffiene for added fun? Strangely enough it takes more than various forms of sugar to get my kids to like "salad". Pippa thinks it is good enough to eat again, but other things are better. It takes me the better part of a week to polish off the rest of the pan. This salad turns out to be pretty good when you cut the sugar with some grapefruit.
Mt Dew anyone? I still have 4 cute little cans taking up space in the refrigerator.
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