The Joy of Gelatin

During these turbulent times in our world, it seems like more and more people are searching for a way to stay "present" and find "inner peace". Many of my friends have turned to yoga, meditation or breathing exercises as a way to become more relaxed and mindful.

Me? I encase food into gelatin molds and then release them to the world on my blog.

Gelatin Molding is my therapy.

Why? For one thing, there is no way to rush the process of gelatin molding. You MUST slow down. Chill out. That gelatin is not going anywhere. It just takes time. Hours and hours of time. So calm yourself down and relax.

This took 4 freaking hours

Also -- If you want to suspend something in gelatin, you must do it AT THE EXACT RIGHT MOMENT...Too soon, and it will just sink to the bottom of your mold and look stupid. Too late and your mold is gonna be too firm to add any ingredients to it. This means you are constantly checking and re-checking and triple-checking the gelatin's consistency. You must be ever-present with the gelatin. You must become one with the gelatin. If you let your mind wander even for a few minutes, you might miss the perfect moment of gelatinous consistency to allow you to gently suspend your ingredients into the mold.

Do you see how the lettuce is perfectly suspended in there?
Hell yes.

Finally, the anticipation is EVERYTHING. Its all about the journey. The excitement of waiting and waiting and waiting until the moment when you can un-mold your dish is a surefire mood enhancer. Furthermore, you never really know if it will turn out to be a culinary masterpiece or a total pile of gooey mess until you turn that sucker out. And that's OK. No really, it is.

Grab a slice for you and your little dog too!

My "Iceberg Ring" turned out pretty good, I think. Though I'm afraid I might be a little rusty - It has been 3 years since my last gelatin mold.

This one was pretty easy. It's just 3 cups of chopped lettuce floating in a ring of lime jello. I filled the center with tuna salad just like they suggest in Better Homes and Gardens "Eat and Stay Slim" cookbook (1968).

There now, don't you feel totally centered and ready to tackle your day? I know I do!

Now go get yourself some gelatin and suspend something in it! Namaste.

Guess Who's Back?

It's RETRO MIMI! 

Most of you probably know me from my other blog "The Retro Weight Watchers Experiment". You know the one where I tortured myself for FOUR FREAKING YEARS by cooking and eating recipes from the 1972 Weight Watchers program? Remember my blog post about Frankfurter Spectacular? That was fun. Or perhaps you recall my blog post about Fluffy Mackerel Pudding? Yeah that was horrifying.

Well, after a 3-year hiatus, I am embarking on a new culinary adventure:

One Retro Salad per week. 

Every week. 

FOREVER.

Ok Ok - I am only kidding about the forever part - LOL. But seriously,  I am not quite sure how or why this happened, but I just woke up one day this Summer and realized something very special has been missing from my life. And that thing was: GELATIN. Simple as that.

For some reason, folks in the 1960's and 1970's just LOVED to encase things in gelatin and call them "salads". Yes - it's creepy. Yes - it's kind of gross. But during my time as a Retro WW gal, I developed a fondness (read: obsession) for gel cookery and the art of suspending things in jello. It became a hobby for me - a creative outlet. Why you ask? Whatever. It's just my thing. I will explain more about that in an upcoming post.

So for now I will just say hello again, old friends! I hope those of you who liked the Retro WW Experiment will LOVE my new adventure: Once Upon a Salad.

I can't wait to get back in the kitchen and start turning your stomachs again! Woohoo! So stay tuned and please comment below to holler back at me. I would love to know if all my Retro gal pals are still out there!