True confession, #269

I can't make JELL-O.






Isn't that the saddest thing to hear from a stay-at-home mom?





Well, not the SADDEST THING, but pretty pathetic.


And please, please, please don't feel compelled to leave your best JELL-O hints and pointers, or to write to me with your Sure-Jell tips from 1953 that are tried and true through three generations.  I can almost guarantee I've tried them all, including using the freezer for 24 hours.

I can make a lot of things in the kitchen...lasagna, homemade cinnamon rolls, technical soups (ratatoille), souffles....but JELL-O fails everytime.  I'm starting to think I have sort of a body chemical that prevents it from working, sort of like people who magnetize watches. I've tried using less water; it turns rubbery and you can't stab it for anything, to get it to your mouth...and that's really kind of funny to watch people try to eat it, especially people who are unaware of my disability with the substance. I've tried adding frozen fruit, which sinks to the bottom and gels the lower half of the bowl while the top remains runny.  The freezer didn't work, because when JELL-O thaws, it's back to the water state, and then you can't get the platter back to the counter, and wonder if everyone had straws and sipped it, if it wouldn't get it to a managable puddle. (I've never had the nerve to try this.)

The only thing harder than making JELL-O is making layered JELL-O.

You'd think someone who can't manage the whole "Add 1 cup boiling water to powder, stir until dissolved, then add 1 cup cold water, chill until firm" process would shy away from any sort of layers, but heaven help me, I keep thinking a little cream cheese and Cool-Whip should somehow add loft and form. 

It pretty much just makes the puddle creamy.  And a little, well, curdled. And no-one wants a straw for THAT.

And I desperately want to conquer the JELL-O, so I make it for every special potluck occasion, hoping beyond hope that God will look upon my efforts with favor and grant me one perfect quivering red mold. 

Thus far, to date.....He's kept me pretty humble.  I would give Him all the glory, if that were to happen, and I'm pretty sure my potluck people would, too.  There'd probably be a revival, right there at the Cohagen Gymnasium and Community Center. 

Tonight is Bookclub, and I'm taking.......





Pretzel Salad!  It's layered. It has cream cheese AND Cool-Whip. And yes, the crowning glory of the dish is

JELL-O!

As of right now, it's looking promising.  The pretzel layer didn't burn.  The cream cheese and Cool-Whip layer held together nicely. The jury's still out on the red layer with raspberries.

Along with your prayers for world peace, a cure for cancer, the end of hunger and thirst in Africa, and everything, would you please take a moment to pray for the Bookclub women and the JELL-O salad?

Thank you.