St. Basil's Cathedral is truly amazing, but looks like it belongs in Disneyland

I’ll admit, my knowledge of Russia is limited, but here it is:  my Sister-In-Law served a mission in Russia, my husband’s Aunt and Uncle also served a mission in Russia.  I have read a little Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.  I love the music of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.  I use to pretend to do gymnastics like Nadia Comaneci.  And finally, my Dad once went to Russia with $11 in his pocket- luckily food, transportation, and his room were already paid for.  Now that is a thrifty traveler.

Recently we decided to take a train ride to visit my husband’s Aunt and Uncle who I previously mentioned.  It was a great ride:  beautiful scenery, and interesting people.  On the way there, we lost a game of Rummikub to an inebriated guy dressed up like Jesse James.  On the way home we played games in the lounge with a lovely Amish couple.  But the best part of the vacation- my husband’s Aunt gave me her recipe for Russian Cream.  You lucky readers do not even have to brave the horrific train food to get it.  I don’t know if it is an authentic Russian dessert, but it is yummy, easy and that’s all that matters.

I made the recipe yesterday.  My Dad sampled it and declared it to be the best thing he had ever tasted.  To which my Mom replied, “What about the things I have made that you said were the best thing you had ever tasted?”  He answered, “That was up until now.”  I don’t think that scored him any points.  He may go with out dinner tonight.

Russian Cream

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tbsp. plain gelatin

1 cup boiling water

12 oz. sour cream

3 tsp. vanilla

Over medium-low, heat cream and sugar until sugar is dissolved- do not boil.  Set aside.

Dissolve gelatin in 1 cup boiling water.  When dissolved, stir into cream and sugar mixture.  Set aside to cool.  When it is cool, add vanilla and sour cream.  Mix well.

Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate until it is set up.  Top with fresh fruit.

For a party, it is fun to serve in 1 oz. disposable shot glasses.  It makes about 25.

Now Go Have Some Russian Jello Joy Today!

Is the end of the school year and the beginning of summer absolutely crazy for you?  Both Jello Girl and I have had jam packed schedules for the last couple of months.

We are back now with a fun summer recipe for you.  It’s something different, something not too hard and it just might be a go to recipe for all the summer picnics, BBQ’s, family reunions and whatever else you like to do in the summer time.

Jello Cookies

1 Tbsp. vinegar plus enough canned milt to make 1 cup, combine vinegar and milk and set aside

1 C. soft butter

1 1/2 C. sugar

1 box jello(3 oz.)

2 eggs (unbeaten)

2 tsp. vanilla

In a mixer or a bowl, mix above ingredients while adding soured milk and…

6 1/2 C. flour

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 425,  roll out dough and cut in desired shapes and cook for 10-12 min.

I cheated with the frosting. I bought cream cheese frosting.  But next time I try these cookies I am going to make some cream cheese frosting from scratch.  Just think of the possibilities, you could use any kind of jello and garnish with whatever fruit is in season, or it doesn’t even need a fruit garnish.   The flavored whipped cream might be really yummy on this cookie or maybe even a poured frosting or a marshmallow fondant.  If you try this recipe, please send in your thoughts and comments.  We would love to hear what flavor you tried and see pictures of your jello cookie creations.

Now go have some jello cookie joy!

Eunice

Awhile ago we received a question from Rose who asked if you could stabilize whipped cream with jello.  The answer is yes and as a bonus, it gives it a yummy flavor and pretty color.  Rose asked if you would add jello before the cold water, so I assume that she is using something like Dream Whip.  I have never tried it with Dream Whip, but I think it would work just fine.  I would mix 2-4 tbsp. of jello with the powder and then mix as usual.  If anyone tries it with Dream Whip, let us know.

We usually use real cream, so here are the directions for flavoring cream:

Flavored Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping cream

2-4 tbsp. any flavor jello (start with 2 tbsp. and add to desired sweetness)

These are flavored with lemon and raspberry jello

Combine whipping cream and jello.  Beat as usual.  Serve or store in the fridge.

If you have trouble with some grainy-ness from the jello, combine jello and cream and let sit for a few minutes in the fridge.  Then beat as usual.

Now Go Have Some Jello Joy!

Our Egg Jigglers

Watch that wobble, see that wiggle, taste that jiggle…  Stop!  If you were alive in the 80’s you are probably now humming the tune, but did you ever stop to ask yourself how exactly do I taste a jiggle? Make the recipe below and maybe you will find the answer.

Creamy Egg Jigglers

2 1/2 cups boiling water

2 large packages jello ( or 4 small)

1 cup cold milk

1 package (4 serving size) instant vanilla pudding

This recipe and picture comes from kraftrecipes.com

Dissolve jello in boiling water.  Cool 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pour milk into medium bowl.  Add pudding mix.  Beat with wire whisk 1 minute.  Quickly pour into gelatin.  Stir with wire whisk until well blended.  Pour into 9×13 pan.

Chill for 3 hours or until firm.  Dip bottom of pan in warm water for about 15 seconds.  Press egg shaped cookie cutter into gelatin.  Lift from pan with spatula.

We recommend decorating the eggs with jello cream- it flavors the cream and colors it as well.  The recipe below makes a small amount so you can make several colors/flavors for more colorful eggs.  (We tried using colored piping gel, but found that it tends to slip off the slick surface of the jigglers.)

Jello Cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp. dry powdered jello

Combine in a medium bowl and beat until it holds stiff peaks.  Pipe decorations onto jiggler eggs with a small round cake decorating tip.

Now Go Have Some Jiggly Jello Joy!

Fun With Jello:  April Fools Jello Pranks

1.  Late the night before, dissolve clear gelatin, cool and pour into toilet.  It will set overnight and if you are lucky the user will be mystified by their suspended stuff.  Here is how to do it:  Estimate the amount of water your toilet holds by pouring a big pan or bucket of water into the bowl- this will cause the water to empty out of the toilet bowl.  Then pour pre-measured water into toilet until it is at about the same level it was before.  (I estimated that my toilet holds 8-9 cups of water.)  For each cup of water your toilet holds, use 1 packet of clear gelatin.  Measure determined amount of water into a pan.  Sprinkle gelatin over water and let sit for 5 minutes.  Heat over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved.  Cool to room temperature- you still want it to be a runny consistency.  Flush water out of toilet bowl with a pan or bucket full of water.  Pour gelatin into toilet bowl and allow to sit overnight.  To flush, break up gelatin with a toilet brush and flush.

Well this didn’t work exactly as planned.  For one, clear gelatin is not exactly clear so it doesn’t look like water- unless you live somewhere with a lot of minerals in the water.  But it did accomplish the goal of confusion, mostly that of why is the toilet not flushing right?  My 7 year old said, “someone put too much toilet paper in the toilet.”  To which I replied, “but there isn’t any toilet paper in the toilet.”  My husband thought he must be dehydrated because his job looked darker than usual.

2.  You could do the above prank using lemon jello in place of clear.

I think this would work well.  The person would try to flush it before using it and then wonder why it was not working right.  It would work well on dinner guests who would have to suffer the embarrassment of telling you that the toilet is having issues.

3.  Remove the shower head, put dry red jello in the shower head and replace for a Psycho-like shower prank.

This had a little hiccup in that the water did not immediately come out- perhaps the jello had solidified in the apparatus and thus it took a moment for the water to break through.  Anyway, that gave my victims time to suspect a prank.  When it did come out it, it did produce the desired effect!  Perhaps the original Kool-Aid in the shower head would work better.

4.  Put a little Methylene Blue in blue jello.  This can be purchased at a pet store in the fish department.  Make sure it is labeled simply Methylene Blue.  The first pet store we tried did not have it, but the next one did.  Just a few drops, should work.  Those who partake of the jello will urinate blue.  (I have always wanted to do this, but have been worried about safety-  I am afraid someone will have an allergic reaction to blue dye or ingest too much.)  I called my brother-in-law who is a Zoologist and works with fish and a friend talked to a pharmacist.  They said that it is generally considered harmless in small amounts.  I am going to give it a try- I’ll let you know how it works out.

I was so excited to try this one, but have to admit failure.  The Methylene Blue is extremely bitter.  I tried 4 times to adjust things to disguise the bitterness, all to no avail.  I added 5 cups of additional sugar, but the bitterness was still evident and my victims would not partake more than a couple spoonfuls.  I guess I will have to work on it a little more- stayed tuned for my attempt next year.  Plan on doing it the night before April Fools.  We tested it and it takes overnight to produce the desired effect.

5.  Of course you could mimic the Office prank, by encasing someone’s stapler in jello or your spouses car keys or your teenager’s cell phone.

I didn’t try this one, but the cell phone thing sounds tempting.

6.  Empty victim’s shampoo or body wash from bottle and rinse.  Make a package of jello- as directed, that corresponds to the color of shampoo or body wash.  Carefully pour jello into the empty bottle and place in fridge to set up.  Early in the morning, place bottle back where it was removed from in the shower or tub.

This one  worked like a charm.  I was lucky in that I was able to perfectly match the body wash.  We also had three bottles that were pretty much empty.  Prepare jello as directed.  Pour into body wash bottle and turn upside-down to set up.

7.  Make one of the more interesting (code word for repulsive) recipes from an old Joys of Jello recipe book and take to a neighbor, family member or you could leave it on someone’s doorstep with a nice note.

Let us hear about your April Fools Jello Joy!

Why do I have the Hawaii Five-O theme song running through my head?  Maybe it is the chilly day.  When I thought of making piping gel I started dreaming of Hawaii and the Pipeline.  Since I can’t be there, I guess I will make some “pipe lines” of my own.   Piping gel is so easy to make- no need to run to the store.  You most likely have everything you need in your pantry.  And there is a lot more you can do with piping gel than just piping Happy Birthday on a cake, such as:

1.  You can color the piping gel blue for a water effect.

Isn't this cake from cakestuff.bpweb.net adorable? The water is made with piping gel.

2.  Stabilize whipped cream for use as icing or filling:  add 2 tbsp. to 1 cup liquid whipping cream.

3.  Stabilize meringue:  add 1 tbsp. per 3-4 egg whites.

4.  Use as a glue to attach edible decorations.

5.  Use as a glaze for tarts or other desserts:  2 parts gel to 1 part water.  You can heat mixture to make it easier to use.

This cake from cakecentral.com uses colored piping gel to fill in flower design.

6.  You can use the gel for a stained glass effect in your cake decorating.

7.  You can use it to transfer a design pattern to a cake.

8.  You can put drops of clear gel onto flowers for a dew-like effect.

9.  Heat and brush onto a cake.  Let dry and then frost.  This is called a crumb coating and helps to keep crumbs from making their way into frosting as you decorate a cake.

10.  You can give your decorations dimension or shine by placing a “stripe” of colored or clear piping gel on the side of your cake decorating bag.  Then place icing in bag and decorate as usual.  For example, you could do a stripe of red, a stripe of blue and then white frosting for the 4th of July.

11.  You can add 1/2 tsp. to 1 cup of icing to make it smoother for decorating and making delicate patterns and designs.

Piping Gel

2 envelopes or 2 tbsp. unflavored gelatin

2 tbsp. cold water

2 cups light corn syrup

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small pan and let set for 5 minutes.

Heat on medium/low until gelatin has dissolved.  Add syrup and heat through.  Cool and store in refrigerator.

To color add color paste or food coloring.  Food coloring will give it a more runny consistency than coloring paste.

To flavor use concentrated flavoring oils.

Now Go Have Some Jello Joy Today!

Raise your hand if you have ever been in a marshmallow eating contest?  Check out this marshmallow link for some authentic marshmallow fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0NC_fsV6cg

Do you have a marshmallow story, picture, or video to rival this?  Let us hear about it!

It’s no secret, marshmallows are fabulous.  When you think of Easter what store bought treat do you think of?  Peeps of course!  Now they have peeps for other holidays too, but they don’t count.   The marshmallow goodies in the shapes of chicks and bunnies are the only Peeps that I subscribe to.   They are a tradition in my family.  We have had Peeps in our Easter Baskets for as long as I can remember.  I will let you in on a little secret- they are better stale.  It’s true.  Stale marshmallows are the best.  When I was young, I would leave the marshmallow bag open so they could dry out.  I’m sure my Mom loved that when she needed marshmallows for something.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine did a cooking demo and she made marshmallows.  I wanted to try them but haven’t until now.  I tried my friend’s regular white marshmallow recipe and they were good, but I couldn’t leave it at just regular white vanilla marshmallows.  I had to take it a step further with flavored jello marshmallows.  There is a recipe for marshmallows in the older Joys of Jello cookbooks using flavored jello.  I thought the recipes were the same; they are not!  The first “trial” batch I made with a peach jello.  They turned out much better than I expected.  They were a pretty color and they tasted yummy.   The next day I was a bit too confidant and I made 3 more batches.  Since I thought the recipes were the same I just grabbed the first recipe book that I saw and made that recipe.  The result was 3 pans of goop.  I then realized that the recipes were not the same.  So the next time I used the first recipe I had tried and they were a success.

Ingredients:

1 package (3 oz.) jello, any flavor

2/3 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp. light corn syrup

Dissolve jello in boiling water.  Turn down the heat, add sugar and corn syrup and stir until sugar is dissolved.

After the mixture has cooled and slightly thickened, beat with a hand mixture on highest speed for about 5 min.

See how the mixture has turned to a lighter color?  It is getting fluffier and thicker.

Mix until it gets to the stage where it can hold soft peaks.

Now pour into a pan lined with wax paper and greased and coated with powder sugar.  Let chill in fridge overnight.

Then look what happens, they magically turn pink!  No not really, my pictures are taken from two different batches.

I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention!

Dump set marshmallow mixture out onto cutting board which has been heavily coated with powdered sugar.

Cut with scissors or a pizza cutter.

(I found it easier to cut them into strips with a pizza cutter and then cut them into squares with scissors)

Roll cut pieces in powdered sugar.

TaDa!  Yummy flavored marshmallows.

Pastel Marshmallows

1  3oz. package jello (any flavor)

2/3  cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp. light corn syrup

Powdered sugar

Dissolve jello in boiling water in a saucepan.  Turn down heat and stir in sugar, until dissolved- do not boil.  Blend in corn syrup.  Chill until slightly thickened. (I chill it by putting it in a sink filled with cold water, stirring often.)  Line an 8 inch square pan with wax paper, grease with butter.  (I prefer to spray with a non-stick spray and then coat with powdered sugar.)  When mixture has cooled and thickened, beat with an electric mixer on highest speed until mixture can hold soft peaks, about 5 min.  Pour into pan and let set in refrigerator overnight.

Then carefully dump mixture out onto a board that has been heavily coated with powdered sugar.  Peel off wax paper then cut with scissors or pizza cutter.  Roll all sides of cut pieces in powdered sugar.

Now go have some marshmallow JELLO JOY

I know, it is hard to resist the urge to over-do it with green food coloring on St. Patrick’s Day.  You probably put it in the milk, pancakes etc.  Here is a better way to use it:

Jello Key Lime Tarts

1 (3 oz) pkg. lime flavored jello

3/4 cup boiling water

1 tsp grated lime zest

1/2 cup fresh key lime juice, or lime juice

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup sour cream

4 drops green food coloring

Dissolve jello  in boiling water.  Cool jello to room temperature- about 35 minutes.  (You can speed this up by placing container in a larger container filled with ice water or in fridge; however, watch carefully so that jello does not become firm.  If it does, it will not incorporate into the other mixture and you will have Key Lime Pie with lumps of green jello.)

While jello is cooling, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, food coloring and grated lime zest in a separate large bowl.

Whisk in sour cream and cooled jello.  Pour into small pre-cooked and cooled tart shells or one 9 inch pie crust.  Chill until firm.  (If you would like filling to be higher than tart shell, wait until it is set and then spoon or pipe into shells.)

Tart Shells

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter, softened

4 tbsp. sugar

2 cup flour

Blend cream cheese, butter and sugar.  Stir in flour just until blended.  Chill about 1 hour to make dough easier to handle.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Shape dough into 48 one-inch balls and press into mini muffin cups.  Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until very light brown on edges.  Remove from oven and let set in pan to finish cooking.  When cool, remove from pan.  This recipe makes a lot of tarts, but they are easy to make, and they disappear fast!

*Today’s post is based on two recipes from one of our favorite websites, http://allrecipes.com/ The recipes were both submitted by Glenda under the names of Key Lime Pie II and Cream Cheese Tart Shells.

Now Go Have Some Green Jello Joy!

The Real McCoy

The Irish love Guinness Beer.  In fact, it is the best selling alcoholic drink of all time in Ireland.  What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with something truly Irish.

However, for those who do not imbibe, which includes Eunice and Jello Girl- after all super heroines must be in peak performance form at all times- we have developed an alcohol substitute you can indulge in.  Here goes:  Guinness Root Beer Jello.  Don’t laugh until you give it a try.  Ok, you can laugh, but try it anyway.

Our Version

You have to admit that it is unique.  The slightly green hue gives it an unmistakably St. Patrick’s Day appeal.  Guinness is known for it’s thick head (froth), but the froth on top of our jello will last much longer than Guinness Beer froth!  Be brave, give it a try.  Here is the recipe:

Guinness Root Beer Jello

2 cups favorite root beer, divided

1 small package lime jello

Boil one cup of the root beer.  Add lime jello and stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat and add 1 cup cold Root Beer.  Reserve some jello/root beer mixture in a mixing bowl for the froth and leave it at room temperature.  Pour the rest into a glass or serving dish and chill.

When the chilled Jello is slightly thickened (about 15 minutes) beat the reserved jello with an electric hand mixer until it is frothy, spoon on top of the thickened jello and chill until set.  Makes four 1/2 cup servings.

I know, it really does sound weird to combine lime jello with root beer, but the kids loved it and surprisingly it wasn’t too bad for the more discerning adult palate.  Aside from that, you have to admit that the jello froth on top is pretty cool.  I guess we could call it stabilized froth.

Now go have some Irish Jello Joy!

Why is it that we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the United States of America?  What is the ratio of Irish immigrants to immigrants from other lands?  I don’t really know, but I think it’s the pinching thing don’t you?  What other holiday do you get to go around pinching people?  

And the color green, don’t you just love it?  There is a different shade of green for each decade, such as Hunter Green during the 80’s; totally out now.  I use to have a Granny Smith Apple colored kitchen.  I loved it- so cheery.  I miss that kitchen.

Back to St. Patrick’s Day.  We have a few ideas to celebrate the season.  This blog is about our St. Patty’s Poke Cake.  I wish I could call them St. Patty’s Pinch Cakes, but I’m not sure how pinching a cake would work out, so I will stick with poke.  Jello Poke cakes use to be the rage.  Everyone was baking cakes, poking them and pouring jello over the top.  I haven’t seen anyone make one of them for awhile.

We are going to bring the Jello Poke Cake up to date in cupcake form.  You could use a cake mix, but we recommend homemade.  It is so much tastier.  We are using a Lemon-Honey Cupcake recipe from the March 2010 issue of Woman’s Day and changing it up just a bit.  If you like to bake cupcakes from scratch check out the cupcake feature article at http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/Recipes/6-One-of-a-Kind-Cupcakes.html  Here is our spin:

Lemon-Lime Jello Poke Cakes

Cupcakes

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest

4 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Line muffin cups with paper liners.

2.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3.  Whisk sour cream, milk, lemon zest and juice in a medium-small bow.

4.  Beat butter, honey and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time.

5.  With mixer on low speed, beat in half flour mixture, then the sour cream mixture.  Beat in remaining flour mixture until just combined.

6.  Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup.  Bake 16-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes and remove to cool completely.

7.  When cupcakes are cool, poke holes in cake with a wooden pick or meat fork.

Jello Glaze

Mix a 3 ounce package of lime jello with 1 cup boiling water.  Stir until sugar crystals are completely dissolved.  Carefully pour over each cupcake.

We suggest topping with lightly sweetened whipped cream to balance the sweetness of the cupcake.  See our post on stabilized whipped cream.  You can then sprinkle with jello crystals for a little extra color and flavor.

For some free cupcake wrapper templates, check out http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/10/22/make-your-own-cupcake-wrappers/

Now go have some Jello Joy!