JELL-O, Yes or No?

My mother (from Illinois) always made a Christmas JELL-O with the juice of a fresh lemon added. I made it on Christmas Eve but forgot it on Christmas Day and it’s still in the fridge. Maybe we’ll eat some tomorrow. Her other concoction was lemon jello with crushed pineapple and shredded carrots with fresh lemon a pinch of salt. Oh and one made with the little packet of plain gelatin, fresh limes’ juice and sliced green grapes. My childhood memories of JELL-O(click for history as it all started in 1897) my sense is that it’s just not as popular anymore.

So JELL-O, yes or no?

Christmas JELL-O preparation on Christmas Eve

My sister gave me this cookbook

Perhaps your remember my Rainbow JELL-O post which was more of an art project.

Apfelgalerie Still Life

In addition to ice cream, I love to eat fruit. I know there are people who do not. This fruit bowl was so inviting. Bought three kinds of apples after sampling each and also the golden Mirabellen.

A different kind of apple store- Apfelgalerie, Berlin.

Zero Nutritional Value

It might even be in the negative column for nutrition. Those maraschino cherries alone, with the preservatives and dye, could do you in but I remember this colorful combination from childhood. Bright green lime, white pears, red cherries. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon to cut the intense sweetness!

My mother always made this Christmas Jello. She’d buy a large green labeled can of Bartlett pear halves. She’d put a cherry in each indentation and hope they didn’t float away.

I don’t even know anyone who makes Jello anymore. Well, maybe a strawberry pretzel salad at a shower or potluck or picnic buffet?

For Easter she’d put together the yellow lemon Jello with grated carrots and a can of crushed pineapple to which she added a pinch of salt.

Because the green, white and red one reminded me of my growing up, I had my granddaughter Anna help put it together and it graced our Christmas dinner table at my son and daughter-in-law’s home.

A Variety of Reds in my Kitchen, Photographed with a New Mirrorless

reds in the kitchen

Red Still Life in the Kitchen Photographed with Mirrorless Camera

Portable, lightweignt. Able to fit in a small bag instead of a huge one.  Not so bulky.

Interchangeable lenses. A postive review all around.

You don’t always want to lug heavy DSLRs and weighty (but wonderful) glass around your neck.

A phone camera isn’t sufficient as an alternative.

AND there was the bonus of a hefty instant rebate at time of purchase.

I’d been looking and thinking about mirrorless cameras for awhile.

Reading reviews, I thought it would be a Fuji but the SONY a5000 had an affordable 20.1 Megapixel price that seemed fortuitous.

I’m satisfied with the results so far.   Will keep experimenting.

One of the Fancy Apples

A welcome gift.  Fancy fresh fruit. Perishable, DO NOT FREEZE the boxes state.

Tonight as I cut up a couple of perfectly ripe pieces for the family to share,  I remembered another fancy apple I ‘d cut with the apple sectioner at home in Pittsburgh.  Steve’s former colleague had shipped them and his former boss sent some succulent red grapefruit.

Our cracker selection a bit pedestrian but paired well with the cheese and fruit.

Each apple wrapped in green tissue, cradled in a partitioned box,  accompanied by a handwritten map telling which type of apple was in each space.  Refrigerate upon receipt.  

Here in Ohio there were juicy pears in gold foil papers, sheets of green foam cushioning their journey from Oregon.

A box of oranges are in the garage keeping cool.

Doesn’t fruit always taste better when someone else cuts it up and places it on a plate?

You might remember a similar photo of a  cut pear from a 2012  Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise post 

fancy apple