A friend and I a few weeks ago got all nostalgic about the things our moms used to cook in the 1970s and the early eighties, particularly in the context of holidays, and church suppers and pot lucks and the like. I remember being envious of the kids whose mom made "Jello" salads on a regular basis, especially those who had copper-colored Jello molds in the the shape of leaping salmon, roosters, and elaborate geometric shapes hanging on the wall. My mom wasn't opposed to Jello, it just wasn't on the regular rotation. Sometimes in the summer though she'd put halved fresh Bing cherries in cherry Jello, which was nice, but the molded Jello salads weren't her thing.

For Thanksgiving, my friend gave me, verbally, her version of one of those recipes; it's a cross between a salad, and a dessert, frankly, and it goes by the name of Orange Stuff. Essentially you mix of box of Jello flavored gelatin powder into cottage cheese, add Cool Whip, fruit and nuts and chill before eating. You can find the recipe for Orange stuff below.

But listening to her, and then making (and eating!) the Orange Stuff made me seriously nostalgic for those Jello desserts; it's not something I'd want every day, but there's something to be said about a dish that looks pretty, tastes good, and has interesting crunchy texture. That's pretty much what led me to go find the other "church lady" Jello salad I remember; the one with grated carrot peel in orange Jello.

Orange Stuff

Ingredients

• 16 oz cottage cheese
• 8 oz Cool-Whip (thawed enough to be soft)
• 3 oz box orange Jello powder
• 1 8 oz can mandarin oranges
• 1 can crushed pineapple (drained)
• 1/2 cup Pecans

Procedure

1. Mix the dry jello powder into the cottage cheese.
2. Drain the pineapple juice, and add the pineapple.
3. Add the mandarin oranges and their juice
4. Add the nuts
5. Mix thoroughly
6. Chill at least two hours; overnight is better.

This is one of those endlessly flexible recipes in terms adjusting it to suit personal taste. You can use more pineapple, and no oranges, or vice versa, or even substitute fresh peaches. You can use more nuts, or no nuts, or substitute walnuts, or macadamia nuts. You can use another flavor of Jello; my informal survey suggests lime and lemon jello are both popular alternatives. Best of all, this is pretty simple for a seven or eight year old to make, with a little bit of supervision.

Jello Carrot Salad

Ingredients

• 2 large packages of lemon or orange Jello
• 3 cups of boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups cold water
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream (do not whip)
• 1 1/2 cups. grated carrots
• 1 large can of crushed pineapple, well drained

Procedure

1. Dissolve the 2 packages of Jello in the 3 cups of boiling water.
2. Add the cold water.
3. Chill in the refrigerator until partially set.
4. Blend in whipping cream.
5. Fold in the grated carrots and pineapple.
6. Pour into large 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan and chill until ready to serve.