Do you remember the post (Afternoon Tea with a Difference) where I told you about the ‘virtual’ events that were held years ago – well here’s another little story along the same lines (this one is from Feb 2011 ) plus the photos that went with it.

The theme this time was to talk about the easiest dessert in your repertoire
That was a laugh because desserts didn’t come high on my list of cooking skills
Anyway after a bit of head scratching – no….ice cream cake from the supermarket wasn’t what the organisers were after…. I finally came up with something

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Hot humid sticky days in Summer often mean a lack of interest in heavy food
So on those days when you just can’t be bothered
and fresh fruit just doesn’t do it for you
I’ve gone back to one of the nicest easiest desserts (and at times snacks) there is

Good old fashioned Jelly – called Jello in some parts of the world.

Here in Australia it comes as flavoured crystals.
but in England I only remember it coming as flavoured gelatin cubes.  

So simple to make – dissolve in boiling water – add some cold
then pop in fridge to set
Takes no effort to eat – it just slides down the throat
Just the thing when you are feeling unwell
Lovely and cold when your body is hot
Fabulous with Ice Cream or Yoghurt
Along with Fruit and Custard and Cake (of some sort) you have the makings of a Trifle.

When the children were little I’d often add a tin of mandarin oranges which seemed to stretch it a bit further –  we  happened to have strawberries on hand the other day
So I chopped up a few and added them to the red jelly mix
(Our fridge lives in the laundry which means the washing machine is close by
A flat lid plus a clear chopping board makes a great handy bench at times)

Gone are the days of the large jelly mould I’d use when the children were little
you know the sort with the fluted edges.
that also needed two packets of crystals so it was firm enough to unmould.
 The tupperware one was my favourite, the one with a lid (so nothing ‘dropped into’ the jelly while it was in the fridge) as well as changeable bottoms that became the pattern on the top when it was unmoulded.  

These days when there are just us two I use these little ramekins as moulds
One liquid mix just fits nicely into the four and they don’t take up much fridge space

We tend to eat it directly from the little bowls
A nice little snack together with ice cream or yogurt, tea and a biscuit

If I wanted I could make it look more interesting
By placing chopped jelly in a bowl along with the yoghurt
Adding a cup of coffee and slightly ‘different ’ biscuits

And then of course for an after dinner treat
I could change direction again – make it a bit ‘posher’ – and present it like this

This kind of dessert was first recorded as jelly by Hannah Glasse in her 18th century book The Art of Cookery,  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin_dessert

Gosh didn’t that week go by quickly, it just seems like yesterday when I was sitting here in the early hours of the morning, cup of tea in hand chatting away to whoever was listening. Cooking hasn’t been top of the ‘want to do’ this past week. Simple (read comfort type) meals…..sausage & mash is a favourite of The Golfer’s and quick and easy to prepare. My favourite fruit (Imperial mandarins) is back so afters seemed to be quick and easy as well. Mandarins, water melon, bananas, cheese & crackers plus almonds/walnuts…..even hot custard one evening. No jelly though…. need to pick up a packet when I next do a shop!

Now I’m off to put the kettle on and decide on brekky – me thinks porridge, brown sugar and sultanas on top sounds good this morning.
There’s a date with a syringe and a hypodermic needle coming up in a couple of days so a bit of housework needs to be done in case I have a reaction, although all should be well seeing as this is the 2nd one and there was no problem with the first. I’d be interested to know if anyone had a reaction to their second AstraZeneca shot.

Oh, and do visit Denyse’s blog to see the latest edition of Life this week – there’s always people to meet over there.
Linking to Senior Salon  – hosted by Esme

AND…..big thanks to Gigi (gigi-hawaii) for her post that reminded me of this fun easy peasy dessert 😊

And – hopefully – The Golfer and our ISP have finally fixed whatever the problem has been with our internet. If it drops out again I’m going have a hissy fit down the telephone line into some poor unsuspecting workers ear. Also I’m hoping I’ve fixed my ‘commenting on blogger blogs problem’. Had to sign out not just of Google but my old blogger account as well – something I’ve haven’t done for years. Lots of head scratching and looking through ‘notes’ to find the correct p/word.