Hello again!

So sorry for the long silence. First I was prepping for a trip, then I was on a trip, then I was recovering from a trip. Phew. A "vacation" with two small kids just isn't a vacation anymore. A great trip, yes, but not a vacation. I'm bushed.

But coming home the Saturday of Presidents Day weekend made life a lot easier. Stewart's home from work today and I got a ton of planning done for the garden (schedule of seed starting, when to transplant, etc.)

I also got a little breathing room to finally make this:



I'd seen a few recipes on the internet (this one is pretty) and when I came across a Valentines version in Parents Magazine I knew I had to make it. It turned out much prettier than the photo shows - it's one layer of dark red, one of pink, and one of clear. I repeated each one twice and it set beautifully. I'm going to surprise Nate after dinner tonight (I meant to make it for Valentines day but it just didn't happen).

It was actually a lot easier than I was expecting from the description of the rainbow one. I heated a saucepan with two cups of water and when it boiled I took it off the heat and added 3 packages of sugar-free jello (two raspberry and a strawberry, if you want the gory details) and one .25 ounce packet of Knox gelatin. I dipped out 2/3 cup into a separate bowl and whisked in 1/2 cup (plus 2 tbsp) plain yogurt to make the pink layer. In a third bowl I measured 1 1/3 cups white grape juice and sprinkled 2 more packets of gelatin on top. After letting that rest for 5 minutes, I heated it in the microwave for 1 minute and stirred to dissolve the gelatin.

Take an 8x8 square pan (really, it should work with any small pan in any shape) and pour in half of the red mixture. Put it flat in the fridge and let it set for 15 minutes. Then pour in half the pink mix, and so on. Let the final design sit in the fridge for a few hours and it's done!

To remove it from the pan I sat it in hot water for a few minutes and turned it out onto a cutting board. When that didn't work I dug around one of the sides with a knife until it started peeling out. I just used my hands to ease it out the rest of the way onto the cutting board and cut into 1-inch pieces. Very pretty!

It's very easy to make. Halfway through I got engrossed in the gardening planning and the mixes I hadn't poured in yet congealed. I freaked, then realized that if I just heated them up for a few seconds they melted right back into pourable form. Whew. You can just do a layer, let it sit for however long, and come back when you get another chance. That's my kind of recipe.

Come on back for fun financial news tomorrow!