By Andrea Renee
Cox
The first week
of July is always exciting for me. My sister celebrates her birthday, and our
country celebrates its independence. Cake and fireworks. Celebrations don’t get
much better. Since we live in town, we decided to try something new this year.
On the fourth, we drove out to the country and found a great spot to pull off
the road where we had a great view of several different bursts of fireworks. It
was practically a panoramic view. Oh, they were beautiful! We were far enough
away where we couldn’t hear the loudness of them, which is my least favorite
part, but the variety of colors took my breath away.
On the fifth, my
family had a barbecue and invited a family who are great friends of ours.
Chicken and hot dogs, pasta salad, healthy cheese-less mac & cheese (trust
me, it’s delicious!), fruit salad, and several desserts were laid out and
enjoyed. Conversation flowed through our living room, along with laughter. We
had a great time.
The reason we
had our party on the fifth was because our town held its fireworks show that
day. After we ate and the sky grew dark, we sprayed with bug spray (crucial in
this summer of chiggers!) and sat in chairs in the grass by the railroad tracks. (Don't worry. There weren't any trains coming.) From there, we had a
great view of the fireworks the city shot off from the high school. It was
another beautiful show. There was a new firework I hadn’t seen before. It
appeared to be a small white cloud when it burst. Very cute but kind of
puzzling.
Getting together
with friends for any celebration, or even just because, never gets old. Fun
times and happy memories are always to be had. I like this new tradition we’ve
started, having a barbecue for the Fourth of July (this year, on the fifth)
with another family in town. Hopefully we’ll be able to continue these fun
times for many more years to come.
I tried a few
new dessert recipes this year. I’ve already shared my root beer float cookies
with you. Here’s another one that my family and friends really liked. It’s
definitely a keeper. Not only that, but it may be adapted for nearly any
celebration with just a few alterations.
RED, WHITE, ’N’
BLUE SALAD
 |
| Red, White, 'N' Blue Salad |
Ingredients:
1 (3 oz.)
package berry blue gelatin
2 cups boiling
water, divided
2 ½ cups cold
water, divided
1 cup fresh
blueberries
1 envelope
unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy
whipping cream
6 tablespoons
sugar
2 cups (16 oz.)
sour cream
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
1 (3 oz.)
package raspberry gelatin
1 cup fresh
raspberries
Whipped topping
and additional berries, optional
Directions:
1. In a large
bowl, dissolve berry blue gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; stir in 1 cup cold
water. Add blueberries. Pour into a 3-quart serving bowl (a clear bowl works well
so you can see the beauty of this dessert). Refrigerate until firm, about 1
hour.
2. Meanwhile, in
a saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over ½ cup cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Add the cream and sugar; cook
and stir over low heat until gelatin and sugar are completely dissolved. Cool
to room temperature. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Spoon over the blue
layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. In a large
bowl, dissolve raspberry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; stir in 1 cup cold
water. Add raspberries. Spoon over white cream layer. Chill until set, about 1
hour. Garnish with whipped topping and additional berries, if desired.
This recipe will
quickly become a favorite among your family and friends. To create a similar
dish for holidays or parties other than the Fourth of July, simply use
different flavors of gelatin with fruits that compliment them. Examples: grape
gelatin with halved grapes or whole blueberries; orange or lemon gelatin with
mandarin oranges; strawberry gelatin with quartered strawberries. Play with it
and have fun!
If you’re not
making a mess, you’re not really cooking.
Readers, it’s your turn. What are your
family’s Fourth of July traditions? Do you ever try new recipes for your family
get-togethers, or do you stick to your favorites? Care to share any?
Journey to the
Center of the Earth
The journey
continues! This time, Sean Anderson travels with his stepfather on a search for
Grandpa Anderson, who’s been missing for two years. Their adventure gets off to
a rough start since Sean and Hank can’t see eye to eye. They meet a funny pilot
and his daughter, who hesitantly give them a ride to the most dangerous part of
the Pacific Ocean. Will the mysterious island be there, even though it isn’t on
the map? And if it is, will they persevere through the dangerous surprises they encounter
and find Grandpa Anderson?
