Posted on 03/07/2008 6:57:55 AM PST by Alex Murphy
Last fall, my husband's Mormon family invited us over for a potluck. Potlucks are a big deal for Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, and my in-laws are no exception. Naturally, I wanted to impress them. Naturally, I cracked open The Essential Mormon Cookbook, by Julie Badger Jensen.
Unfortunately, no matter where I turned in Jensen's cookbook, I was called to commit atrocities. After flipping past Jell-O recipes that involved suspending melon chunks in a trembling, plutonium-green blob ("Loveable Lime Jell-O"). After skipping everything that called for a can of Campbell’s soup into which meat, noodle or bean was thrown to either sink or swim. After pondering the dredging of chicken breasts in Russian dressing, apricot jam and dry onion soup mix ("Amazing Apricot Chicken"). After mulling the hithering and thithering of salads with mini marshmallows, pineapple tidbits and Craisins. And after toying with, then quickly dismissing, the possibility of making a cheese ball (dry ranch dressing, chopped chives and cheddar strings), I gave up.
(Excerpt) Read more at maisonneuve.org ...
IIRC Mormons have different church times. I see my neighbors leaving and going at different times from us on Sunday.
In areas where there is a dense enough Mormon population, there is usually more than one unit, or “ward” meeting in a chapel. We have a three hour “block” of meetings. Sacrament meeting in the chapel, usually about 75 minutes. Then there is Sunday School. Finally, auxiliary meetings, where the men, women, young women, and young men meet separately. So meeting times are staggered. Three wards use our building. One ward will start at 9, one at 11, and a third at 1. We rotate start times every year. One ward is using the classrooms while another is using the chapel.
If the ward has a building all to itself, they can start whenever they want.
Probably more information than you wanted.
Uh, Mona, I think the only thing you need to worry about avoiding is caffeine. Other than that, you should be able to fix most anything you want. Chill, girl.
I remember the "Mormon Rap": "Green jello with shredded carrots...."
But the state that consumes the most ‘Spam’ is Hawaii! :)
That is possible. The college has a lot of Mormon students.
Would somebody explain why jello is so popular with Mormans?
My Grandma (born in 1910), a North Dakota Lutheran, says Jello became popular because “all you had to do was add hot water!”
I rarely add anything to my jello, maybe some cool whip on top if it’s being served as a dessert instead of a side-dish. We’re purists in my family.
I happen to have a Mormon cookbook, one that was sold by the ladies group our housekeeper was a member of when I was growing up.
It has my family’s favorite hotdog chili sauce recipe and the pineapple filled cooke recipe Macel used to make for us when I was a child. I don’t make those often, too much work.
The book is heavy on the use of jello and cream soup, but there is some good eats inbetween those covers.
Mmmmmmm...muffaletta.
You just inspired an urge to visit one of my favorite restaurants - http://www.muffuletta.com/
Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide To Hosting the Perfect Funeral
Southern funeral traditions with recipes for the correct foods to provide all based upon the departed’s religious affiliation. Hilarious but too true.
While treasurer of my church I had a meeting with the insurance agent. One of the latest ways for some lawyers to make a living is find groups like churches that make and sell cookbooks for fund raiser with recipes from members. They look for recipes that are copied from copyrighted cookbooks. It would take more than a list of ingredients but the text of steps to make would need to match almost exactly.
What college is it?
I think there are probably lots of reasons. Just guessing, butsome that I can think of: (1) big families, stay at home moms, small budgets. (2) we have traditionally been proud of self-sufficiency. I used to can fruit, for example. My daughters still too occasionally. A box of jello can change up a bottle of pears or peaches. (3) We are frequently called upon to take dishes or dinners around the neighborhood, to the sick, aside from potlucks and church suppers. Again, a jello salad is quick to make and inexpensive if you’re watching your budget. (4) Habit.
Virginia Tech
Oh. There’s a small private college in Virginia that was purchased by Mormons about 10 years ago. Because BYU is so hard to get into these days, they were trying to make it “BYU East,” although not officially connected with the Mormon church. I wondered if that might be it.
Southern Virginia University. There is an LDS Institute here at Tech that is probably larger than SVU. There is also a home school college in Virginia.
Interesting. I knew some of the people involved with the founding of SVU, although I haven’t spoken to them in years. It looks like they are making a go of it.
Unless you have a lot of fridges at the event surely the jelly would melt.
To me jelly should be served with either evaporated milk or ice cream and is a must at children’s parties.
For a more adult taste I like it made with American ginger ale. Lemon jelly is best for that.
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