It is an endless fascination to me that what we eat, the recipes we treasure, the foods that connect us to our childhood and traditions are quite often directly shaped by marketing campaigns. From bananas and avocados to marshmallows and Jello, our bellies have literally been filled by the fruits of successful advertising. Have we been deeply manipulated or did marketers tap into something so near and dear to us that we welcomed the messaging with open arms?
With that in mind we are diving head first into another gelatin delight from the Joy of Jell-O Book from 1968. This time it’s savory and with a splash of seafood. Our Revolting Recipe is Sea Dream Salad. Unlike Ambrosia Salad which has a lengthy history, not much can be said about Sea Dream Salad except maybe ewww! You can decide for yourself whether this is a waste of shrimp or as Sinclairwife points out on the frugal village forum from 2004: “it does stretch them [Shrimp] when you have a large crowd”. Keep reading until the end if you want the bonus recipe Cheese Dream Salad…. for a vegan it’s the stuff of nightmares bwahahahah.
Sea dream salad
Flavorful, green rings to fill with shrimp or a favorite salad.
1 package (3oz.) Jell-O Lime Gelatin
11/4 cup boiling water
1 cup grated cucumber
1 tablespoon vinegar
3/4 teaspoon grated onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne
1 pound shrimp, cooked and cleaned*
*or use tuna, salmon, or chicken salad
Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Add remaining ingredients, except shrimp; force through sieve. Pour into individual rin molds or a 3-cup or 1-quart ring mold. Chill until firm. Unmold on salad greens. Fill rings with shrimp. Makes 2 1/2 cups gelatin, or 4 entrees with shrimp.
Cheese Dream Salad
Prepare Sea Dream Salad, adding 1/2 cup cold water; pour only half the gelatin mixture into molds and chill until set, but not firm. Blend remaining gelatin with 1 package (3oz) cream cheese, 1 cup diced celery and 1/4 cup sliced green pepper; pour into molds. Chill until firm, omit shrimp if desired.