AspICK

Maybe morning is the wrong time to free an aspic from its mold.
Maybe anytime is the wrong time to free an aspic from its mold.
Maybe a molded aspic is just wrong.

But, damnit Vonlipi & Barbara, here you are, a molded salad! It's vegan - as there was no can of tuna in the pantry to embellish the aspic - and easy.Easy Tomato Aspic
[from Good Housekeeping's Book of Salads (c)'58]
Early in day: [or in my case, late on a Sunday night] Dissolve 1 pkg lemon or orange-flavored gelatin in 1 1/4 cups hot water; add 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce, 2 tablesp. vinegar, 1/2 teasp. salt, dash pepper**. Mix well [hold your nose]. Pour into 2 straight-sided glasses [or a kickass spiral mold]. Refrigerate until firm.

To serve: Unmold [which consists of submerging in a warm water bath for a matter or seconds to avoid a melty mess]; cut into slices.

**For a nauseating visual effect, I added sliced olives and cubed cucumber to the bottom of the mold with a few spoonfulls of the aspic and let it set in the icebox for an hour [next to the bowl of remaining aspic]. When the timer summoned, I dashed to the kitchen and poured the remainer of the aspic in the mold. When I freeded it from the mold's copper clutches this morning two words came to mind: blood clot. Yummmmmugh.

I'm not sure how it would taste on toast, and I'm not sure I'll try today...

Next on my challenging list of to-dos? A drizzled bunt for Stan and some funky cupcakes for Rachel. My pleasure. And hey, if you prefer your molds sweet, check out my chocolate chiffon dessert from last fall...