Are you a jello snob? Time to open your mind. You can make a quick gelee (Jello) using any fruit juice and plain gelatin. The easiest one to start with is orange juice. Just follow the directions for gelling 2 cups of liquid on the gelatine package and pour the mixture into a small bowl. Refrigerate until set for a couple of hours. Now get platteralizing and use this gelee as one of your ingredients. Think about what it offers to the mix. It’s not crunchy, it’s not oily. It’ provides smooth mouthfeel, tang and pleasing orange color. I ordinarily add free-form blobs to accent a salad. If you are more of the straight edge type then, by all means, cut it into cubes. Now add other ingredients. Remember, opposites add interest.
Ingredients:
Fresh orange juice gelee
Other oranges in a variety of colors (this adds real sophistication)
Toasted pecan pieces
Slivers of snow peas
cucumber rounds
Cilantro
Olive oil and salt
What if:
Think about the addition of olives, green onions, red onions, cut the cucumber into sticks, vary the nuts. What’s your focal point? Dressing as gelee? Add some vinegar, oil, and salt to the gelee.
What would you do?
The platter salad is a creativity platform.
These exercises use the platter, rather than the typical deep salad bowl, as the canvas for creation and a means to illustrate the universal process of creative thinking and design. No matter the creative field, the steps of creativity are the same. Here we’re using salads because, unlike painting or logistics, we all have some experience with salad. Salad is a low stake, easy medium for practicing everyday creativity. Plus, your installation eats will feed you well, and shouldn’t we all be eating more salads anyway?
We call it PLATTERAL THINKING!
For an introduction to platter salads, read Welcome to Platter Salad Creativity.
