Being an honest and truthful person — both good characteristics for a Baptist — I will say about today’s recipe that you may want to add something. A few days ago, I was looking for a recipe from the several cookbooks I had spread out on the kitchen table and found this one.

I prepared it, served it, got a good report, decided to write about it — and, then, after a diligent search, couldn’t find the cookbook. So, dear church member, if this came from your cookbook and I’m not giving you proper credit, please forgive.

I tried to remember — and the recipe below, with a new name, is the result. I made it to get the ingredients and amounts to share the info with you, and I think it is almost like the first salad. You may need more salt in the tomato juice, and perhaps make other changes; visiting daughter Gaye suggested using a more flavorful juice. She suggested also to substitute cottage cheese for the sour cream. You may want to alter the amount of vegetables or use others. Remember, this is an “almost” recipe, but keep the lime gelatin because it is pretty.

Although often served, these molded salads are not quite as popular as they were years ago. We have become more health conscious, and now many salads are combinations of several leafy greens, fresh vegetables, etc. These are good (and good for you), but I still like a pretty, colorful, shaped salad on the buffet or to take to a church supper.

If you use a ring-shaped salad mold, turn the salad (when firm) onto a glass serving dish. Then you can fill the empty center with grapes, chopped tomatoes, another salad such as chicken, etc. If you ignore the sugar calories in the lime gelatin, the salad has good stuff in it, including the tomato juice and chopped vegetables.

Another way to serve these congealed salads (made firm by the use of gelatin) is, instead of a salad mold, put them into a square or oblong baking dish. You may want to follow the instructions (which means the tomato mix would be on top), or you would make and chill the tomato mix and then top with the gelatin. The salad can then be cut into squares for individual servings. Leave the cut squares in the dish or place them on a lettuce-covered glass plate for the buffet table. This is an easy way to serve. Sometimes guests hesitate to be the first to cut into the salad.

One of the advantages of serving these gelatin-type salads is that they must be made the day before or several hours before serving so they will become firm. If you haven’t made one of these in a while, try this one this weekend. It will be pretty, and it will taste good for … Sunday Dinner.

Lime and Tomato Salad

2 3-oz. packages lime gelatin
1 cup hot water
2 cups cold water
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped radishes
1 cup chopped celery
3 packages plain gelatin
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced

Dissolve the lime gelatin in the hot water, then add the cold water. Stir in the sour cream and refrigerate until mixture begins to thicken.

Stir in the radishes and celery, and pour into a mold.

Heat one cup of the tomato juice, add the plain gelatin to dissolve, then add the remaining cup of juice. Refrigerate. When the mixture begins to thicken, stir in the chopped pepper and cucumber. Pour tomato mix on top of the lime gelatin mix and refrigerate.

When mixture is firm, unmold onto serving plate.

Have a recipe? sundaydinner@baptistcourier.com