Any Kitchen Will Do

Wiggly Gelatine Rectangles

Rooibos tea is a beautiful thing. It tastes good when simply brewed, or in the special way Big D spices it up as iced tea with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and citrus when he brews it. Actually, a combination of red rooibos and green rooibos produced the best batch of iced tea I ever had. When Big D first discovered it we could not find it plain in stores, just with other flavors or sweetened up. I found the quick dissolve versions of the tea with peach flavoring to be okay, but not really tasting like tea. We ended up ordering red and green rooibos it in bulk online out of necessity – it was not to be found in any store anywhere near us. The special thing about rooibos tea is the fact it is naturally caffeine free – not processed to be decaffeinated or manipulated to be some arrogant, snooty herbal tea combination. Rooibos is really flavorful tea without pretense. From what I can tell, it is a common beverage in South Africa grown in a specific regions there, and not something you typically find at your local cafe in America. It is a sad thing for America, because it is a lovely tea, if you had not noticed my opinion from the above tea meanderings. Try it if you get a chance. On to the wiggly squares. I found that the flavored gelatine selection at the store includes two bad choices: sweetened either with sugar, or aspartame. Both options are very unappealing. I turned to the top left section of the shelf and saw my solution. Good old plan unflavored gelatin. It can be manipulated in so many ways. Here is a fun, slightly sweet treat that lasted two days, because Little B was very much on a wiggly streak.

Wiggly Gelatin Squares

½ cup lemon or lime juice (you can use orange juice if fresh squeezed)
2 – ¼ ounce packs unflavored gelatine
1 ½ cups brewed rooibos tea, reheated to boiling
1 ½ tsp equivalent of pure stevia

OR

½ cup lemon or lime juice (you can use orange juice if fresh squeezed)
2 – ¼ ounce packs unflavored gelatine
1 pack 4C Totally Light Tea2Go Iced Tea Mix Red Tea Antioxidant Peach Flavor
1 ½ cups boiling water

OR

½ cup lemon or lime juice
2 – ¼ ounce packs unflavored gelatine
1 cup boiling water
5 drops red food coloring
½ cup seltzer water

In a medium bowl add juice and gelatine. Let sit for about one minute, until it the gelatine soaks up all the liquid. Add the tea and stevia (or the tea pack dissolved in the boiling water), then stir until gelatine powder is dissolved. If using ½ cup seltzer add it now and stir a bit. Pour liquid in small baking dish or baking sheet, so it is about ½ inch deep. Chill until set, about three hours. Cut in squares or rectangles and gently lift out with spatula. Play with your wiggly treats then eat! If you have any leftovers store with cling wrap between layers in an airtight container.