By Easter is two weeks away and I am making the zurek. Babcia Rose made zurek every Easter — the sour rye soup, the one that requires fermented rye starter and takes five days to develop — and I found the recipe in the notebook in November and have been thinking about it since. This is the year I make it. I started the rye starter on Monday. I put the jar on the counter and labeled it with the date and checked it twice a day.
Patty and I are making the babka together on Saturday before Easter. The Polish Easter bread, the tall round loaf with the glazed top, the one that takes two risings and fills the apartment with the smell of yeast and butter and cardamom. I have made it once before, two Easters ago, and it was too dense. I know why now: I did not let the second rising go long enough. This year I will let it go as long as it needs.
Dziadek Wally is ninety-five now. He was ninety-four when Babcia Rose died and he has had his birthday since. He is ninety-five and he is still here and still himself, quieter than before but present in the ways that matter. He told Owen a story in Polish at Sunday dinner and Owen listened with the focused attention he gives to Polish, which is: complete silence, eyes on the speaker, absorbing something he cannot translate but can feel the shape of. He is almost two and a half. He is learning that some things are given in a language that will require patience to enter.
I called my mother this week, which I do not mention often because my relationship with my mother is complicated in ways that are real and that I do not need to narrate every week, but which I mention this week because she asked about the twins and I told her about Owen listening to Wally's Polish and she laughed, the laugh she has that is real, and I remembered that she has that laugh, and the call was good. Thirty years old and I am still learning who my mother is. I think that might be the project of the whole life.
We already have the babka and the zurek on the schedule, and honestly that feels like enough of a project for one Easter season — but no Easter table in our family is complete without something pink and cloud-soft in a big bowl, the thing that has always just appeared, the one the kids hover near. Raspberry Fluff was always part of Babcia Rose’s spread, one of those dishes that required almost no effort and somehow felt just as celebratory as everything that did. With Patty coming over Saturday and Dziadek Wally at the table on Sunday, I wanted something that could be made ahead, something that would already be waiting in the fridge while we let the babka have its second rise. This is that dish.
Raspberry Fluff Jello Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 4 hrs 15 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 1 package (3 oz) raspberry Jello gelatin
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
- 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
- 1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Dissolve the gelatin. Pour boiling water over the raspberry Jello powder in a large mixing bowl and stir for 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature, about 20–25 minutes. Do not let it set — you want it fully liquid but no longer hot.
- Beat the cream cheese. In a separate bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer on medium speed until completely smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. No lumps should remain.
- Combine. Add the cooled Jello liquid to the cream cheese a little at a time, beating on low between additions, until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Fold in the mix-ins. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the drained crushed pineapple and the miniature marshmallows until evenly distributed.
- Fold in the whipped topping. Add the thawed Cool Whip and fold gently until just combined — keep the mixture light and airy. Do not overmix.
- Chill. Transfer to a large serving bowl or 9x13 dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. The fluff will set into a soft, sliceable consistency.
- Serve. Scatter fresh or thawed raspberries over the top just before serving, if using. Serve cold directly from the refrigerator.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 215 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 118mg