Cranberry and Pineapple Gelatin made with Agar Flakes

I'm pretty good about remembering what doesn't make the cut for the vegetarian diet, but seem to keep forgetting about gelatin. That means I get to eat all the gummy bears. Once there was a time when Jello was so common that people made fun of it and even wrote songs. Since I live with a vegetarian I don't get the usual dose of Jello and (dare I admit it?) even miss it sometimes.

But, the health food store had Agar flakes, which is a gelatin substitute made from seaweed. I've used it for thickening in the past but thought I'd give it a go in making Jello (ish). The result was okay, it tasted fine but the texture wasn't quite right. I'll have to keep trying.

Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons Agar flakes

2 1/2 cups juice (I used pomegranate and cranberry juice)

1 cup cranberries

1 can chopped pineapple in juice

Drain the pineapple, reserve the juice...just because it's delicious. Add the cranberries and pineapple to the blender and pulse until the cranberries are ground.

In a saucepan add the juice and Agar flakes. Turn the stove on and slowly warm up the mixture without stirring in the flakes.

Once the mixture is heated, stir in the flakes and continue stirring for three to five minutes, making sure the flakes completely dissolve.

Pour the fruit mixture into a bowl and add the fruit juice. Stir together and pour into molds. Refrigerate until set.