Gelatin. Do not ask where it comes from.

Just enjoy, dahling.

Oh, if you must know, it comes from rendering parts of cows and pigs (hooves, bones and connective tissue, says howstuffworks.com. You can get vegan gelatin, if you like). I recall reading news stories about how horrible it smells and people living around rendering plants rising up and complaining ...

Let's put all that unpleasantness aside and dive into "101 Things to Do with Gelatin." The title alone makes me laugh. (It brings to mind "Quit putting my stuff in Jell-O!," the cry of hapless beet farmer Dwight Schrute on "The Office." Got his stapler put in Jell-O by Jim. How-tos: jellostapler.com, but we don't recommend this.)

By Jennifer Adams and Melissa Barlow, "101 Things to Do With Gelatin (Gibbs Smith, $10) is not likely to win any James Beard Awards, but boy howdy, its recipes are fun and easy, perfect for summer. Many of them are the perfect marriage of whipped topping, fruit, cake mixes, pudding mixes -- all the stuff you've got in the kitchen.

It has a recipe for Coca-Cola Salad (see right), which would be good to eat on the patio, flip-flops flopped off, sun in your face.

Speaking of Coca-Cola, Mrs. Ida Baily Allen wrote a small book, "When You Entertain: What to Do, and How," sponsored by Coca-Cola, in 1932. My colleague Karen Carlin lent it to me, knowing how I love old kitschy stuff like this. It belonged to her late great-aunt Estella, a housekeeper for the Lockharts, of the city's well-known law firm.

Mrs. Bailey teaches "Setting the New Tempo for Dances" ("Large dances require an orchestra"), the requisites for an informal waffle breakfast (as opposed to a formal pancake breakfast, I suppose) and the menu for a "Reducing Lunch," because "the fashionable figure of sylphlike slenderness has set a fashion for reducing."

The menu oddly includes Coca-Cola, long before the advent of Diet Coke, although she does recommend small glasses.

Stop and eat the flowers

Denise Schreiber, horticulturist and greenhouse manager for the Allegheny County Parks, is up to it again: She's holding the eighth Annual Edible Flowers Food Fest at 7:15 p.m. next Thursday at the Buffalo Inn in South Park.

The menu includes chicken with lavender and honey; shrimp with fresh coconut, lime and lemon verbena; filet mignon with a sprinkle of roses, cinnamon, chive and peppercorns; citrus rice and bean salad with lime geranium; strawberry rose Bellinis; and what she describes as "the perennial favorite," rose petal ice cream. Cost is $18 at the door, cash or check only and benefits Allegheny County Parks. Reservations are required; call 412-835-2112 and leave your name, number in your party and daytime telephone. You also can register by e-mailing gardens@alleghenycounty.us.

Preserving the harvest

On July 30, Ms. Schreiber leads a "Preserving the Harvest" class. Details at www.alleghenycounty.us/parks.

Also, at 7 tonight, and every third Thursday after the monthly Wednesday farmers markets at Whole Foods Market in East Liberty, the store's Lon Durbin will lead a free class on preserving the harvest (412-441-7960).

Got a white mustache?

The Milk Mustache Mobile Tour hits Pittsburgh later this month with its Chief Health Officer Contest. Locals can record a 30-second "mom-ination" video explaining why their mom, or someone's mom, does so much for her family's nutrition that she deserves to be named Pittsburgh's Chief Health Officer. Pittsburgh's will have a chance to be crowned America's CHO and appear in her own milk mustache ad. You can also pose for a Milk Mustache photo, sample milk from local dairies and more. The fun sets up at:

• Market Square, Downtown, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 25.

• Shop'n Save, Latrobe, noon to 2 p.m. July 26

• Radicchio's International Marketplace, McMurray 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 27

• Wal-Mart, North Fayette, 5 to 7 p.m. July 27

• Pechin's, Connellsville , 5 to 7 p.m. July 28

• Foodland, Turtle Creek, 5 to 7 p.m. July 29

For more: whymilk.com.

Cheap, yet good, wine

The Pittsburgh Wine Festival and the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs will present a wine-tasting seminar, "How to Drink Wine Like a Millionaire (On a Beer Budget)" at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Sheraton at Station Square. Cost is $50 and doors open at 5:30.

The informal class will be lead by Pete Hanowich and features wines that restaurateurs, sommeliers, chefs and wholesalers recommend for great taste at bargain prices. For more information and tickets, go to Pittsburghwine-festival.com and click on "summer wine festivals announced."

Former White House chef here

Get a sneak peek into the White House kitchen with former White House Chef Walter Scheib. He'll speak at two events, starting at 6 p.m. on July 25 and 26, at Treesdale Golf & Country Club in Pine. He'll describe how he turned an outdated kitchen focused on traditional French cooking into a modern showcase of American food after being hired by Hillary Clinton in 1994 when he was executive chef of the Greenbrier in West Virginia. He also worked for the Bush family before Laura Bush canned him in 2005. Along with his stories of those days, you can enjoy his six-course dinner. Cost per dinner is $119 for Treesdale and Pittsburgh Society members and $129 for non-members. Reserve at 724-625-2220.

COCA-COLA SALAD

• 16-ounce can Bing cherries
• 1 large box cherry gelatin
• 12-ounce can cold Coca-Cola
• 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Drain liquid from cherries and reserve. Slice cherries in half and set aside. Add enough water to cherry juice to make 2 cups. Bring to a boil. In a 9-by-13-inch pan, pour boiling liquid over gelatin. Stir to dissolve, at least 2 minutes. Stir in Coca-Cola. Refrigerate until partially set, about 45 minutes. Fold in cherries, pineapple with juice, and walnuts. Chill until set. Makes 12 servings.

-- "101 Things to Do With Gelatin (Gibbs Smith, $10)