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    Favorite People and Current Animals


    2011 - 03.05

    I promised you a peek into some of my favs and I’ve come to deliver! Most of these are my family but towards the end is my crazy circus like animals! I hope you enjoy!!

    Favorites

    Justin and I in Las Vegas

    Justin and I in Las Vegas

    Amara (and Uri)

    Amara (and Uri)

    Amara in her Princess Dress that Grandma Judi made.

    Amara in her Princess Dress that Grandma Judi made.

    The Family on the day we got Bogey!

    The Family on the day we got Bogey!

    Daddy (mine, not hers!), Amara, and I

    Daddy (mine, not hers!), Amara, and I

    Halloween 2006 Alice in Wonderland Theme!

    Halloween 2006 Alice in Wonderland Theme!

    Justin and Amara 2007

    Justin and Amara 2007

    Mom and I with Richard in the background.

    Mom and I with Richard in the background.

    Grandma and Grandpa on their wedding day with baby Amara!

    Grandma and Grandpa on their wedding day with baby Amara!

    Peanut Butter Sandwich aka FATTEST CAT EVER!!!

    Peanut Butter Sandwich aka FATTEST CAT EVER!!!

    3 Devils! Platy, Uri and Thumbs.

    3 Devils! Platy, Uri and Thumbs.

    Handsome Thumbs (notice the extra toes!).

    Handsome Thumbs (notice the extra toes!).

    Beautiful Uri!

    Beautiful Uri!

    Platy!!! She is Thumb's mom and also has the extra toes!

    Platy!!! She is Thumb's mom and also has the extra toes!

    Newt sitting on Bogey.

    Newt sitting on Bogey.

    Big Bogey

    Big Bogey

    Newt up close!

    Newt up close!

    It’s Been a While…


    2011 - 03.02

    Hello interworldz! I know it may seems as though I’ve been slacking (and maybe that’s a little true) but mostly I’ve been having the worst cold ever!!!! And I’m having foot surgery on Friday so again I maybe out of the loop for a bit. However I’m no longer having a cold and I will have some things to post very soon. I just didn’t want you to think that I’d forgotten about you! I will also be uploading some fun photos of the fam and animals, but Picasa is wronging me right now, so it will have to wait!

    Loves!!!

    Tigger Melon


    2010 - 10.15

    This post in not about cooking. It’s about my garden. In fact it’s about a little known melon, called the Tigger Melon and it’s journey from seed to cutting board.

    Pictures

    I grew the Tigger Melons from seeds. Here you can see this one just breaking free from the dirt!

    I grew the Tigger Melons from seeds. Here you can see this one just breaking free from the dirt!

    Here are the Tigger Melons and the Black Water Melons.

    Here are the Tigger Melons and the Black Water Melons.

    The real leaves coming out.

    The real leaves coming out.

    Just a close up.

    Just a close up.

    This was when I planted them in the ground. He was so little!

    This was when I planted them in the ground. He was so little!

    Look at how big he's getting!

    Look at how big he's getting!

    My how you've grown.

    My how you've grown.

    The first flower.

    The first flower.

    A melon!!!

    A melon!!!

    Craziness!

    Craziness!

    Look at my melon.

    Look at my melon.

    The vines are over flowing into the next bed.

    The vines are over flowing into the next bed.

    Close up.

    Close up.

    All ripe.

    All ripe.

    Isn't he pretty?

    Isn't he pretty?

    Should I cut him here?

    Should I cut him here?

    No, I think I'll cut him this way.

    No, I think I'll cut him this way.

    A peak at his innards.

    A peak at his innards.

    Lots of seeds.

    Lots of seeds.

    Chopped up into little pieces.

    Chopped up into little pieces.

    A closer look.

    A closer look.

    Amara is very excited about trying it!

    Amara is very excited about trying it!

    I didn’t take any pictures of us eating it. Silly me! I had read that it was bitter and tasted like cucumbers. I did not find this to be true. I thought it tasted like an unripe cantaloupe. It was kind of hard and as the photos showed, had lots of seeds. Amara thought it was okay. She couldn’t really describe what she thought it tasted like, but then she’s 6! I’ll let my mom and Justin leave comments about what they thought. All in all, it was fun fun to grow but I don’t think I’ll do it again. A lot of the melons shriveled up when they were very small. I planted the seeds in May and so far only 1 was ripened. Lots of vines, not so many fruits.

    Update


    2010 - 08.29

    It’s been a busy weekend!!! I’ve been cooking like crazy and have many recipes to post. Cupcakes, wings and all of these things!

    Today was a going away playdate for one of Amara’s close friends. It was very sad. She had tons of fun though!

    Tomorrow is the first day of 1st grade!!! Amara is very excited, but it is bitter sweet. She will be separated from most of her friends as they are in a different class. I’m having a harder time with it then she is! She knows that they will play at recess, lunch and playdates. I am however very happy with her teacher, so that’s is good!

    I will be back tomorrow with many yummy recipes!

    Justin’s Birthday Dinner


    2010 - 07.21

    It was epic! Much food was prepared and tomorrow I will regale you will all the details. For now I must relax. I think I’ve been cooking for 12 hours!!! Talk to you tomorrow.

    I’m back!!!


    2010 - 07.18

    Sorry I haven’t been around. I went an a mini vacation! We went to San Diego for a few days and then I need a few days to recover. I actually cooked for the first time in like 5 days tonight. I’ll post my recipes and pictures tomorrow, I just didn’t want you to thing that I forgot about you!

    Caramel Crunch Mix


    2010 - 07.12

    This is one of my favorite snack foods!!!

    Where did I put the Brown Sugar?

    Crunch Mix

    Caramel Cooking

    Caramel Boiling

    Mixing it all Up

    Going in the Oven

    All Done!!!

    Caramel Crunch Mix

    Crunch Mix:
    2 cups Quaker Oat Squares
    2 cups Cinnamon Life Cereal
    2 cups pretzel twists
    1 1/2 cups Cheerios®
    Caramel Mix:
    1/4 cup light karo syrup
    1 cup Brown Sugar
    1/2 cup Butter
    1/2 teaspoon Salt
    1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

    Preheat oven to 250°. Mix all cereal, pretzels, and peanuts in a large roaster pan. Set aside to prepare Carmel Syrup.

    In a 8-quart Dutch Oven mix together the first five ingredients, and boil 5 minutes. After 5 minutes add Baking Soda, while still foaming, pour over crunch mixture and mix well. Bake for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Wooden spoons work best. Pour out onto wax paper to cool. As it cools break into smaller pieces. Store in airtight container.

    This stuff is addictive!! Once you start you can’t stop. The original recipe called for nuts, but I’m not a huge nut fan so I don’t put them in and I have no idea where this recipe came from!

    Honeycomb


    2010 - 07.11

    More candy from even later last night!

    Simple Ingredients

    In the Pot

    Boiling

    Please Don’t Overflow

    Almost

    It Flattened a Little

    What Can You Do?

    So Pretty!!!

    Crumbies!!!

    Honeycomb (not dipped in Chocolate)

    1/4 cup honey
    1/2 cup light corn syrup
    2 cups sugar
    1 tablespoon baking soda, generous
    1/4 cup water
    12 ounces dark chocolate
    2 tablespoons shortening

    Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

    Combine the sugar, corn syrup, honey, and ¼ cup water in a large saucepan. You want to use a saucepan large enough so that the mixture can triple in size and still be safely contained. Stir the ingredients together until the sugar is completely moistened. Using a wet pastry brush, wipe the sides of the saucepan to remove any stray sugar crystals.

    Insert a candy thermometer and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 300 degrees.

    Once the candy is at the proper temperature, remove it from the heat and add the baking soda all at once. Immediately whisk the candy to incorporate the baking soda, and be careful-it will foam up a great deal!

    As soon as the baking soda is incorporated, pour the candy carefully onto the prepared sheet.

    Allow it to cool and harden completely, then break it into small pieces. Honeycomb can be eaten as-is, or you can dip it in chocolate:

    Combine the chocolate and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave it to melt the chocolate completely, stirring every minute. Note that the amount of chocolate required may vary depending on how thick you made your honeycomb and how many pieces you made.

    Using two forks, dip the individual pieces in chocolate so that they are completely covered, and replace them on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining honeycomb and refrigerate until chocolate is set. Best enjoyed within 24 hours.

    Notes: Honeycomb cannot be left out in the open for any extended length of time, as it will draw moisture from the air and become a sticky, soggy mess. To prevent this, it should be stored in baggies within airtight containers. Dipping the candies in chocolate helps, and the chocolate-dipped candies will last several days, although it is best eaten soon after it is made.
    You can control the thickness of the honeycomb by selecting a pan size based on your preference. If you use an 11×17 pan, the honeycomb will be approximately ¼” thick, while a 13×9 pan yields a ½” candy and an 8×8 pan produces an even thicker honeycomb.

    While I love honeycomb this was not my favorite. It had a slight burnt taste (and I don’t think it was my fault). Oh well better luck next time. Recipe from here.


    Chocolate Topped Toffee


    2010 - 07.11

    I decided last night to make some candy type things. It was at 11 pm.

    Just a Few Ingredients

    In the Pan

    Boiling

    Mini Chips

    Pre-Spreading

    Post-Spreading

    All Broken Up!!

    Chocolate Topped Toffee

    1 cup butter
    1 cup sugar
    1/4 cup water
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

    Butter (I just used foil and sprayed with Pam, much easier to clean!) 13 X 9  pan. Set aside. Combine butter, sugar, water and salt in heavy 2 quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil.

    Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches 300 or small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms a hard brittle strand [18-22 minutes]. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

    Pour mixture onto prepared pan; spread to desired thickness. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot candy; let stand 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate evenly over candy. Cool completely; break into pieces.

    So yummy and buttery!!! Recipe from here.

    Puppy Day!!!


    2010 - 06.29

    Today I did no baking or cooking for dinner because we got a new puppy!!! His name (so far) is Bogey. And he is very cute!!

    Bogey when we first met.

    After all the paper work.

    Backyard Bogey!

    Cutie!!

    So far he is getting along well with the other animals. He’s interested in them but not chasing them and they are very happy about that. Newt (our other dog) is indifferent for now, but I think that she will come around.