A White Christmas?

Good morning, Everyone.



I think I am beginning to get into the Spirit. Some of the shopping is done, not all. Just some. Some of the baking is done, too. I thought I would share my candy making adventure with you. It is something that we do once a year, and in some cases not even that. So I decided this year to make suckers for the children. I used to make them for my daughters and nephews at Christmas.

First I needed to find molds, which you would think would be a standard this time of year. I had a nice selection of candy molds from years past that I either loaned or threw away. I did find some molds at my favorite kitchen speciality store. The clerk had to go to the basement to retrieve them as they had been put away because no was buying them.

So I began. The recipe is simple enough: sugar, water, corn syrup. Stir until sugar dissolves, boil to 260 degrees, add coloring but don't stir. Boiling will incorporate color. Continue cooking to 300 degrees. Remove from heat. Once bubbling action quits, add flavoring. Easy.  As you can see, something went wrong. By the time I had added the food coloring, the syrup was golden instead of clear. By the time it reached 300, it was burned. So what did I do wrong? I had a list.

   *I am using a new cook top, so I am still learning how to adjust the burners.

   *My pan is not heavy enough to conduct the heat that candy requires

   *The candy thermometer is out of whack.

At any rate, I ended up a very burnt batch.

Lucky for me there are do-overs. I used the same thermometer a second time, this time keeping a very close eye on the cooking syrup, too. I also double checked my syrup consistency by using our grandmother's method: dropping a bit syrup into a glass of ice water to see if was at the hard ball stage. I did end up throwing away the thermometer and purchasing a new one, which truthfully I think isn't any better. I made a batch of Fantasy Fudge with marshmallow cream and it turned out grainy, which means that it didn't cook long enough to dissolve the sugar to make creamy smooth fudge. I cooked it to the right temp, but I sometimes wonder if our high altitude alters some results. And yet 234 degrees is 234 degrees at any altitude.

I do enjoy making candy. Divinity and peanut brittle when I am done with today's post.






Baking goes much better when you have such good helpers. This will be Boone's first official Christmas with us. He spent his first Christmas as a baby in a shelter. This year he will be as spoiled as the grandchildren. Judith at Lavender Cottage wanted to see Lily in a mosaic for Monday Mosaics. I am glad to oblige her. Be sure to visit to see the other wonderful mosaics.





We had another disaster;  this one outside. Earlier in the fall I had unplugged the pond pump and filter because even though the pond was frozen over, I could tell that there was a serious leak as the water level had dropped underneath the ice. With the Head Gardener away working corn harvest, the pump and filter stayed off and the pond stayed frozen. We had a rare hard freeze in September and it has never warmed up enough to melt the ice.


Yesterday the HG decided to start the pump and filter to freshen the water. Later he noticed that the ice had cracked as the water level had dropped more. We found the leak; it was a tough one to find, but shouldn't have been. The filter is made out of plastic trash can which froze in the extreme cold weather. The water leaked out underneath gravel mulch and into lawn, making it very hard  to discover earlier when the pond first began to lose water. The HG spent a while breaking up the ice to toss it out of the water.

The pump continues to pump water to oxygenate the water for the fish, which survived. I had noticed that one of the big koi had died. It was up at the edge of the ice out of the water. Dead. Or was it? I am not inclined to photograph dead fish, so there is no proof of what I am about to say, but once the dead fish body was re hydrated the fish was revived. We have heard that gold fish can be frozen in ice and once thawed will come back to life. Just saying' the koi has joined the group again. 

It isn't Christmas without poinsettia is it? For years I have purchased two. I always bought them here in town at an antique store because Gertie's were the best, biggest, brightest red, and best priced. Now I buy them at Bath Nursery (where the reindeer are). I opted for a more subtle color this year and purchased just one.  Later in the day our neighbor dropped by with a second poinsettia of the same color. What a special gift. Ironically his wife works at Bath and gives poinsettia to her neighbors. Thank you Carol and Chuck.






How can one not be in the mood for the holidays?

After my very expensive excursion through ARC thrift store last Saturday in Denver with Heather, I vowed to stay out of the store until after the new year. Ours in Greeley is getting pretty picked over, so it is easy to stay or away or even shop and not buy anything there.

I am not good at keeping promises that I make to myself, especially when a certain daughter forces me to join her. I was the check out, when Jen exclaimed: "Mom, look, those little houses, like the ones you make." So I left the check-out line to have a look.  I love this little putz houses so much that I tried to make my own, but I am just not that good. 99 cents each. I couldn't pass these up. My mom had a set, now so do I.

We are supposed to get snow today as a result to the Pineapple Express. So far my California friends are okay. Here it is very cold, windy, and cloudy. The mountains are under heavy storm warning, but here it is just cold so far. Still a nice day to bake and watch Payton Manning  do his job. The Broncos play San Diego in San Diego. 

Have a wonderful week. We have lots to do yet. 

Thanks so much for taking time stop by.