There are some meals I'm willing to go the extra mile for, but most days I just want simple, real foods. This soup is comfort food at its finest and can easily be adjusted to your family's individual taste. I usually throw in a few more veggies and you could certainly leave the ham out if you wanted a vegetarian version.
So the next time you're needing some honest, simple, comfort food, whip up a batch of this delicious soup and let your cares just melt away.
Cheesy Vegetable Ham Chowder
Makes six adult size servings.
2 C water
2 C chopped potatoes (about 2 medium)
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 or 2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 C butter
1/4 C flour
2 C milk
2 1/2 C shredded cheddar or 10 oz American cheese, torn
15 oz creamed corn
2 C cubed, cooked ham
In a large pan combine water, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Bring the water to a full boil, then cover and reduce heat. Let the veggies simmer for about 10 minutes while you make the cheesy deliciousness.
For the cheese sauce, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and 1/4 tsp (or more) fresh ground black pepper; add the milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly - this is where the magic happens. You want the milk mixture to get nice and thick, like unset pudding. That'll give the finished soup a really nice texture.
Add cheese to the milk mixture. Continue to cook and stir until cheese melts. Add cheesy mixture to the veggies (don't drain the veggies - you want that liquid) and stir to combine. Add ham and corn; heat through but don't boil.
Grind a bit of fresh pepper over each bowlful.
I like to serve this with baking powder biscuits. Perfect.
EDIT: I totally forgot to list my source for this recipe (Bad Blogger)! I found this recipe in my big Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Pleasure Reading
For Christmas this year I received several books. Most are recipe or pattern books (both of which I read like novels) and one is an uplifting book of encouragement for parents. I love them all!
First up is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (400 delicious and creative recipes for today) - from Bryant's moms. This softcover book is just shy of 500 pages and while it doesn't have a photo for every recipe, it has quite a few photo sections sprinkled throughout the book.
The guide is broken up into chapters such as Getting Started, Perfect Pickles, Soft Spreads, Condiments and Pressure Canning (for low acid foods such as peas, potatoes, beef or chicken stock, etc...) and each chapter is a treasure trove of information. Not only does each page contain a recipe, but it also gives handy tips and safety information.
From randomly opening the book, here are a few sample recipes to give you an idea of what's in here - Silky Apricot Butter, Strawberry Lemon Marmalade, Berry Wine Jelly, Roasted Garlic Jelly, Pineapple Chili Salsa, Orange Rhubarb Chutney, Dilled Carrots, Pickled Garlic, Sweet Red Cucumber Sticks, Chicken Stock and Spaghetti Sauce with Meat.
My favorite thing about this book is that it is written in such a way that the I feel the publisher/authors genuinely want me to succeed. I love that! I've never done any canning, but it is definitely on my list of things to learn and this book is going to go a long way toward teaching me.
Next up is Crafty Mama by Abby Pecoriello- from Bryant. This smaller book is only 262 pages and about six inches square, but packed full of simple, creative ideas. The book is almost entirely baby and toddler crafts, most of them requiring no special skill or equipment (not even a sewing machine). There is a section at the beginning that talks about organizing a crafty group and how to get things done with a baby on your hip.
Projects include things like shadow boxes and fabric covered storage totes for keeping and displaying all those wonderful memories of your little lovey. There are also patterns for tied fleece blankets, pillow covers, appliqued onesies, embellished shoes, diaper bags and brag books. My favorite part of the book is nearer the back; crafts for parents - photo charm bracelets being the project I'm most looking forward to.
While I don't have any tiny babies around anymore, I know lots of people who are just beginning their parenting adventures and this book is going to come in mighty handy!
My Mom got me a wonderful book called 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet by Lesley Stanfield. After the typical how to section is page after page of life size knit and crocheted flowers, insects, fruits and veggies. The patterns are broken up into knit or crochet and then narrowed down by skill level - beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Each pattern lists a yarn weight and any special tools needed, such as double pointed needles. If you use the recommended yarn weight, your flowers will be the size of the ones shown, but there's no reason you couldn't play around with various weights and make them exactly the size you want. In the back, after all 100 patterns, is a small section of project ideas and tips for displaying your fiber flowers. So fun!
The patterns include an Irish Rose, Peony, Fern Leaf, Anemone, Dianthus, Scottish Thistle, Pansy, Lavender, Bluebells, Oriental and Field Poppy, Gerbera Daisy, 2 different Sunflowers and Acorns, as well as several leaf variations, bees, butterflies, carrots, pea pods and a whole lot more!
Another book is Eco Beauty by Lauren and Janice Cox, another gift from Bryant's moms. I love this book! It's full of recipes for everything from facial cleanser and toner to bath bombs and lip gloss. This book reads more like a standard cookbook than a beauty book, with ingredients like strawberries, honey, powdered kelp and chocolate.
The book is divided into sections such as, For the Face, For the Mouth, For the Hair, etc... and each section contains a dozen or so recipes. There are full color pictures for the vast majority of the recipes, though not all. Each section also contains a brief overview of things you can do to keep your hair, hands, whatever, healthier; things like drinking more water, exercising regularly, etc... Those things we all know we should do, but don't always focus on.
A random selection of recipes includes Milk Maid Cleanser, Green Tea Toner, Chocolate Walnut Body Polish, Scented Shower Gels, Very Vanilla Lip Gloss, Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub, Honey Hair Pack, Go Bananas Hair Conditioner and Colored Bath Salts. Each section includes trivia such as the history of lipstick, safety tips and lots of other interesting tidbits.
Following the bulk of the recipes is an entire section on gift giving. This section includes things like gift basket ideas (Workout Basket, Happy Feet Basket or Bon Voyage Basket), holiday gift ideas and packaging options using unexpected and/or recycled materials.
The Creative Family (How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections) by Amanda Blake Soule is the one I've read cover-to-cover most often. SouleMama, as she's known in the blogging world, is down to earth and easy to read and relate to. Her ideas are often so simple that I find myself slapping my forehead in a moment of, "Why didn't I think of that?" or nodding along as I read about a shared philosophy or practice.
I can't recommend this book enough, for parents, grandparents or anyone who spends time with children on a regular basis. The focus is on family, certainly, but there is so much more to this book. The author talks about using nature as inspiration for color and texture, about being grateful for the big and little miracles in our lives and about everyday rituals and experiences that we don't pay that much attention to, but that can have a huge impact on our children.
This is the kind of book that ends up with the spine broken, the pages dog-eared and tattered, covered in highlighter, margin notes and doodles - the kind of book that works its way into every part of your life and you feel that much more blessed for it.
So what great books have you been reading lately?
First up is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (400 delicious and creative recipes for today) - from Bryant's moms. This softcover book is just shy of 500 pages and while it doesn't have a photo for every recipe, it has quite a few photo sections sprinkled throughout the book.
The guide is broken up into chapters such as Getting Started, Perfect Pickles, Soft Spreads, Condiments and Pressure Canning (for low acid foods such as peas, potatoes, beef or chicken stock, etc...) and each chapter is a treasure trove of information. Not only does each page contain a recipe, but it also gives handy tips and safety information.
From randomly opening the book, here are a few sample recipes to give you an idea of what's in here - Silky Apricot Butter, Strawberry Lemon Marmalade, Berry Wine Jelly, Roasted Garlic Jelly, Pineapple Chili Salsa, Orange Rhubarb Chutney, Dilled Carrots, Pickled Garlic, Sweet Red Cucumber Sticks, Chicken Stock and Spaghetti Sauce with Meat.
My favorite thing about this book is that it is written in such a way that the I feel the publisher/authors genuinely want me to succeed. I love that! I've never done any canning, but it is definitely on my list of things to learn and this book is going to go a long way toward teaching me.
Next up is Crafty Mama by Abby Pecoriello- from Bryant. This smaller book is only 262 pages and about six inches square, but packed full of simple, creative ideas. The book is almost entirely baby and toddler crafts, most of them requiring no special skill or equipment (not even a sewing machine). There is a section at the beginning that talks about organizing a crafty group and how to get things done with a baby on your hip.
Projects include things like shadow boxes and fabric covered storage totes for keeping and displaying all those wonderful memories of your little lovey. There are also patterns for tied fleece blankets, pillow covers, appliqued onesies, embellished shoes, diaper bags and brag books. My favorite part of the book is nearer the back; crafts for parents - photo charm bracelets being the project I'm most looking forward to.
While I don't have any tiny babies around anymore, I know lots of people who are just beginning their parenting adventures and this book is going to come in mighty handy!
My Mom got me a wonderful book called 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet by Lesley Stanfield. After the typical how to section is page after page of life size knit and crocheted flowers, insects, fruits and veggies. The patterns are broken up into knit or crochet and then narrowed down by skill level - beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Each pattern lists a yarn weight and any special tools needed, such as double pointed needles. If you use the recommended yarn weight, your flowers will be the size of the ones shown, but there's no reason you couldn't play around with various weights and make them exactly the size you want. In the back, after all 100 patterns, is a small section of project ideas and tips for displaying your fiber flowers. So fun!
The patterns include an Irish Rose, Peony, Fern Leaf, Anemone, Dianthus, Scottish Thistle, Pansy, Lavender, Bluebells, Oriental and Field Poppy, Gerbera Daisy, 2 different Sunflowers and Acorns, as well as several leaf variations, bees, butterflies, carrots, pea pods and a whole lot more!
Another book is Eco Beauty by Lauren and Janice Cox, another gift from Bryant's moms. I love this book! It's full of recipes for everything from facial cleanser and toner to bath bombs and lip gloss. This book reads more like a standard cookbook than a beauty book, with ingredients like strawberries, honey, powdered kelp and chocolate.
The book is divided into sections such as, For the Face, For the Mouth, For the Hair, etc... and each section contains a dozen or so recipes. There are full color pictures for the vast majority of the recipes, though not all. Each section also contains a brief overview of things you can do to keep your hair, hands, whatever, healthier; things like drinking more water, exercising regularly, etc... Those things we all know we should do, but don't always focus on.
A random selection of recipes includes Milk Maid Cleanser, Green Tea Toner, Chocolate Walnut Body Polish, Scented Shower Gels, Very Vanilla Lip Gloss, Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub, Honey Hair Pack, Go Bananas Hair Conditioner and Colored Bath Salts. Each section includes trivia such as the history of lipstick, safety tips and lots of other interesting tidbits.
Following the bulk of the recipes is an entire section on gift giving. This section includes things like gift basket ideas (Workout Basket, Happy Feet Basket or Bon Voyage Basket), holiday gift ideas and packaging options using unexpected and/or recycled materials.
The Creative Family (How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections) by Amanda Blake Soule is the one I've read cover-to-cover most often. SouleMama, as she's known in the blogging world, is down to earth and easy to read and relate to. Her ideas are often so simple that I find myself slapping my forehead in a moment of, "Why didn't I think of that?" or nodding along as I read about a shared philosophy or practice.
I can't recommend this book enough, for parents, grandparents or anyone who spends time with children on a regular basis. The focus is on family, certainly, but there is so much more to this book. The author talks about using nature as inspiration for color and texture, about being grateful for the big and little miracles in our lives and about everyday rituals and experiences that we don't pay that much attention to, but that can have a huge impact on our children.
This is the kind of book that ends up with the spine broken, the pages dog-eared and tattered, covered in highlighter, margin notes and doodles - the kind of book that works its way into every part of your life and you feel that much more blessed for it.
So what great books have you been reading lately?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Analyze This
I just discovered a site called Typealyzer - you enter the url for a blog and it'll analyze the author based on what they write. I just couldn't pass it up. Here is what they said about the author of this blog (little ol' me)...
Yup, that sounds about right...
ESFP - The PerformersAnd, according to the brain graph at the bottom of their site, the parts of my brain that are in control when I write are the "sensing and feeling" sections with just a tiny sliver of the "practical."
The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.
The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.
Yup, that sounds about right...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Goals
I talked yesterday about my upcoming goal list and in thinking about that, I decided that I wanted to take a minimalist approach. So here is my pared down list for 2011.
One other goal I had was to cut my Ravelry queue down to a manageable size. Last night I cut it down from 9 pages (270 items) to 5 pages (140 items)! I was pretty proud of myself. I know it's still a huge list and I'll probably never get them all done, but at least I have much less to sort through when I'm looking for a particular project.
What are your goals for the year?
 |
| Click for an enlarged view |
One other goal I had was to cut my Ravelry queue down to a manageable size. Last night I cut it down from 9 pages (270 items) to 5 pages (140 items)! I was pretty proud of myself. I know it's still a huge list and I'll probably never get them all done, but at least I have much less to sort through when I'm looking for a particular project.
What are your goals for the year?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Changing it Up
I've updated my 101 in 1001 list (101 goals to be accomplished in 1001 days) a few times over the years. I've had four complete lists and have never finished the entire 1001 days. Each time I make a list I do it with the best intentions. But you know what they say about good intentions...
I was reading through my list earlier today, looking to see what I needed to focus on in the upcoming weeks, when I realized there are quite a few on there I just don't care about anymore.
And I'm okay with that. For me the biggest thing about the 101 in 1001 list is simply writing out my goals. If I don't write them down, they stay as vague notions I'll never come close to. But having articulated them, I am more likely to actually complete them. At least the ones that are truly important to me.
In the near future I'll be posting a new list, although I'm not sure I'll put a time frame on it.
What do you think? Do you prefer goals with finite ends? Have you changed your 101 in 1001 lists?
BTW, my spell checker told me to change "timeframe" to "diamorphous." Huh.
I was reading through my list earlier today, looking to see what I needed to focus on in the upcoming weeks, when I realized there are quite a few on there I just don't care about anymore.
And I'm okay with that. For me the biggest thing about the 101 in 1001 list is simply writing out my goals. If I don't write them down, they stay as vague notions I'll never come close to. But having articulated them, I am more likely to actually complete them. At least the ones that are truly important to me.
In the near future I'll be posting a new list, although I'm not sure I'll put a time frame on it.
What do you think? Do you prefer goals with finite ends? Have you changed your 101 in 1001 lists?
BTW, my spell checker told me to change "timeframe" to "diamorphous." Huh.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Warning: The following links may take up an outrageous amount of your time... So grab a drink and some snacks before you start clicking.
http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1872 This one is called Dinosaur Comics - and it's exactly what it says it is. But hilarious.
http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ If you have small children, if you live just off the beaten path or if you just enjoy gorgeous photography, give this blog a shot. It makes my heart happy each and every time I read it.
http://www.spritestitch.com/ Geeky crafty fun - what more could you want?
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/creative-reuse/50-creative-reuse-ideas-to-keep-you-busy-this-weekend-122566 There isn't much that can't be upcycled and this link will give you lots of great ideas!
http://www.foxyblunt.com/Default.aspx Foxy. Blunt. Perfect.
http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/Christmas+4/ Hands down, the best Christmas video ever (and the inspiration for next year's Christmas cards)!
http://smallnotebook.org/ Organize, declutter and minimize the "stuff stress" with this site. While I don't think everything here applies to most people, there are tons of helpful tips and ideas.
http://www.graceisoverrated.com/ I adore the printable journal pages offered here (and the funny stories that often accompany them) - I've printed and colored and journaled in quite a few of them.
http://freepatterns.k1p1keepingyouinstitchesstudio.com/ It's a little bit of a pain to navigate, but this site is a treasure trove of knitting patterns.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/ One of my very favorite recipe sites - do not read this if you're hungry or dieting...
http://www.oneprettything.com/ More crafts than you can shake a stick at.
http://www.danoah.com/ Single Dad Laughing - often hilarious, always thought provoking.
So, did you click any of those? Or were you so bored you're ready to go scrub the toilets just for something to do?
http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1872 This one is called Dinosaur Comics - and it's exactly what it says it is. But hilarious.
http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ If you have small children, if you live just off the beaten path or if you just enjoy gorgeous photography, give this blog a shot. It makes my heart happy each and every time I read it.
http://www.spritestitch.com/ Geeky crafty fun - what more could you want?
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/creative-reuse/50-creative-reuse-ideas-to-keep-you-busy-this-weekend-122566 There isn't much that can't be upcycled and this link will give you lots of great ideas!
http://www.foxyblunt.com/Default.aspx Foxy. Blunt. Perfect.
http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/Christmas+4/ Hands down, the best Christmas video ever (and the inspiration for next year's Christmas cards)!
http://smallnotebook.org/ Organize, declutter and minimize the "stuff stress" with this site. While I don't think everything here applies to most people, there are tons of helpful tips and ideas.
http://www.graceisoverrated.com/ I adore the printable journal pages offered here (and the funny stories that often accompany them) - I've printed and colored and journaled in quite a few of them.
http://freepatterns.k1p1keepingyouinstitchesstudio.com/ It's a little bit of a pain to navigate, but this site is a treasure trove of knitting patterns.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/ One of my very favorite recipe sites - do not read this if you're hungry or dieting...
http://www.oneprettything.com/ More crafts than you can shake a stick at.
http://www.danoah.com/ Single Dad Laughing - often hilarious, always thought provoking.
So, did you click any of those? Or were you so bored you're ready to go scrub the toilets just for something to do?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Knitting in 2011
Two of my siblings are getting married this year (YAY!) and I'm making them each afghans as wedding gifts - they helped pick the patterns, so don't worry about keeping secrets. This blanket will be for my sister, and will be knit in a white yarn that has small green, blue, copper and silver flecks in it. I'm making the ribs six stitches wide instead of three because the original blanket is baby sized and I'm making it significantly larger, so I thought wider ribs would be more appropriate. I think it's going to be quite gorgeous when it's done!
The other afghan is for my brother and will be a little more involved.
This one will actually be charcoal grey and slate blue with black skulls on it! I can't wait! This is done in strips, instead of one large piece, which will make it much more portable - perfect summer knitting!
I'm hoping to finish both of these projects quickly enough to have time to learn how to knit two socks at a time on one long circular needle - very exciting!
So stay tuned for lots of knitting posts!
The other afghan is for my brother and will be a little more involved.
This one will actually be charcoal grey and slate blue with black skulls on it! I can't wait! This is done in strips, instead of one large piece, which will make it much more portable - perfect summer knitting!
I'm hoping to finish both of these projects quickly enough to have time to learn how to knit two socks at a time on one long circular needle - very exciting!
So stay tuned for lots of knitting posts!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Make a Mockery of Me
This pattern is very simple - a perfect sock for this time in my life. I recently finished my Christmas knitting, but I won't be able to start my next afghan for a couple of weeks, so I needed a project that wasn't too complicated, but would give me phenomenal results - this is it!
I'll continue to post pictures and updates as I can. If we're friends on Ravelry you can see them there, too!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Christmas Cookies
Every year I make a huge batch of sugar cookies for the kids to decorate and leave for Santa. Here are a few examples of this year's masterpieces...
And the aftermath...
And the aftermath...
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sweets and Treats
I've been on a bit of a treat making kick lately - the colder weather has that affect on me. Way back in October, I posted a list of cookies/bars/treats that I wanted to make during the colder months. Today I thought I'd post an update to that list, as well as a rundown on how the treat boxes shaped up.
I've made the following items from the original list.
A few of these were good enough to make it into the Treat Boxes this year even! I ended up buying 3-tiered box sets (although I didn't take pictures of them because I'm a loser and a bad blogger), so here's the plan I used to fill them. The number in parenthesis is how many batches I made.
The Large Tier:
Candy cane shaped sugar cookies (3) - I used a plain powdered sugar icing to coat them in white, then peppermint flavored red icing for stripes.
7 Layer Bars (4) - I bought enough ingredients to make one more batch because Bryant LOVES these. We actually call them Vernetta Bars after his Grandmother. She used to make them for him every time he'd visit her.
Cappuccino Praline Bars (3) - The recipe called for instant espresso powder, but I couldn't find any. I used instant coffee powder instead; the flavor was quite mild and delicious.
The Middle Tier:
Peppermint Snowball Cookies (3) - The hardest part of this recipe was crushing the Starlight mints - I had to borrow Bryant's hammer!
Chocolate Hazelnut Corners (2) - A single batch of this recipe makes approximately 17 dozen cookies - I doubled that. But they're delicious and tiny, so I'm glad I made as many as I did. There were very few leftovers.
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (3) - Oh so good!
The Small Tier:
English Toffee (2) - I burned two fingers making these, but they were crazy good!
Spicy Vanilla Pecans (4) - I make these fairly often now since they're so easy and delicious.
Honey Butter Caramels with Sea Salt (2) - The first time I made these, I made a couple of mistakes. First, I used foil to line the pan - Parchment paper made a huge difference! It was so much easier! Secondly, when we boiled the mixture for the second time, we only just got it to 250 degrees. The resulting caramels were quite soft and had to be kept in the fridge to maintain texture and shape. This time we cooked them up to 253 degrees and it made all the difference! They were solid and more like what I imagined they would be. Perfect!
Also, treat boxes for people outside of my immediate family contained Martha Washington Candy - a delicious mix of coconut, walnuts, powdered sugar, melted butter and sweetened condensed milk, rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate! Mmmmmmm....
So there you have it - my holiday baking for 2010.
I've made the following items from the original list.
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Peppermint Snowball Cookies
- Chocolate Hazelnut Corners
 |
| Russian Tea Cakes - Delicious! |
 |
| Hazelnut Corners before cutting |
-
- Cappuccino Praline Bars
- Shortbread Brownies
- Spicy Vanilla Pecans
- Gingersnaps
 |
| Here they've been cut and baked. |
- Honey Butter Caramels with Sea Salt
 |
| Gingersnaps |
A few of these were good enough to make it into the Treat Boxes this year even! I ended up buying 3-tiered box sets (although I didn't take pictures of them because I'm a loser and a bad blogger), so here's the plan I used to fill them. The number in parenthesis is how many batches I made.
The Large Tier:
Candy cane shaped sugar cookies (3) - I used a plain powdered sugar icing to coat them in white, then peppermint flavored red icing for stripes.
 |
| Candy canes, Hazelnut corners and Pookie decorating some of the scraps |
7 Layer Bars (4) - I bought enough ingredients to make one more batch because Bryant LOVES these. We actually call them Vernetta Bars after his Grandmother. She used to make them for him every time he'd visit her.
Cappuccino Praline Bars (3) - The recipe called for instant espresso powder, but I couldn't find any. I used instant coffee powder instead; the flavor was quite mild and delicious.
The Middle Tier:
Peppermint Snowball Cookies (3) - The hardest part of this recipe was crushing the Starlight mints - I had to borrow Bryant's hammer!
Chocolate Hazelnut Corners (2) - A single batch of this recipe makes approximately 17 dozen cookies - I doubled that. But they're delicious and tiny, so I'm glad I made as many as I did. There were very few leftovers.
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (3) - Oh so good!
 |
| Sorry for the blurry picture - apparently I can't take a good picture of these cookies. |
The Small Tier:
English Toffee (2) - I burned two fingers making these, but they were crazy good!
Spicy Vanilla Pecans (4) - I make these fairly often now since they're so easy and delicious.
Honey Butter Caramels with Sea Salt (2) - The first time I made these, I made a couple of mistakes. First, I used foil to line the pan - Parchment paper made a huge difference! It was so much easier! Secondly, when we boiled the mixture for the second time, we only just got it to 250 degrees. The resulting caramels were quite soft and had to be kept in the fridge to maintain texture and shape. This time we cooked them up to 253 degrees and it made all the difference! They were solid and more like what I imagined they would be. Perfect!
Also, treat boxes for people outside of my immediate family contained Martha Washington Candy - a delicious mix of coconut, walnuts, powdered sugar, melted butter and sweetened condensed milk, rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate! Mmmmmmm....
So there you have it - my holiday baking for 2010.
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