Caramels

I did it!

I made home made caramels.

It was easy and I read "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson while I stirred for about 45 minutes.

Here's the recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook if you'd like to make them too. You will definitely need a candy thermometer to make these caramels.

1 cup butter or margarine
16 ounces light brown sugar
2 cups light cream
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Line a 9x9 or 8x11 inch pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over low heat then add brown sugar, cream and corn syrup and increase heat to medium high. Stir mixture until it boils, then clip candy thermometer to the side of the pan and reduce heat to medium. Continue to stir for about 45 to 60 minutes until mixture reaches 248 F.

Remove caramel from heat and immediately add and stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Pour caramel into prepared pan and let cool completely.

After about 4-6 hours, lift caramels out using the foil and turn onto a piece of waxed paper. Carefully remove the foil and then cut caramels into 1 inch squares and wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap.

I found it was easiest to cut the caramels with a pizza cutter. I sliced a 1 inch strip off the block of caramel and then cut little pieces off and wrapped them before slicing off another 1 inch strip.

Making Candy With Nuts

I should start by saying that I'm all for making things simple. My mantra is "need to do, nice to do, nuts to do" and most of the time I'm very sensible about maintaining that. I try to stick with the "need to" and occasionally will throw in a "nice to." But the "nuts to" is right out!

So, call it what you will--temporary insanity or a Christmas miracle--but I'm going to go a little nuts for Christmas.

I've decided to make an assortment of 8 different kinds of candy for holiday goody giving. I'm going to start with home made caramels because I tried some at a friends house last year and they were delicious. She said they were easy to make, but very time consuming.

Sign me up!

Here is the full list of what I will be attempting in the coming weeks.

Caramels
Penuche
Divinity (is everyone giving a collective "ewww?")
English toffee
Peanut butter fudge
Pretzel treats (you will just have to wait and see.)
Oreo cookie bark
Georgia pralines

I will blog about my successes and failures (I'm not an idiot...I fully anticipate a few flops) and include pictures so you can admire my skill or laugh at my folly.

(There doesn't seem to be enough chocolate on the list.)

Mrs. Bennet Became a Fan of Charles Bingley

Have you wanted to read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice but just don't seem to have the time?

Do you speak "Twitter?"

Is Facebook your favorite form of communication?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I think I've found something you will enjoy...

It's Pride and Prejudice a la Facebook!

And if you have plenty of time to read Pride and Prejudice and prefer long, archaically worded sentences to concise blips, and if you need your Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy fix, you will still get a kick out of Austenbook.

Because I Promised Never to Bring it Up Again...

...I have no comment.

What I Want For Christmas

Oh, I know what you are thinking..."she just wrote a long missive about how there was too much stuff out there and she wanted to get off the 'consumerism grid' and now she says she wants a Lexus?"

No, I don't want the Lexus...I want the giant bow.

How fun would it be to take our old 1994 Honda Accord, park it in the driveway on Christmas Eve and slap that massive red car bow on top of it? I can just imagine the reactions from our neighbors when they saw it Christmas morning.

Would they even notice the 14 year old car or just the $200 bow and assume the car was new?

Of course if I had an extra $200 for Christmas, I would not spend it on a giant red bow. But you have to admit, the giant bow could be a lot of fun.

I know. I'm a nerd.

Stuff

I'm having an issue with stuff. This time of year I'm reminded of how, generally, we have too much stuff.

I'm not saying it's just me...it's you too. We all have too much stuff. Do you know how I know this? Because of commercials for these...

Come on! You know there is not a single person in the world who needs one of these? What could possibly be the purpose? Yet Fred Meyer has a pallet of these things in every store. And people are buying them!

And why do we only see commercials for these things around Christmas? Because we all have so much stuff and people, who for some reason feel compelled to buy us gifts, can't think of a single thing we NEED so they get something we don't need...The Chia Pet.

The Clapper falls into the same category. OK, I admit The Clapper might actually be a product that someone needs. Maybe about .01% of the population really, really NEEDS The Clapper.

But the clapper now comes with a remote control so that if you don't want to clap to turn on your lights, you can simply push a button. (Wait...there's something familiar about this.)

You can even mount the clapper remote on the wall, so you always know where it is and can easily switch on a light when you come in a room. Just like a light switch, except $24.95.

I spent some time this morning listening to George Carlin's take on "stuff" but will not post the video here because this blog is rated PG.

To paraphrase, George says the meaning of life is to find a place to keep all our stuff and that our houses are really just places for us to keep our stuff. A house is like a pile of stuff with a cover on it. And when we leave the house, we lock it up to keep our stuff safe while we go out to get more stuff. (OK, it does sound a bit funnier when he says it...)

I've been thinking about all the stuff out there for us to buy. Most of us have what we need, but still want to acquire more stuff. Then when the stuff goes out of style, we throw the stuff out and it goes into a land fill. The stuff had to be manufactured and transported, which takes up energy and causes pollution.

But stuff also creates jobs. If we got rid of all the stuff, there would not be enough jobs for people, and then they wouldn't have enough money to buy their stuff.

I think we need less stuff, even if it does create unemployment and other problems with the economy. We can overcome those issues and reduce waste and pollution and debt.

I've been thinking about getting off the consumerism grid. I was inspired by this article I read several years ago and have been thinking about it ever since. I wanted to try it for 2009 but feel the second hand clothing issue would be an obstacle too hard for me to overcome.

So, instead, I'm going to more fully embrace and live by these words:

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do with out.

Holiday Reading Guide

Did you read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins? If you did, check out this round table book discussion by the Longstockings. It's like going to a book club discussion in the comfort of your very own home!

If you have not read the book, do not click on the above link because the discussion contains spoilers and trust me, you do NOT want this book to be spoiled. Request it at the library or go to your nearest book store and buy it. It's great.

"What I Saw and How I Lied" by Judy Blundell just won the National Book Award for YA fiction and is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Set in the 1940's just after World War II with descriptive writing and clever wording that will make you feel like you are right there.

This is a coming of age story with a little mystery and some very interesting moral dilemmas to consider.

"Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel was a great discovery thanks to Beth who recommended it on Good Reads. This would actually be a great book to read aloud to boys and girls, but especially boys.

Matt Cruse is a 15 year old cabin boy aboard a luxury air ship. Think: the Titanic of blimps. It is his home and he has high hopes of advancing and one day becoming captain. The story contains pirates, a shipwreck, fierce fighting and scientific discoveries. Oh yeah, there is also a cute girl.

Check out this great website that goes along with the series.

And finally, if you haven't read Diana Raybourne's "Slient" series of mysteries, what are you waiting for? I already told you they were great fun and very addictive. What more do you want? Romance? OK, fine, there is a little of that too.

"Silent in the Grave" and "Silent in the Sanctuary" are both available at your library or bookstore and "Silent on the Moor" will be out in March. Of course that one will surely leave you wanting more and you will have to wait for the 4th book to come out who-knows-when, so maybe you shouldn't read these afterall.