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Around the HomesteadFinding Joy in Simple Things |
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2009/12/14 Candy or Fudge? From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
CANDY, a confection made with sugar and often flavoring and filling
FUDGE, a soft creamy candy made typically of sugar, milk, butter, and flavoring
Well, in my family, we didn't call it fudge. It was chocolate candy to us.
Though we weren't wrong, to be more exact, we should have called it fudge.
I remember one or the other of my two older brothers next to me,
the oldest brothers had been long gone by now, and my memories of them are weak,
I remember one or the other of them sitting on a stool, close to the gas stove,
stirring candy with a metal spoon.
I don't remember that we had any wooden spoons in our house back then.
Sometimes they would add peanut butter to the mixture when they took it from the stove, sometimes not.
Maybe that depended on whether there was any peanut butter in the house at the time.
They never added nuts. My memory doesn't hold a place for nuts.
Nuts probably would have been a distraction to them.
Cracking and chopping, that would have taken too much time and effort.
And I doubt that my mother would have had packaged nuts on the shelf.
I don't remember that they were selfish with the candy they made.
I don't remember being rationed or not allowed to have any.
If I was allowed to be a glutton, I don't remember that either. Probably not.
In our house, there were too many hands reaching for a piece for anybody to get too hoggish about it.
When I became of candy making age, I remember stirring it and dropping it from a spoon into cold water (and I remember adding ice to the bowl of water I used) to check for the soft ball stage.
There is no memory of a candy thermometer being in my mother's kitchen during those years.
This was always the tricky part of candy making for me.
Sometimes I got it just right, and the candy would be creamy and smooth, a wonderful texture and delicious.
But, then, there were other times when I didn't get it right, and it would either be a sticky, gooey mess or a dry, grainy batch of hard, brown "stuff".
I don't remember that I ate much of the candy when my culinary effort resulted in failure.
But, my younger brother probably did.
The recipe my family used when we made chocolate candy was on the back of the H**shey cocoa box.
I haven't made that candy, or even thought about it, for a long, long time until this recipe came my way.
It comes from a guy named Mike.
He calls it "Dirt Farmer Fudge".
But it could just as well be "Mountaineer Fudge" or "Prairie Fudge", or "Seaside Fudge", or "City Fudge"
or any number of other fudge names.
It's the same or similar to the one my family used.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that just about everybody growing up during the fifties and sixties
in twentith century America
made fudge exactly like it using the recipe on the back of the H**shey cocoa box.
6 cups sugar 1. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large sauce pan, at least 4 quart. When you boil the fudge it rises a lot! 2. Pour in the milk and mix it with the dry ingredients. It won't mix well until you start to heat it, but mix it the best you can. 3. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until it comes to a bubbly boil. Once it starts boiling you can stop stirring. 4. While the fudge is boiling grease a 9" by 12" glass dish with butter. Get the rest of the ingredients ready. You'll add them to the fudge as soon as you remove it from the heat. Layout a hot pad for the hot pan when it comes off the stove. 5. It's a lot easier if you spoon out the peanut butter onto a small saucer so when it's time to add it to the fudge you can just push it off the saucer into the hot fudge. If you don't like peanut butter or nuts, just leave them out. Dirt Farmer Fudge is still kick butt without them! 6. Keep an eye on the boiling fudge and start checking it for consistency. As it boils it will thicken. If you under cook it you will have a sticky glob that will never harden. If you over cook it you might not even get it out of the pan. Or if you over cook it, it will set up almost immediately when you pour it which means that it will not be creamy and it will be too dry, and I'll be really disappointed in you. Okay, maybe it won't be that bad, but you'll never know how good this fudge is when cooked perfectly. 7. Test the fudge by dropping a small amount into a dish of cold water. When it is done perfectly it will puddle in the bottom of the dish and you'll be able to push it into a small pile with your finger then you should be able to pick it up between two fingers. Test the fudge early and often. If it can't be picked up, rinse the dish and add fresh cold water and test it again soon. It takes a while for it to boil down to the perfect consistency, and there is a fine line between over cooking and under cooking it. Check if often. 8. As soon as the fudge is done remove the pan from the stove and place it on a hot pad. Immediately add the butter, the vanilla, the walnuts and the peanut butter. Do Not Stir it Yet! 9. Just let the fudge cool a bit. This is a critical and scary time but you really want it to cool down to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit which means that you can almost place your hands on the outside of the pan without burning them. Please be careful, do not stick your finger in the fudge and only put your hands near the outside of the pan. 10. Once the fudge has cooled some, start stirring it. As you stir it, the fudge will thicken and lose it's gloss. Get ready to pour quickly once that happens. Sometimes you barely get the peanut butter mixed by the time the fudge is ready to pour into the dish. 11. Pour the fudge into the dish and quickly push it into the corners of the dish then quit smoothing the fudge. The top will set up quickly, but if you've cooked it perfectly the rest of the fudge will need several hours, up to 24 hours to really set up completely. This makes a really moist fudge so I cut it into small squares and place it in a container or onto a serving tray. Often times the bottom of the pieces will stay moist so I lay a paper towel in the bottom of the tray to help wick away some of that excess moisture. I stack it on the tray with a little space between the pieces so the edges can air dry but inside the fudge is nice and moist. When done perfectly, Dirt Farmer Fudge is to die for!
H**SHEY'S Baking Tips Library Scroll down for Fudge & Candy making tips. http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/baking-hints-tips/baking-tips.asp 2009/12/9 High Kicking on the Kanawha When was I first aware of them?
I don't remember. Many, many years back.
How did I become aware of them?
I don't know. It had to have come from television.
Maybe The Ed Sullivan Show. Ummm...
From whatever time and place my awareness began,
I've always wanted to see them - not on film or TV,
but live, up close and personal.
 This past summer an email came from the Civic Center
in our capital city.
In December, they would be there
with their Christmas Spectacular
for a special, live performance.
My dream, less then three hours away!
So, on Monday, off we went, driving south to the river city.
With excitement and great joy,
Little Gal, her mother and I sat eight rows back, CENTER,
and watched the amazing talents of
The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes!
 In her second year of dancing lessons, Little Gal watched,
entranced with the dancers.
In her mother's words, her eyes were large as saucers.
"There's one with red hair, Grandma."
Sure enough!
Bouncing around on my arthritic knee , (oh, yeah!) she did some
shoulder dipping along with the Rockettes and lots of clapping.
The "my hands are sore" kind of clapping.
 "When we get back to the hotel, I'm going to show you and Mommy
how high I can kick."
And so she did.
Another high kicking performance on the Kanawha.
We got an enormous kick out of The Rockettes and Little Gal, too.
 In the Lobby
We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show.
This is what we saw.
2009/12/5 Driving Home For Christmas I remember, so many years ago, being far away from family and driving home for Christmas . I remember, too, when I was still a young girl, how wonderful it was when one or more of my brothers were able to bring their families and drive home to us for Christmas.
Now, my sons , with their families , drive into the valley and home for Christmas.
If there is nobody for you to drive home to this Christmas, I hope somebody is making plans to drive home to you.
Merry Christmas from the Valley
Driving Home For Christmas.
by Chris Rea
I'm driving home for Christmas
Oh, I can't wait to see those faces I'm driving home for Christmas, Yea Well, I'm moving down that line
And it's been so long But I will be there I sing this song To pass the time away Driving in my car Driving home for Christmas It's Gonna take some time But I'll get there
Top to toe in tailbacks Oh, I Got red lights all around But soon there'll be a freeway, yea Get My feet on holy ground So I sing for you Though you can't hear me When I get through And feel you near me Driving in my car I'm Driving home for Christmas Driving Home For Christmas
With a thousand memories I take a look at the driver next to me He's just the same Just the same Top to toe in tailbacks Oh, I got red lights all around I'm Driving home for Christmas, yea Get my feet on holy ground So I sing for you Though you can't hear me When I get through Oh, And feel you near me Driving in my car Driving home for Christmas Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories I Take a look at the driver next to me He's just the same He's driving home , driving home Driving home for Christmas
 How much time do you have?
Can You Choose a Favorite?
Michael Ball has a beautiful rendition, too, but I can't find a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uey6VktC5ms
Chris Rea (He wrote it and sings it very well - I love it) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4OWGnlV-gA
Mike Denver (Sounds a little bit country...or Irish - I like it) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p_UHHQnWnE&feature=related
Ed Rambeau (Remember him? - He's still singing!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA9iLcZmotg
Brane Kac (Love the craggy voice) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zlEddmPP6I
Piet Veerman (OK, but a bit formal for me) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwSgZjAJ3AI&feature=related
Peter Van De Velde (Not too bad, but not the best) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxEQLB79o9Q
Edwin (Sort of amateurish) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IedWOKUBHQ
Fady Maalouf (Believe he is German) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoQGRqHZwUs&feature=related
Overground (For the young crowd) 2008/12/21 Merry Christmas To You All
Up the valley, at the home place, there is no computer, no TV, the radio only works if it's pointed in the right direction, and cell phones don't work at all. Spending a few days up there leaves you out of touch with the outside world. Coming back down the valley, it's always surprising how little's been missed. Because of work schedules, our family Christmas will come two days early, and the gathering place is almost ready. Just a little more baking, a few things to wrap, and a touch of cleaning will make the house holiday ready. The cottage on the back road will be occupied again by the end of the week. Until then have the happiest of holidays with your family and friends. Much love is sent to each one of you from my little valley in the mountains. A Blessed Christmas to You All!
Little Gal's Christmas Fashion Show (She does wear shoes!)
Baking Sugar Cookies (Sorry, no time for the story)
Riding the Christmas Train (Oops, we lost Santa Claus!)
2008/12/10 Little Gal Gets Her Guy - 2008When the weather turns cold in the valley, and Christmas lights start twinkling on houses in the village, the quest begins. Every year the anxiety and excitement mounts until a new guy is added to Little Gal's collection. It's been so since the year of her birth, when the first guy came into her life and shocked her mother at his size and the rest of the family because he looked so bazaar. He was the size of Little Gal, and then some. She wasn't quite two months old.
To find the perfect guy for Little Gal, the Internet is searched, the pattern box is searched and Grandma's cluttered mind is searched. Because it can't be just any guy. It has to be the right guy for Grandma's Little Gal. Sometimes a pattern is used, Or, sometimes Grandma dreams up one of her own. This year's guy came from a picture chosen From all the pictures of guys saved and kept in a folder.
A pattern was drawn, then enlarged onto tissue paper. Cut from muslin dyed a gingerbread tan, Little Gal's guy took shape with well stuffed legs, arms, body and head. Clothed in a vest with holiday theme, Red buttons lined his chest and belly. White rickrack circled his arms, legs and head, And black eyes looked out from his rosy cheeked face. A wide smile stretched from one ear to the other - (But the certainty of ears is in question). Snowflakes were danced across his forehead and one of his legs. A plaid heart, matching the lining of his vest, Was needled and threaded to the opposite leg. Lastly, for remembering, a tag with Little Gal's name and the year the new guy entered her life was hung around his neck.
For six Christmas' Little Gal has gotten her guy. In some of those years, though, to be truthful, she's gotten a gal instead of a guy. This year, there is question whether she has a gal or whether she has a guy. It isn't known for sure, But, whatever it is, it has a new home with the five other members of Little Gal's Gingerbread Clan.
2008 Gingerbread
2008 Gingerbread With Gingerbreads From Little Gal's Past
(You might recognize Kermit the Gingerbread Frog in the above picture, the first gingerbread oddity that had family members chuckling and tongues wagging. He was named by an amused uncle who recognized his froggy characteristics.)
Last Year's Gingerbread - 2007 |
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