Homemade Candy, a Christmas Tradition

 At Christmastime, in our household, it is a tradition to make at least one kind of candy.  Oh the deliciousness of homemade candy!  We eat some (of course!) and we give some away, wrapped festively.  Over Thanksgiving, my daughter, her boyfriend, and I made this delicious brittle.  Sadly, it is all long gone.  So we will have to make more to give away.
 

This is how it looks at just before 250 degrees.  This process takes a while, so be patient.

Now it's ready! 

INGREDIENTS

4 C chopped nuts

1 C butter, cut in slices

1/4 C water

1 C brown sugar

2 C white sugar

1/2 t baking soda

2 t pure vanilla extract

10 oz chocolate (your choice)

Pan is off the fire.  Adding the soda and vanilla.





Roast nuts in oven @ 350.  Chop. 

Cover a long pan with wax paper or parchment paper.  Spread 1/2 the roasted nuts on the pan.  (We made half the pan almond, half pecan.)                                                                                           In a saucepan, mix together sugars and water.   Add butter.  Stir.

Slowly (on medium ), heat to almost 300 degrees.   Do not stir.
When this temperature is attained, remove pan from heat.  Stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Pour over nuts and spread with heat resistant spartula.  (see photo below.)

Now carefully spread the chocolate on top.  We used bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped, and semi sweet chocolate chips.  Us the spatula to spread evenly.

See how the chocolate melts?

Now spread the rest of the nuts on top and press them in a little.

WAIT!  Oh, this is the hard part!  You can hasten the cooling process by putting the pan in the freezer.

YUM!  We made our own maple syrup ice cream and mixed in some of the finely chopped candy.  Garnish the top with more candy, voila, nirvana!

Ice cream ingredients:  2 C heavy whipping cream, 2 C whole milk, 3/4 C pure maple syrup  (That's all!)   Process in ice cream maker.   


This post is for the etsy bloggers' carnival,  hosted this time by Erika of Nico Designs.
THIS is where Erika blogs and where the carnival will be published on Monday, December 7.   
And here,  in her SHOP, is where you'll find her wonderful creations!

photos by me © 2009

"It's a book of hope."

Today is the 40th anniversary of the release of Eric Carle's famous children's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. "This little, fat ugly thing ends up flying into the world as a beautiful butterfly." (1)

And so it began--a hole puncher and a stack of paper, and one of the world's most beloved children's books was born. This hungry caterpillar eats his way through a variety of fruit. After eating a green leaf, he builds a cocoon. And then, a miraculous event occurs. He turns into a beautiful butterfly.

Visit his official website and see a marvelous short video of him discussing this book and and painting and creating his wonderful collage art. "I love color!" declares the almost 80 year old Carle. He hand paints papers and then cuts and layers them to create his signature collages.

See a most interesting biography of his life.
How did his career begin? Bill Martin, Jr. asked Carle to illustrate a story he had written, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Martin was captivated by a bright red lobster that Carle had painted for an advertisement.

The themes of Carle's stories are drawn from his knowledge and love of nature. His books are visually gorgeous and entertaining. But they also offer readers the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. He has an intuitive understanding and respect for children. "It is his concern for children, for their feelings and their inquisitiveness, for their creativity and their intellectual growth that, in addition to his beautiful artwork, makes the reading of his books such a stimulating and lasting experience." (2)

last page from the newly released pop-up version

And, guess what? There is an Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art! 125 West Bay Road Amherst, MA 01002 website:

Published in 1969, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has sold more than 29 million copies and has been translated into 47 languages. This book continues to sell about 650,00 copies per year.

references: (1) http://http//www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-03-18-caterpillar_N.htm (2) http://http//www.eric-carle.com/bio.html

Addendum: NICO Design pointed out that fabric is available. Here are some resources: Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric and quilt kits: http://http//www.fourthcornerquilts.com/CollectionProducts.aspx?CollectionID=109 http://http//store.besewhappy.com/servlet/-strse-Andover-Fabrics-cln-The-Very-Hungry-Caterpillar-by-Eric-Carle/Categories Brown Bear fabrics and fat quarters: http://www.fatquartershop.com/store/stores_app/Browse_dept_items.asp?T=1&Store_id=499&page_id=17

And, of couse, fabrics are available at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: http://http//www.picturebookart.org/Shop

check this out!

and Carle's own blog!
Mishkat of http://mishkathryn.blogspot.com/ informed me that there is an article about Carle in the March 23, 2009 Newsweek (pp.52-54).

NEW: I have just found the most wonderful blog, Children's/Fantasy IIlustrations! Hermes has posted a fantastic youtube animated version of the book here! You must see this!

NOTE: Apparently, the links not written in html are broken. And I don't have time to fix them right now. Copy and paste and you will get there. Sorry.