Archives #8 September

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Candy Making 101
Oddly enough my previous posting originally began as a recounting of our weekend family project. I have no idea how it morphed into its current form but there you are! LOL Following is what I originally intended to post on Monday...
We made peanut butter bon bons this weekend! What a fun time it was! I did most of the measuring and the kids took turns dumping all the ingredients in the bowl. After that the three of us attempted to mix it all up. First Nathan gave it a try. He cut the margarine in and started folding, scooping from underneath, up to the top, squishing it down. His arm wore out real fast. Lindsay gave it a try. Her arm wore out even faster! I decided to give it a try. I may have lasted as long as Nathan did.

Obviously this was not going to work! I decided maybe it was time to try out my new food processor so headed over to get it together. I finished with that, turned around and saw Daniel standing over the bowl with the wooden spoon sporting a rather self satisfied grin. He'd done a wonderful job of mixing it all up!

Great! Now it was a family project! The kids dumped the cereal in and I mixed that up before we all proceeded
to turn it all into a multitude of 1" balls. Once that was finished I melted the chocolate and set the kids up with toothpicks to do the dipping. It only took a couple minutes of watching them attempt to coat the balls and pull them out, only to have them slip off the toothpick and fall apart during attempts to respear them to realize that wasn't going to work out so I took over the dipping, placing the chocolate coated confections on parchment paper. This is when Nathan had a brilliant idea! He thought it might be fun to decorate the candies with sprinkles! So, he and Lindsay took turns giving each freshly dipped candy a liberal dose of colorful sprinkles. They looked great! Just like downtown! They taste really good too! Kinda like krispy "Reese's" peanut butter cups!
The recipe we used was a combined version of 3 different recipe's I found:
Peanut Butter Bon Bons
18 oz. peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter (we used nucoa margarine due to dairy issues)
4 cups powdered sugar
3 cups rice krispies cereal
12 oz. chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. shortening
Blend first three ingredients well then mix in the cereal. Form into 1" balls. Melt the chocolate chips (we used semi sweet) and the shortening on low in the microwave. Stir to smooth. Using toothpicks Dip the balls in the chocolate mixture, coating completely. Allow excess to drip off, and place coated balls on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Immediately sprinkle with colored sprinkles if desired. Once the chocolate had set a bit we carefully stacked them between sheets of wax paper and placed in the refrigerator to finish setting. We're keeping them stored in the fridge due to the margarine content and to keep them out of sight (and somewhat out of mind).
Warning! This is a great family project but, if you're anything like us you can count on a gooey chocolatey mess! Chocolate chocolate everywhere! And somehow I seemed to be the messiest of all...

Monday, September 26, 2005
Summer Is Gone
The weather is starting to change. Autumn is making her presence known. The sun still warms us during the day but it's not quite so intense as a month ago and it's ray's are appreciated now, more than before. The daylight hours are waning. As I step outside in the morning, to breath in the cool crisp air I'm not greeted by the sights and sounds I've become accustomed to since Spring made her debut. The leaves on the apple tree are beginning to transform into beautiful mini palette's of color and, one by one are fluttering to the ground.The bird calls I hear are different than they were a few weeks ago, and not so numerous. The hummingbirds no longer visit, moving on to their winter homes. The bright yellow Western Tanengier no longer sings his song and the Robin , like her cousin's, has moved on to warmer zones. The squirrel's, so vocal just a month ago, aren't chattering as they scurry about so often. They're too busy gathering fodder.
The wildflower's with their brilliant hues have nodded their heads and faded. The clover, sweet smelling, red and white has dried into shades of brown and with it, the deer, magnificent in their strength and beauty have ceased to grace our yard with their presence. Things are quieter now. When I hear rustling in the bushes, I no longer wonder what wild creature it may be. There's an added crispness to the rustling leaves as a cat darts out from under it's cover.
The spiders have been busy spinning their webs. Beautiful to behold and awesome to consider how this seemingly lowly creature could construct such a complicated work of art. I've let them know their artwork is appreciated so long as the keep them out of the house and well removed from the doorways and my most oft used pathways. They don't always heed my warnings but, for the most part we manage to coexist.
The dragonfly's are becoming more prevalent. Their beauty and their skill most appreciated. What amazing creatures they are! I wonder at their longevity, the history they've witnessed, the changes they have ushered in.
Summer is gone. The frost will soon be upon us. Time to bring the garden's bounty in and busy ourselves in the kitchen, the new season's hub of family activity.