Sugar coated Sunday

In honor of Easter today I stayed home from church to make Peeps. Yes you read it right, homemade Peeps from scratch! I have documented it all here in case any of you want to give it a whirl :)

You will need:

• Pam or some other cooking spray
• confectioners'/powdered sugar
• 2 envelopes gelatin (1/4 oz each; 5 1/2 teaspoons)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• fine sprinkles or colored sugar for coating

1. Coat a 9 1/2-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, (I used a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish) and dust with confectioners' sugar, tapping out excess.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over 2/3 cup cold water in a meduim bowl and let stand for 5 minutes to soften.
3. Meanwhile, heat granulated sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Cook until syrup reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer.
4. Carefully stir sugar syrup into softened gelatin, and keep stirring for a few minutes to cool. Beat with hand mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes. Mix in vanilla. Spread mixture into baking sheet using an offset spatula; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let stand for 1 hour to set.
5. Cut out marshmallows using Easter cookie cutters (wipe cutters clean between each cut), and roll cut sides in sanding sugar to coat. Yums!







hi!

dissolving sugar

ready!

cooled sugar mixture and gelatin

getting thicker!

did I really just make marshmallows?

sugar coated pan and Peep juice

beautiful!

only "sprinkles" I had on hand....

an hour later-no idea I had a bunny cookie cutter!

Doves are Easter-y right..?

Ta-Da!

These came out way softer than store bought Peepers, but I think they are better! Chels, if these weren't super perishable, I would mail you some.

Battle for the Bone

This morning in the back yard Pepper found a big piece of bark (or a tree stump..?) to chew on, like he ususally does. I don't like this because Im always worried he's going to choke or get a chunk of it lodged in his intestines. So I gave him a rawhide replacement hoping he would continue to sit in the sun, content with something better to chew on. Wrong. Pepper takes his bones and rawhides very seriously. After being in the house for a bit, I came back out and James encouraged me to go near where Pepper had just burried his bone. The closer I got to the spot, the closer Pepper got, until he was jumping all around as if to say, "Hey! Get out of here! How did you know where I put that?!" I un-burried it and threw it in the yard, demanding that he chew it up, not hide it. He refused and grabbed it up, and began a frantic search for a new place. He dug beside a big bush, carefully laid his treasure into the hole and covered it gently with his little nose. Then Misto came stalking along the fence, the closer she got to the hidding place, the more nervous he got, jumping back and forth between her and the covered bone. She eventually jumped down right near it and he chased her off with a snap and a bark, "You're all against me!" I imagined him thinking. Our darling dog, unsatisfied that we all knew where his treat was, dug it back up out of the earth and decided to just keep watch over it.



"...like I care about your stupid bone!" -Misto



time to find a new spot!



Misto is so awesome!

defeated :(

Why 'Rita' you ask?

To answer Can's confusion, on my recent trip to visit Chelsea, I took the train and met some wierdies. One wierdie in particular made me a little nervous about putting any of my real info on the internet, I don't want him to find me see...
Short version: I'm all cozy next to a window with all my magazines and journal when this dorky looking, shy boy with glasses politely asks if he can sit by me (the train was almost full...what could I do). I said "oh, of course." Ear phones back in, pen back to writing. After a few minutes he taps on my page and asks "What's that?" Are you fricking kidding me? It's my journal you idiot. I answered with a loud "ha! uh-it's my journal.." He was very appologetic and since I could tell my obvious 'I don't want to chat' cues (headphones, writing, looking the opposite direction, etc..) were of no affect, I caved and let this moron talk my ear off until Hanford. He starts by telling me he's from southern California, he has been doing construction with his uncle for 2 years way up north and is on his way home to see his family for the first time. Goes on and on about how he wants to be a rapper, hes afraid of flying, hence the 12 hour bus/train ride along the state and thinks he might have a kid. About an hour of this and no questions in my direction, mind you, he gets very quiet and tells me how nice I am and that he's been lying to me for the last hour. Says, "I'm going to show you something and if you want me to change seats, I understand.." He pulls an envelope out of his sock and hands me his prison ID with a parole number and his mug shot. WOW! you were in jail!? Oh my gosh I'm so impressed! Oh, you must be in one of those 'gangs' I've heard about! I took if from him and shrugged, with the calmest voice I could muster, to insure I was not surprised or scared or whatever in the hell he thought I was going to be, "Oh, you were in jail?" "Prison, not jail" Like he's something special!! What a baffoon! I gave it back to him and asked why he was there. Serrano Homie goes on with the most anti-climactic stories from here on out. The most interesting part was that he had been shot. Big woop. He robbed some 7-11's. He talked to me like I was born yesterday. Finally my stop came and I couldn't gather my things fast enough, I wasn't scared of him at all, I just was so sick of listening to him!! I was trying to be nice to what I thought was an awkward, lone traveler. I was tricked. Sometimes it's good to be a biotch to strangers, especially men, I usually am, but I was trying to be kind. Wrong answer this time.

I googled his name and found this:
http://www.criminaldefenseduilawyer.com/robbery/three-teens-arrested-in-7-eleven-armed-robberies/

Snails, you've been warned.

This year I decided to to try and plant some veggies and herbs from seeds. The more something is made from scratch, the more satisfying it seems to be for me. So, I thought instead of buying pre-grown/started plants from Lowe's, I ordered some seeds from a great website, SeedSaversExchange.org, which has a huge selection of heirloom and older varieties of fruits and vegetables that people from all over the country contribute to. So my 'Italian Heirloom' tomato seeds could've come from Betty Smith in Washington and my 'Brandywine' variety could've come from Doug Moore's great grandpa's first tomato crop. I have 3 types of tomatoes, a yellow one that I'm excited about, sweet peppers, soy beans, zucchini, fennel, watermelon, thai and sweet basil, and chives-all from seeds! It is such a miracle to me that if I put a tiny seed into some dirt and water it-a plant will grow! And not only a plant, food! Just amazes me. The first time I noticed a little spriglet popping up from the soil, I wanted to wake up the neighborhood with the joyous news. So far they are all doing well, except for the watermelon, an Orangeglo, that is bright orange on the inside! I have had to replant it 4 times! I don't know what Im doing wrong, I'm trying to germinate them in little containers instead of the ground-we'll see.

                    

This morning I was pissed to see that my pepper sprouts, which I also replanted twice, and have tried to care for, had been ravished by snails. I never really cared about snails eating plants until I started growing and caring for my own. I used to cringe when I stepped on them accidentaly and judge people who killed them in their gardens as being cruel. But this morning I found the two offenders who had stolen my precious, little plant leaves and I threw them as high and fast and as hard as I could into a parking lot behind my house. With no remorse. They have also attacked my dahalias that have just started to emerge, another first planting for me. I was glad to see one dead and dried up after eating the snail bait my darling husband sprinkled around.  The peppers have all been replanted, agian, 6 in all-I really hope they will grow!

Score: seedlings: 3 snails: 6

Misto volunteered to keep watch...

a short little start..

Friday at school was "Hawaiian Beach" dress up day. I came out of the bathroom in my lei and flowery dress and passed a first grader who said in the friendliest voice, "Hello, Hallelujian girrrrl." I tried to hide my delight in her mistake, for fear I would embarrass her. I gently corrected her, "Ha, no honey, its 'Ha-wy-an', we say 'hallelujah' in church." As she's turning away back to her class she repeats,"Oh...ha-wy-an.." then throws her hands up in the air and shouts, "hallelujah!!" Made my day.