Saturday, December 11, 2010

Candy part 2

So today totally lived up to my expectations! I really had a blast with my mom, sisters and for a few minutes my 2 of my brothers were there. I am officially an adult! I got to beat the fudge!

Please ignore that the picture of me isn't so great. But I am doing it, as a matter of fact I beat it a little to well and 3 of us had to drop it really fast!!! We made caramel pretzel bites, almond bark, cranberry almond bark, fudge, caramel, pretzel mint patties, cashew cranberry clusters, english toffee, cashew turtles. There was were a few casualties today however, my finger got popped with some extremely hot fudge and it still hurts. Also my mom in her effort to be helping and guiding us on what to do burned 2 batches of chocolate, first one wasn't to bad but the second one there was smoke pouring out of the microwave and the bowl had to be thrown away. We laughed and joked, we talked, What a wonderful day!!!!
My sister Melissa working on the toffee

my Mom tempering the chocolate for the caramel pretzel bites


My darling nephew Renn chilling in his chair while we cooked.

Our taste testers

Lick it Jana I dare you!!!

Almond Bark


Caramel, it took foorrrreeeevvvveeeeerrrrr to cook! Plus I almost ruined it :0/, but it turned out ok in the end :)

I know you are all now jealous of the delish treats that we made today and maybe if you are nice to me I just might share some :)

CANDY!!!!

So this time of year brings memories some good, some bad. It is a time of year when we reflect on the things that have happened in the last year and farther back. I am so very blessed to have a wonderful Mother and Father and 5 siblings. I am eternally grateful that I come from a large forever family. I digress, let me get to what this post is really all about. I had a grandmother who was so special in so many ways (I know you are thinking that everyone has such a grandmother). While I was blessed to know 3 of my grandmothers in this life all wonderful amazing ladies, today I would like to tell you about my Grandma Punkin.

When she was born she was extremely ill. The doctors told my Great Grandmother that she would not live. For the first year of her life her mother and sisters would carry her around on a pillow that she laid on all the time (if I have the story correctly). Little did they know that not only would she live but would go on to be one of the kindest most genrous women to ever walk this earth.

She grew up and got married, and had 4 kids. She raised them and taught them the gospel of Jesus Christ and instilled the values that her children needed to be good people. She had one daughter and that is my Mom. She also taught her daughter to know her way around the kitchen. My mom in turn had 3 daughters. She also taught her daughters to know their way around the kitchen, and oh how grateful I am that she did! Lance is pretty grateful too!

My grandmother was an expert candy maker. Especially fudge. This isn't no fantasy fudge with marshmallow cream, this is 2 days to make fudge. I remember being at Grandmas house and her boxing up fudge to give to neighbors and friends. She even had her own labels printed that identified who made the fudge. I also remember as a child sitting on the living room floor watching my mom beat the fudge. No it wasn't naughty, and I am not sure why we beat the fudge. I remember watching the fudge ripple like candy as it cascaded down from the paddle and back into the pot. I always wanted to stick my tongue in and let it drizzle into my mouth. Maybe someday I will let my girls do that :).

So why this memory? Well my grandmother died about 9 years ago, and oh how I miss her!!! But today we get to celebrate her and the legacy she left us, not only do I get to spend the day with my Mom and sisters (that includes you Jana), but we are going to be making the candies that she made and do things that remind me of her. I hope that this holiday season that you get to share in the Joy and love that Christmas time brings. Might be fudge and it might be something else.

I hope to have some pics of my day to post later.

Merry Christmas