I love chocolate covered raisins, but because of Tobin’s peanut allergy, we rarely have them around the house. I have never managed to find any chocolate covered raisins that aren’t cross-contaminated with peanuts. Since Tobin has never eaten chocolate covered raisins, but he loves raisins, I thought I would try making my own for him to try. Because the recipe I found on the internet looked fairly simple, I figured it would be something neat to do with the kids.

Since Steve was still doing his school work this afternoon when we started making the treat, it ended up just being Tobin and me making the candy at first. I decided to use the microwave instead of a double boiler to melt the chocolate with since my five year old loves using the microwave. He adores pressing the numbers on the keypad and watching the food go round and round on the turntable. He even drags a stool over so he can look at it up close. (Maybe if I turned the cable television back on, he wouldn’t be so desperate for entertainment!)

Anxiously waiting to press more buttons on the microwave.

For this batch of melted chocolate, I chose a combination of semisweet chocolate chips and mini Hershey Kisses, both peanut free. We microwaved the chocolate in a bowl in 20-30 second increments so that it wouldn’t burn and stopped to stir occasionally. Tobin was in heaven because he had the chance to press lots of buttons on the microwave by the time we were done.

After melting the chocolate, we brought the bowl over to the counter so we could stir in the raisins. We dumped in quite a few regular raisins and some golden raisins we happened to have sitting around the house. Tobin enjoyed mixing up the raisins and making sure they were all covered in chocolate. Once they were all mixed up, we scooped up the mixture by the teaspoon and plopped it onto some waxed paper spread out on a cookie sheet. Tobin scooped out the first few but decided he was finished and turned the spoon over to me to finish. When we were finished spooning the batter onto the waxed paper, we moved the tray to the fridge so the candy could harden. I would say it took about 20 minutes for the chocolate covered raisin clusters to get completely hard.

Mix it up!

Ready to harden in the fridge.

Our first batch was very small since I wasn’t sure how well the chocolate I had chosen would melt. We only made about 10 clusters of raisins total. I let Tobin try the first one, but after tasting it, he decided he didn’t like it! (I say, more for the rest of us.) He ended up spitting it out into the trashcan. That kid…sigh. He did however want to continue eating the chocolate chips themselves, so I poured out a few into a little bowl for him to eat. I guess he still needed his chocolate fix, and he did eat some plain raisins that we didn’t put into the candy mix. I guess that’s close enough to a chocolate covered raisin for him.

Yummy chocolate

The batch of ten pieces did not last long for the rest of us, and Tobin’s big brother missed out on the original fun, so Steve decided he would make a second batch on his own. (We also wanted to set aside a few for Ken’s sister’s birthday today.) I talked him through the process a bit, but he pretty much managed it on his own. In fact, his batch came out better (and bigger) than the first because he was more patient than Tobin and I were about making sure the two types of chocolate were properly melted and mixed.

Make a big batch, Steve.

We had so much fun, we sent Ken out this evening for more supplies. Steve, Tobin, and I are going to try chocolate covered dried cherries next. I’m sure Tobin won’t eat those either. I’m sure Tobin will have oodles of fun working the microwave at least.

I have run across several things word-related lately…too many to count.  I always say to myself, “Oh my gosh…got to blog about that”, but then I get distracted by chocolate covered raisins and/or malted milk balls, and the idea is gone…poof!

Yes, I have food issues…what else is new?  I also have a cool new lamp from my new favorite store, IKEA.  IKEA, where have you been all my life?

See the malted milk balls and chocolate covered raisins got me off track…anyhoo, back to the real subject of this post…words!

Something wild has happened in this technological age. We are becoming more and more reliant on the printed word…or dare I a coin a new phrase and say “e-printed” word?  Our love affair with the printed word is flourishing in the 21st century…e-mail, texting, Twitter, Facebook, blogging, and the internet in general are so driven by printed words.  Unfortunately, it has revealed the fact that maybe the public/private school systems have delved too much into social studies and have not spent nearly enough time on the basics like English.   Now, I’m far from perfect when it comes to spelling and grammar, but at least I have a basic grasp of spelling and sentence structure.  I tend to laugh off most gaffes, but my husband got a reply e-mail from our cable provider the other day that butchered English composition to pieces.  I nearly spit Lipton Mango-Mandarin iced tea all over my screen when I read it.   Here is what it said:

Dear Mr. Sprouse,

Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable Email Support.

I understand that you would like to know about is that you will not receive an e-bill ftrom your
bank any more.

I apologize for the inconvenience and would be glad to assist you.

The letter which you receive states that you were receiving the bill from your bank which will stop
from June, 30th 2009 and to receive a bill you will have to register to PayXpress.

However, you can continue to pay the bill through your bank and the only thing is that you will not
be receiving an ebill from your bank.

That is the formal letter from Time Warner which is not a fraud as it is a notice regarding that.

We value you as a customer, and please feel free to E-mail us again or contact our Live Chat at the
following link: (removed protection of the innocent—Vicki)

Customer Support is available 24×7.

Sincerely,
Louis

Wow, the only thing about that letter that gave me any comfort was the statement that customer support is available 24 x 7.  I can only hope they speak better than they write *bursts out in laughter*.

Hey, if you can’t teach ‘em to write then point out their mistakes in your blog…that’s what I always say.

In an attempt to expand and improve my undergrad senior writing project into a published novel, I’ve decided to blog regularly again. Most of my inspiration of my work so far has come from old journals (since it is a creative non-fiction project). If I keep myself writing on a regular basis, I’m hoping to inspire myself to work on my project as well. It’s one of those things that I always say I’m going to do and I haven’t yet… so why not start now? It’ll be difficult with my busy schedule (I barely find time to update my online photo journal) but it’s a fun challenge for myself!

____________________________________

I decided to take off my nail polish after work today (keep in mind that I almost never wear nail polish, much less remove it) and ended up spilling half of the bottle of nail polish remover all over the kitchen counter top. The lid to the bottle fell on the floor and I banged the top of my head in the open mirror cabinet as I stood up. It didn’t really hurt (although it is throbbing as I type this) but the shock of it caused an outpour of tears down my face. All the minor things stressing me just burst in that moment and I couldn’t stop crying. I haven’t cried that much in the past year; however, every time I do, it seems like it’s from a build-up of stress. I can feel my happy-go-lucky nature melting away… that’s not good. I must find a way to change that soon…. back to the free-spirited Laura I was towards the end of last summer.

This morning, I was in a hurry and didn’t eat or drink anything for breakfast. I figured this would be okay since it was the end of the work week (no work tomorrow due to a holiday) and usually a committee purchases donuts, bagels, and fruits for the employees. Of course, of all days, there happens to be no food waiting in the teacher’s lounge. Le sigh. But not all hope is lost! I wandered back to my classroom and ran into another teacher who told me there was a surprise in my mailbox. I look. Bags of jelly beans! Not really an ideal breakfast, but hey, I’m starving and need something to eat. I munch on a few (ziplock) bags for breakfast, along with string cheese that Kyle placed in my lunch this morning (thank you!). I also ended up assembling plastic easter eggs for the kids and munched on more jelly beans, gummie bears, and chocolate-covered raisins. For lunch, I ate ramen noodle soup because I’m low on funds and can’t afford decent lunchmeat for the week. I don’t know what I’m going to eat for dinner tonight, if anything at all. Man… this diet better fade away soon. And fast. Oh, and when I arrive home there is a package on my kitchen table from my parents. It’s filled with Easter goodies — awesome but totally not good for me. Oh well, yay jelly beans and chocolate candies!

[Edit at 10:00p.m.] Today’s foods: handfuls of jelly beans, one string cheese, can of dr. pepper, ramen noodles, slices of colby jack cheese, slices of sausage, half a bag of white popcorn, can of fanta orange soda, and a small raspberry/vanilla ice cream bar. Yeah.. that’s not good.

Read through all these instructions before beginning because you will want your supplies out and ready because you need to work fairly quickly once the chocolate is ready.

To melt chocolate for making candy you need a double boiler.  Do not go out and buy one special for this.  A double boiler is simply 2 pans, on slightly smaller than the other.  The large one is placed on the burner with water in the bottom- enough water to more than cover the bottom of the pan but not so much that it will touch the smaller pan as it rests on top.  Place the smaller pan on the larger one, making sure that it does not rest on the water.  Bring the water to a boil and turn it down to maintain a simmer.  Okay, now you are ready to melt some chocolate!!!

You can use chocolate chips (any variety) or candy quick (a special chocolate made specifically for homemade chocolate making found in the grocery store near the chocolate chips, nuts, and other bakgin supplies. 

Place your chocolate in the small pan or top of your double boiler.  I would start with a small batch first.  A 12 oz bag of chips or about 6 squares of candy quick.  It needs to melt and be stirred occasionally while it is melting. 

In the meantime lay some waxed paper out on the counter or table or cover a cookie sheet with it.  Lay two teaspoons or a small cookie scoop on the waxed paper so it is ready when you need it.

Once the chocolate is nearly or completely melted you can stir in any of the following or any combination that sounds good to you.

1. crushed peppermint candy – this will make peppermint bark-you will spread this entire mixture out flat on the waxed paper and once it cools, break it into pieces like peanut brittle.
2. slivered almonds- this will make almond bark- same as above
3. peanuts
4. raisins
5. coconut
6. marshmallows (don’t over stir- you want pieces and not melted marshmallow- if it does melt completely don’t worry it will still taste great!)
7. walnuts
8. pecans
9. dried cherries, chopped
10. chopped almonds

For choices 3-10, after you stir them in, you drop by the rounded teaspoon or cookie scoop onto the waxed paper, leaving room for a little spread in between.  You can leave them set right there to harden for at least an hour.  Depending on how big they are will determine how long to leave them sit- you’ll just have to taste test them until they are set (I know, it will be really difficult to taste partially melted chocolate. . . . lol)

Store in air tight container- I prefer the fridge or freezer until the day I serve them or give them but it’s not absolutely necessary.

There you have it!  Simple homemade chocolates with no dipping, rolling, shaping, or hideous screams of torment from trying to make them!!!  YeeHaa!!!!

Merry Christmas!

One of my earliest and fondest food related memories comes from my early childhood, when my Grandma used to babysit me. I would have been about three years old.

 Every morning we’d walk to the post office and get the mail. We would also pick up the mail for one of her elderly neighbours, “Ms. F-.” 

Ms. F- was always very good about paying her postman. I’d hand her the mail, and she would disappear into her back kitchen, only to return with an old cookie tin. The tin was always lined with wax paper, and always contained homemade chocolate covered raisin clusters. I’ll never forget the smell when she removed the lid, or the taste of those clusters.

To this day, I like chocolate covered raisins, but the individually coated ones you get in stores now are a pale comparison to the ones I ate in Ms. F-’s sun porch as a 3yr old mailman.

The closest I’ve ever come to tasting those wonderful little clusters again came unexpectedly about a week ago. I had a Toblerone fruit and nut bar that almost had the ratio of chocolate-to-raisin mouth feel dead on. But alas, it didn’t include the old cookie tin that smelled like heaven. Maybe one day I’ll have the good fortune of coming across that Pandora’s box at a yard sale.

I’m sure everyone has similar memories of a favorite food from when they were little and the world was big. So, what’s your favorite food memory?

If a picture is worth a thousand words than I sure can talk! Just look at these wonderful pictures of deep dark chocolate, deliciously roasted nuts, fantastic dried fruit, cookies to die for, gourmet popcorn and chocolate covered whatevers!Were talking some really serious snacking here folks. Do you know how hard it is to make a website designed around snack foods?Just so you can navigate okay I’ve included all 6 links about snacking for you, so you can just pop in and get started to find that special snack you have been wanting, all in one place for you.

The Snack Shack at

http://www.boomersneed.com/snacks-chocolate-covered-cookies-dehydrated-fruits-nuts-popcorn.html

Dried Fruit at

http://www.boomersneed.com/snacks-dried-fruit-papaya-bananas-apricots-dehydrated-fruit.html

Cookies at

http://www.boomersneed.com/snacks-cookies-chocolate-cookie.html

Nuts at

http://www.boomersneed.com/snacks-nuts-pecans-walnuts-cashews-pistachios.html

Gourmet Popcorn at

http://www.boomersneed.com/snacks-chocolate-covered-popcorn-cheese-popcorn.html

Chocolate Covered at

http://www.boomersneed.com/snacks-chocolate-covered.html

Stop in often, I think we will definitely be adding some more goodies to the Snack Shack soon.

Chocolate Covered RaisinsDried CantaloupAlmond Crunch

Remember those things you used to write on notes to your friends, before you folded the note very intricately so it couldn’t possibly come undone?  For instance, my favorite was Boys Before Books but sometimes I’d write Sorry So Sloppy too if  my handwriting was particularly messy that day.

My point with this is that I was trying to think of one of these for my title because I am late today, but what you see is all I could come up with.  I guess when you’re folding notes and making up acronyms about boys, punctuality isn’t really an issue.

I had a lot to do this morning but figured I should take a break for lunch when my stomach growled so loudly that Jack barked at it.  I’m serious.  So I made the other serving of those Gardenburger riblets and some broccoli:

Also, this morning I had the standard cup of coffee:

And last night after I posted I had a handful of Chris’s chocolate covered raisins.  More raisins, I know.  It’s insane.

     Okay, so I was talking myself into walking on the treadmill last night because I ate a cup of chocolate covered raisins and FitDay told me that equaled 741 calories – EGADS!!! I figured, great I’ll just walk it off no problem! I did 30 minutes at 3.0 mph for 1.5 miles. I figured just the effort to get on the treadmill would burn about 6000 calories, so I did my time, and went straight to the computer to log in my activity. FD told me that I had burned…82 calories. WHAT???? 82 measly calories is all I got from my work out? Are you kidding me here???? Then I reminded myself that I am not working out to lose weight, so the amount of calories I burned is irrelevant. So I had to ask myself, what did I get out of that workout? Well, I got to listen to some great music, I got out of my “I don’t wanna move” rut, and at bedtime I wasn’t sleepwalking towards my bed which allowed the hub and I to have an interesting conversation. I built up some muscle and had some “me” time. So actually I got a lot out of my piddley 82- calorie- burning- work out. Had I been focusing solely on the calorie burnage, I would have been bummed and probably would have just chucked the whole exercise thing out the window, but now I realize I have lots of reasons to continue. So tonight I will begin week 4 of c25k and hope I don’t stroke out trying to run for 5 whole minutes!! If you don’t hear from me tomorrow – you’ll know why.
     I walked into the bedroom last night to get ready for bed and the hub was watching Oprah (that in itself was weird), but Oprah was talking to 4 people who ranged from moderately overweight to severely obese. I didn’t see the whole show, but we got to talking about how healthy these people were and my husband made the comment that it would be really hard to go through life being that heavy and having all those health problems. I replied “yeah, but you don’t have to be a size 4 to be healthy and acceptable.” His reply to that was, “I know. I just wish you would realize it.” What did he mean by that do you think? This comment has been rolling around in my head since then. Could it be that I don’t have to be perfect to be loveable? Could it be that I am just as acceptable to him at a size 16 as I would be at a size 4? I have felt so guilty because I have been this size since I had my son a year after we got married. The hub had a thin wife for about 8 months before I really started packing on the pounds. That’s the last time I was in single digit clothing. So as far as he is concerned I have always been overweight. I guess I have never really accepted myself as fat, so I didn’t think he did either. I wish I could give him the thin girl he married, but it seems the harder I try, the fatter she gets. The more I think about this the more uncomfortable I get, so I’m going to fall head first into my avoidance issue and maybe think about this some more later. I don’t like feeling uncomfortable.