Getting it Out of My System, Pre 2008!

Wow, here it is, New Year's Eve already! Where the bejeesus did the year go? It seems like just yesterday I was filling you all in on the Williams Family New Years, 2006. This year is shaping up to be even quieter on the homefront, if that's possible.

I have many resolutions for the new year. I actually do pretty well with New Year resolutions; two years ago, we resolved to give up the meat. Last year, I resolved to blog for one entire year. (And we all know how THAT turned out! Still going strong, 290 posts later....!) This year, we as a family have some pretty ambitious resolutions revolving around our diet, but I'm going to save the details of that for later this week.

One thing I CAN tell you is that I feel like I need to give up, for the most part, the kind of baking I've been doing this past year. One look back over this last year of posts is enough to make it pretty clear that I LOVELOVELOVE to bake. In fact, I would bake for a living if I could. What is perhaps not so clear upon reading those posts is how little of that baking gets eaten by us. (Or at least, three of us....)

I toted a staggering load of baked goods to work last year, which did have the side effect of making me fairly popular some days, but which I've felt a little guilty about too. I mean, for the most part, this wasn't whole grain, fat free health food I was serving up; it was frou-frouey concoctions of white flour, white sugar, and fat. The last thing folks at my job needed is more crap like that. We all work in a pretty sedentary workplace, and I certainly wasn't helping out in the fitness and health department.

Not only that, the only person in the house with a real sweet tooth is my daughter. She craves sweets far, far more that the rest of us, and as a result, has eaten way more than her fair share of everything I've made. (I estimate that I personally, over the past year, have eaten approiximately one-thirtieth of all my own baking. I like to make it, but have no interest in eating it.

So one of my resulotions in the new year is to quit this sort of mindless baking, and perhaps only fill the cookie jar once a week, but with far more wholesome offerings. I know, that won't be nearly as interesting to read about, but what's a gal to do?

So this weekend, I resolved to have meself a little baking marathon, and work it all out of my system in preparation for the new year. I started out with chocolate cake donuts, just because.

I veganized this recipe here.....

When the donuts came out of the fryer, I was concerned about them because they seemed to have soaked up an awful lot of grease. In fact, immediately post-fryer they were absolutely soggy with it......

..but they dried out/firmed up nicely. A little chocolate glaze later, and they were good to go!

Then, I had an idea that had been bouncing around in my head for a while- taking my tofu pound cake recipe, and adding mandarin oranges to it. I used orange flavouring instead of vanilla, added chopped up orange segments (canned) and glazed the top with orange juice and sugar.

It was good, but really no better than the general poundcake. It needed way more oranges.

And finally, Chocolate Babke. I just woke up in the morning yesterday and felt the need to make babke, even though I had no idea what it was. It turned out OK, using this recipe, veganized, natch, but I really should have stuck to the instructions. They stated to put the babke in a loaf pan, and I felt it would be better off free-form on a baking stone. It really sorta turned out like a chocolate babke pancake.

There, now that I've got that out of my system I can focus on making more healthy things today, like a salad. I have today, New Year's Eve off, but I work on New Year's Day, so I think I'll be making the whole big dinner thing tonight. I haven't decided yet what we're having, but I CAN promise you that there won't be any sugary goodies involved.

I must go get busy. I leave you with a shot of one very, very unhappy cat, getting his worm pill from Bob yesterday morning. If looks could kill.......

Peace, and a Happy and Safe New Year to you all!!

Fish-Free Fish Cakes

When it comes to being a vegetarian, fish are a problem. Not only do a lot of folks think vegetarians eat fish (they aren't vegetables, people!) but when it comes to the issue of animal rights, rights for fish are a hard sell in the meat-eating world.

For me, the decision to avoid eating fish is largely based on three things: The issue of the pain that the fish feels being caught and let die out of water, the fact that our oceans are being overfished and dredged to pieces, and the fact that fish can be loaded with toxins like mercury, due to our pollution of our waterways. For these reasons, it is easy for me to avoid eating fish, even though I used to like nothing better than a nice greasy plate of fish and chips. If overfishing of our oceans continues at the pace it is going today, it won't be long before lots and lots of folks will be giving up fish along with me, because there won't be any left to have!

All that being said, there is one fish dish that my husband does crave- fish cakes, just like his Mom used to make. I've tried to duplicate them in vegan form for quite a while, but I think that yesterday I finally hit the jackpot!

First, I took half a package of extra-firm tofu and grated it up, and put it in a small pot.

Then, I added about 3/4 cup of water, just enough to cover the tofu. I then added a tablespoon of vegetable boullion, a hearty pinch of celery seed, a small squirt of soya sauce, a quarter teaspoon of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, (but I don't think that made much difference) and two teaspoons of powdered dulse. I had bought some dried whole dulse and pulsed it up in my little coffee grinder.

I then gently simmered the tofu, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water had evaporated. No biggie, it only took about ten minutes. I have to say, it sure did smell fishy. I was wrinkling up my nose the same way I used to when I cooked real fish.....

After that, I added my "fish" to a bowl of mashed potatoes and chopped onion. It was about 1 small onion, chopped, and maybe three cups of mashed potato. The ratio of tofu/potato/onion is really a matter of personal preference. Bob was hovering over me at this point making sure the ratios matched his personal (picky) preferences.

I then added salt, pepper, and just a touch of garlic powder, and a heaping tablespoon of Nayonaise, just enough to make the mixture moist. Without a little bit of wet, the cakes won't hold together nicely. I also sprinkled in another half teaspoon of the powdered dulse.

Then I shaped the mixture into round cakes, and fried in olive oil until crispy and brown on both sides. Bob ate them with green tomato chow, which I don't care for but which he insists is a necessary part of the fish cake experience.

Bob said that although nothing will ever exactly replicate a fish cake except real fish, these beauties came damn close. I would have to say that based on the rapid rate that they dissapeared, he wasn't lying to me....:0)

So that was Saturday. What's been going on in YOUR life?

Tube Steak Abuse, with Mushroom Soup on the Side...

So, I've been having a serious attack of angst this week that I couldn't seem to snap out of, all stemming from an argument I had with a certain member of the male sex last week. (And no, it wasn't my dear Boobsie...but it WAS a person I generally adore but who really, really upset me with something he said. )

***

I went to work every day this week with an expression on my face that said, "Don't fuck with me if you know what's good for you." I pity the fool that tried to take issue with ANYTHING I might have said or did this week, because I would have snapped their head off.

***

Hubby Bob kept telling me that I needed to just snap out of it and get over it, but that's just like a man, isn't it? Maybe it's just me, but I can't just get up in the morning and simply decide that I'm not mad about something any more. It just doesn't work that way.

***

Anyway,I decided that maybe all I really needed was to engage in a little destructive behaviour. So last night, on a whim, I decided to take some veggie weenies out of the fridge and shred them into a quivery pink pile.

***

And guess what? I felt better. I think my husband was cringing a little though as he watched these tube steak shenanigans.

So now what? What does a gal do with a rubbery pile of weenie shreds? And then it came to me: I'll make them into biscuits, dammit! And that's just what I did.

***

I used my usual biscuit recipe, added the "evidence" along with some grated cheddar-style veggie shreds and some hot pepper flakes. Then, just to be perverse, I used a cookie cutter to make them into heart shapes.....:0)

Never before has therapy been so easy, so convenient, or so nummy nummy.

So, what does one eat with a side of "therapy biscuits"?

Uh, well, mushroom soup? For no reason whatsoever?

This soup is soooo easy, really rich tasting, and super fast.

***

Mushroom Soup

Grab a medium soup pot, throw it on the stove and add:

1 ½ Tbsp Vegan margarine (not oil, gotta be margarine here….)
1 small onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, chopped fine
¾ tsp lemon or lime juice
8 oz chopped white or cremini mushrooms

~Sauté~

Then Add:

1 tsp Soya sauce
1 cube of mushroom bouillon
1/3 tsp black pepper
5 cups water

Allow to simmer for about 40 minutes, or until reduced to the point that by adding ½ cup non-dairy milk (like plain Rice Dream) the soup is just about the consistency you would like.

Immediately after adding the cold milk, use an immersion blender to break the mushroom pieces up slightly. (Or as much as your little heart desires…)

If he soup still seems to need to be thicker, use a bit of cornstarch mixed with cold water. Stir the cornstarch-water mixture into the hot soup until sufficiently creamy. Eat and sigh….

So, after chowing down on a biscuit and a hot bowl of soup, I think I'm ready to get out of my funk and face the world again. And to all you fine men out there, who might happen to be reading this with one hand on their genitals, (my hubby among them) don't worry: I think your boys are safe ....;0)

A Soft and Blurry Christmas

Well, the big day has come and gone, and I'm feeling a little depressed, quite frankly. So much work, preparation, and let's face it, stress, goes into all the preparations for the big day, for it to be over so soon is quite a letdown.

I call our celebration this year "A Soft and Blurry Christmas", and it's not just because my current $99 camera doesn't do well in the soft and homey glow of the Christmas lights. It just seemed like everything about the day was quiet, uneventful, and well, just average.

Without further ado, I give you the Williams Family Christmas.....

***

-Christmas begins with a giant argument the weekend before with the in-laws, who seem to think my son is dying because he isn't overweight and likes to read the labels on the back of food products. Fight ends with tears and hurt feelings all around. Now that I know that my father in law feels Bob and I are beyond negligent because we don't serve the kids meat, well....it cast a black pall over the holiday that I'm still reeling from.

***

Christmas eve was nice though. A friend of mine made me a gorgeous Christmas centerpiece and even delivered it to us! She is SO talented....

We piled up the presents under the tree.....

The kids opened their Christmas Eve gifts, which is always pajamas.

Then we all kicked back and watched Christmas specials on TV.......here's the kids snuggled up together on the sofa. The get along like peas and carrots during the holidays.

-Christmas morning I wake the kids up at 6:30 cuz I'm too excited to wait any longer.

Unfortunately, Santa was a bit of a tool and brought Courtney a GameCube game she already had, so Santa will have to correct that ASAP. Dan makes the comment that Santa seemed to have more money last year.

***

Dan got a cool "Candy Crane", that unfortunately makes a hell of a lot of noise.

***

Most of the gifts this year were more practical than in other years. I didn't want to spend money on trash that would be broken or useless within a week. The kids got a couple of computer games, plus lots of clothing, books, and DVDs. Overall though, Santa did try to spend less money than last year....

***

Bob bought me a new blender. (As some of you may remember, I crucified my blender a few weeks ago by attepmpting to blend a fork, and it screwed up the motor. The blender I now have will actually make a smoothie out of a fork if I make that mistake again. Just look at the size of it, compared to my old one!! This bitch has 20,000 RPMs! (I just know Bob was doing the Tim Allen grunt as he left the store with this baby.)

***

Christmas dinner was really yummy, if not creative. My Mom gave me some wonderful Blueberry wine from Newfoundland, along with two of the most gorgeous wine glasses I've ever seen. We cracked that open and had it with dinner. (I know you're supposed to have white wine with turkey, but with SEITAN turkey, anything goes...! :0)

(In our family, you don't mess with Christmas dinner- just stick with the basics, thank you!) Homemade seitan turkey, Bob's mushroom and potato stuffing, carrots and turnip, mashed potatoes, and buckets of gravy....

The seitan was not the prettiest that I've ever made, but it was the most yummy.....

We didn't have any dessert with dinner, because, well....no one ever eats it, so why bother?

The rest of the day was very quiet....Bob took a nap on the sofa, the kids played with their new games......

....and I watched some of my new "Golden Girls" DVDs. So that's all, folks, a very simple holiday spent at home, but that's how we like it. And how did you spend YOUR day? I'll be stopping by your blogs really soon to check out all the action. Peace!

Waiting for Santa....Ho Ho Ho!

Hey friends! Here it is, Christmas Eve. The halls are decked, the tree is lit, the cat is taking a nap on the most comfortable package under the tree..... (It's a blanket, y'all.....)

As I sit here in the glow from the tree, Bob's trying to teach the kids how to play "Tuck", a traditional game in his extended clan.

The seitan turkey is made and in the fridge, and I'm just about to conjure up something simple for supper tonight. Traditionally, we have chinese food on Christmas Eve, but this year I'm breaking tradition because I'm just a little tired and a little sick of rich food. So we're having spaghetti instead. What the hell, aren't traditions made to be broken?

I just wanted to give a holler to any folks that might meander past their computer tonight. So wherever you are, whatever your traditions, I hope that the next few days are peaceful, happy, and soul-renewing. Hugs and love to all of you who have stopped by this blog in the past year to say hello. I know that I've said it, many times, many ways, but I'll say it again.....

Peace.

A Plethora of Christmas Memories.......

I think it's only natural to spend a little time around the holidays reflecting on memorable Christmases' from long ago. I happen to have a few that feature prominently in my memories at this time of year, so I thought I'd take a minute to share them with you.

1. The Bra Box Christmas: When I was around ten years old, I opened up a gift from my dear grandfather that happened to be in a brassiere box. (Now, I did not find that strange, considering that my grandfather personally did not shop, he instead sent his girlfriend to do it for him. ) I remember being sooooo excited..I was getting a bra for Christmas! I would be the first girl in my class to have a training bra covering her little boobie-buds!

Alas, there was no bra. Instead, there was a Bible inside. I guess my grandfather's girlfriend felt my spriritual life needed more work than my cleavage. I was, as you can imagine, crushed, and I found it rather difficult to be suitably grateful.

2. The Underwear Christmas: My Mom has, shall we say, a crazy sense of humour sometimes, a trait that I happen to have inherited. But nothing tops the Christmas, in terms of strangeness, at least, as the year she put undies on the Christmas tree.

My mother was never much of a drinker all year long, but she did have a tradition of cracking open a bottle of red wine while she stuffed the Christmas turkey. I suspect it must have been that wine that had something to do with it, because me and my little brother got up Christmas morning to discover that the tree was covered with brand new underpants for him and I.

I'm not sure to this day why she did it, but it's one of my favourite Christmas memories to this day. So much so, in fact, that a couple of years ago I did the same thing....(ah well, if you're gonna give the kids new drawers for Christmas, ya might as well make it memorable!)

3. The Fur Coat Christmas: This is another Mother memory. In my teens, my Mom was an investigator for the SPCA. She spent a lot of time answering calls about animals in distress. (I remember one day she rescued a cow chained to the bumper of a car.) Needless to say, she didn't think much of people who wore fur.

One particular night, very close to Christmas, her and I were in a hoity-toity menswear store together picking up some gifts, when Mom spies a rack of fur hats in the corner. She proceeded to find the manager and give him what-for about the inappropriateness of fur hats. I was dismayed, not only because I was a typical teen and thought parents should be seen and not heard, but also because I happened to know that my step-father had bought Mother a full length fur coat for Christmas, (against my advice, of course.) I was worried as hell that Christmas day would become WWF and that this fucking fur coat (pardon my french) would ruin the holidays.

However, Mom managed to hold it together and appear suitably grateful. I know she wouldn't have wanted Christmas day to be ruined for us kids by all the drama. She might have worn that coat twice, (generally to places where she wouldn't be seen) and then she got rid of the coat, (and the husband) in quick sucession.

4. The New Baby Christmas: Ok, this memory doesn't technically take place at Christmas; it happened on December the third, but I consider it a Christmas related memory.

I had just given birth to my daughter the night before. I was only twenty-three, a first time nervous Mom, not to mention brimming with those volatile post-birth hormones. On the afternoon of that day, I was desperate for a shower. I took the baby down to the nursery, where the nurses graciously agreed to watch her while I cleaned up. Everything in the Maternity ward was very festive...all the babies had red and green blankets in their cribs, and the place was absolutely lousy with decorations.

When I came out of the shower, I went looking for my daughter but the Nursery was empty. I went to the nurse's station, but no one was there. Starting to feel a little panicked, I started wandering around, peeking in every doorway, and finally followed the sound of voices to the staff lunchroom, in which a big Christmas cocktail party for hospital staff was taking place. That's where my daughter was, being passed around from guest to guest while they whooped it up. I was, needless to say, not impressed. I can't remember what I said when I found her, but I don't think it was brimming with goodwill toward men.

5. The Christmas I Discovered Bob's Special Holiday Skill: And no, you perverts, it isn't sexual. Bob and I were spendng our very first Christmas together as a couple in our own place. We were renting a teeny tiny apartment (with walls as thin as tissue paper, but that's another story, heh heh.) We didn't have much money, but I had found what I thought would be the perfect gift- an authentic Indiana Jones hat, which I had sneakily ordered by mail from the USA. (We've always been huge fans of the whole Indiana Jones series. Still are, actually...)

Anyway, this gift was going to be the crowning glory of the holiday. Bob didn't ask for it, had never seen anything like it locally, and dammit, to the best of my knowledge had no reason to belive that I would even think of it such a thing. I gleefully wrapped it up and put it under the tree.

A few days before Christmas, I started picking at Bob to guess what was in the box. (I was so excited, you see, that I wanted to torture him a little. ) "C'mon Bob, bet you can't guess what's in the box. Nope, you'll never guess. You're soooo going to love it. C'mon, try and guess." At first Bob resisted, but eventually I think I was starting to get on his nerves.

So finally, he goes over to the tree, picks up the box, gives it a small shake, and says, "It's an authentic Indiana Jones hat, right?"

At that moment, I think I hated him. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole, for guessing this damn gift and ruining my surprise. Oh, I knew I deserved it for all the picking I was doing, but still, I thought he was a real bastard at the time.

I quickly learned my lesson when it comes to Bob: He can pretty much guess any present just by looking at it and shaking it a little, even when you do things like using a much larger box or filling the box full of marbles. So now, his gifts go under the tree late on Christmas Eve and not a second sooner, and I threaten him to stay away, OR ELSE!!

On a serious note now, this will be the sixteenth Christmas that he and I have spent together, and I have to say, I'm every bit as excited to be spending it with him now as I was that first year. Merry Christmas, Baby. You are my rock.

I'm going off the grid for a few days, folks. I hope to be able to check back in on Christmas Eve, ever so briefly. Take it easy everyone, and Peace.

Open a Can of Beans, and Voila! You have Supper

Yesterday when I got up, it was a demoralizing twenty-one degrees celcius below zero. (That's about minus six farenheit, in case youse folks in the US of A were wondering.) In case you were also wondering whether or not that's typical weather for December in Nova Scotia, it sure as hell IS NOT. Oh sure, long about February it gets that cold for a week or two, but me having to break out my thermal underwear in December is really unusual.

***

So it's no wonder that after a long cold day, all I could think about for supper was soup. Man, I love soup. And I'm good at it too, which really helps since making my family eat shitty soup three times a week would be really cruel on my part.

***

Also, I wanted an excuse to try out my new toy...you could say, an early Christmas gift to myself- A Pampered Chef julienne peeler.

***

The first soup I made used cannelini beans, onions and garlic, red bell pepper, peas, spinach, and julienned carrot and sweet potato. I used veggie boullion and lots of Italian-type spices. I also threw in some rye pasta.

***

I think that it turned this incredibly unappetizing colour due to the squirt of soya sauce I felt the need to add at the end. Despite bearing a close resemblance to throw-up, this soup was really yummy and was chock full of enough veggies to keep me feeling virtuous for hours.

I also used the other half-can of beans to make a slightly more child-friendly soup....

***

All that is in this soup is onions, garlic, beans, corn, cubed potatoes and tomato juice, all jazzed up with a favourite spice combination of mine- paprika, cajun seasoning, and caraway seed. (By the way, if you've never tried caraway seed in soup, you simply must. It adds a certain somethin' that's hard to place but oh soooo yummy. So go now, buy some caraway seed and make some soup. You're welcome. :0)

***

Naturally, when have soup you need biscuits, so I whipped some up that were loaded with ground flax. Flax is good for keeping you regular, and also makes your eyes bright and your coat glossy.

***

After supper was over, we all sat down together to watch a Christmas classic- Die Hard. Nothing like a little violence and mayhem to ring in the holidays.

***

I leave you now with a conversation I had a few days ago with my son, while we were in the car running errands:

***

The Boy: "Why are we turning this way? Where are we going?"

Me: "We're going to Shelleys house. I'm going to drop off some of the candy I made."

The Boy: "Is she going to pay you for it?
Me: "Of course not! I'm giving it to her out of the goodness of my heart!"

The Boy: (Without skipping a beat) "I thought you got rid of that a long time ago."

***

Haha. So I guess I'm a heartless troll. I love you too, brat. Merry Christmas.

Have a great day, everyone! Peace.

Day Three-In Which the Candy Making Turns to Sh** and I Throw in the Towel...

Day Three of my candy making marathon did not, shall we say, go well. I started out with Pumpkin Fudge, which set up fine but turned out to taste like a cross between a pumpkin pie and Athlete's Foot cream. (Or at least what I imagine it would taste like. I don't eat foot cream, honest...) Undaunted at this minor setback, I threw it out the door into the snow and started a batch of old-fashioned Brown Sugar fudge, which my Mom makes successfully every. single. time. but for me turned out looking like a pan of sludgy motor oil.

I then decided to try something different, since fudge clearly wasn't working out for me, and I turned to making something for a bake sale at the school. I still felt smug enough from the previous few days successes to attempt this: little cakes that looked like wrapped presents. I had visions of PTA Moms crowded around the bake sale table, oohing and aahing in wonderment at the cleverness and effort I was to put into these cakes. In my fantasies, I was brilliant.

Alas, in real life this project sucked ass right from the get-go. Oh, the cake baked up fine....two big sheet cakes, which The Kid and I proceeded to cut into rectangles, split in two, and fill with vegan "buttercream" frosting.

Then I made the liquid fondant icing and tinted it green. According to the directions, this frosting was supposed to ooze perfectly over the cake, covering the whole thing in a shiny, perfectly opaque coat of deliciousness that hardened ever so slightly. Well, that isn't what happened.......

This shit was hot, (I burned my fingers repeatedly) wouldn't coat the cake, and instead seemed to harden almost instantly upon hitting the top, making a lumpy, neon-green snot pile that seriously resembled the ooze in Ghostbusters.

I could tell right from the start that this was one helluva doomed project. The Kid and I wrapped up the rest of the cake and called it a day.

Unfortunately, we still had the pot of green fondant to deal with. It hardened almost instantly into the consistency of cement. It took considerable effort and elbow grease to chip it out of the pot. I will never, never, so long as I live, attempt this again.

On a brighter note, once the snow started in the afternoon, some absolutely gorgeous deer came out to hunt for acorns under my oak tree, a mere ten feet from my house. They were so fat and sleek and beautiful, it just made me glad that these guys had made it through the annual deer slaughtering season unscathed.

Even though I ended my candy making days with a few disasters, I still had just enough to pack up nicely in boxes and send off to the folks I love, which I did last night. Big boxes for the folks I love a lot.....

.....and these cute little Chinese take-out boxes for the people I only love a little.....:0)

It might seem to some like this was a lot of work, ( especially since you can just go buy candy) but for me, the whole thing is a labour of love. I make each and every piece of candy while thinking about the people I love, the people whom I count on to make my life richer, the people that I rely on to make life more pleasant. When I cease to feel that affection in my heart, I cease to make candy. I want every person who takes a nip of my candy this Christmas to only feel the love and high regard for them all that went into it, and not feel like it was an exercise in frustration or just another chore to me. I truly hope they all know that.

OK, corny sentiments are over. On that note, I hope you all are almost ready for the holiday! Only a few more days until HoHoHo time! (And Hanukkah and Kwanzaa too, of course. ) Don't let the stress get to you out there in Blogland....this time of year should be the most peaceful of all. Take a lesson from Big Stan and just chill a little.....:0)

OH! PS: Copy and paste this link into your browser for a chuckle at our expense....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1560882266

Hooterville Candy Corner, Day Two!

OK, Day Two of "The Great Candy Marathon" was an ambitious one, starting with likely the most ambitious candy I have ever attempted: Homemade Ribbon Candy, (which happens to be vegan, if not exactly healthy.)

I stumbled across the recipe here, and decided that I simply HAD to give this a shot. I realized in advance that it was either going to be a colossal success or a colossal failure, with no options in between.

The ingredients couldn't have been simpler, or the directions more daunting. My husband decided that I really needed him to stay home and help, since he just caught an episode about ribbon candy on "How It's Made", so he figured he was somewhat akin to an expert.

If you do attempt to make this, be warned: Make sure all of your supplies are ready in advance. Read over the directions several times before beginning. And make sure to do this with a friend.

I wish I had more photos of the process, but unfortunately, once you start there's no stopping to get the camera. This stuff hardens fast.

The process is deceptively simple: Boil the candy until it reaches the soft crack stage. Add flavouring, divide in three portions, tint one green and one red. Pour into buttered pans. (I used my oldest, most beat up pans, cuz I had a feeling this shit might be hard to get off later.)

Once the candy cools a little, shape into ropes. The directions called for three, but Wunder-Husband thought he would go with like, seventeen. Mold together into one rope.....

The, you place in a 200 degree oven to soften up enough to start pulling into a long, thin ribbon, which you proceed to fold up, accordion style. Let me just say, this sounds far, far easier than it was. But we worked away at it, proceeding to blanket the kitchen with thin wisps of sugar and solid globs of colored goop. The result:

Pretty as a picture, with absolutely no hint of the misery that preceded it. Attempt at your own risk, people.

After that, I went on to something simpler to steady my nerves: Irish Potato Fudge, which is also vegan. Recipe here. This fudge was easy, yummy, and stress free. I highly recommend it.

Finally, I got started on my molded chocolates. I have a whole big bag full of chocolate molds, many of which my Mom used to use when I was a teenager. I make them every Christmas, because if I don't, the children whine at me, and God knows I don't need whining during the holidays.

If you use semi-sweet (or dark) chocolate chips, such as President's Choice, and grated Parowax, at a ratio of 1 Tbsp grated wax to one cup of chocolate chips, these treats are vegan. You can also use dark chocolate "wafers" sold at the Bulk Barn or craft shops made specifically for candy.

These are easy, but time consuming. You need a double boiler and a nearby freezer.

First, use a clean craft paintbrush to paint the chocolate inside the molds. Then place in the freezer for a few minutes. Paint another coat. Hold the mold up to the light to make sure there are no bare spots. Place back in the freezer. Two coats will usually do it, but sometimes you need to do three. It helps to speed the process along if you have more than one set of molds on the go.

Then, add the filling. I have one basic buttercream filling recipe that can be made into just about any type of chocolate with the addition of flavourings and/or food colourings: Mint, orange cream, coconut, chocolate cream, go crazy! (recipe below...)

Cover the top of the mold with more chocolate and place in the freezer for five minutes. Unmold gently by twisting the mold over wax paper. These are regular old buttercreams, everyones favourite anyway.

Basic Chocolate Filling

½ cup margarine, melted
½ tsp salt
1/3-cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract, 3 cups icing sugar

Mix well.

One extra tip: All chocolates should be kept in a cool dry place once completed, and can be kept in the same container, except for mint; mint flavoured chocolates will pollute every other chocolate in the dish with a minty essence.

OK, a few more tips: When you are heating your chocolate over the double boiler, keep your heat around medium. Too high or too low will cause issues with your consistency. As well, DO NOT get even a drop of water in the chocolate!! This is the kiss of death. If your chocolates don't seem to want to come out of their molds, they still aren't cold enough; place back in the freezer for a little while.

All in all, I made "butter"creams, chocolate creams (made by stirring a bit of your melted chocolate into your filling), orange creams, and solid chocolates mixed with toasted coconut. Not bad for a days work. I attempted vegan toffee also, only to have it cool into a solid rock-like mass. I'll have another go at that today.

No work today folks, so this is Day three of the marathon. Check back tomorrow for your candy update!

Hooterville Candy Corner: Official Score- Two Vegan, One Not

In my family growing up, Christmas time meant making candy. My mom always made all sorts of goodies to give as gifts, including (but not limited to) enough fudge to sink a destroyer, a bathtub full of peanut brittle, and batch after batch after batch of molded chocolates. So guess what? I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, because every Christmas, I feel compelled to do the same thing. (Except for the peanut brittle- me hates peanut brittle with a passsion....)

Nowadays, I try to make most of my treats vegan. I'm sure y'all know that that takes a little more creativity that it would otherwise. Yesterday I started my annual candy rush, so here goes...

First, a little treat I heard about at work called "Human Puppy Chow", which is tastier than it sounds. First, you take nine cups of Rice Chex (which I couldn't find, so I used Quaker Oat Squares instead and it seemed to work fine....

Next, you melt 1/2 cup margaine, 1/3 cup peanut butter, and 2 cups of chocolate chips in a saucepan. Once melted, you pour it over the cereal, mixing well. At this point it just looks like crunchy diarrhea.....

Lastly, put three cups of icing sugar in a large paperbag and drop the cereal in a few blobs at a time, shaking well as you go, until the cereal is all covered. I kept some sugar aside to add gradually as well (about 1/2 cup.) Pour onto cookie sheets to cool.

This is so deceptively simple, you'd never know how yummy it is. And in little gift canisters, it looks so nice! Link to the offical recipe here.

Next, the truffles. I found an idea on the internet that was soo odd, and yet so cool, that I had to give it a shot: Oreo Cookie Truffles. Now, where I live Oreo cookies are vegan, but I hear through the grapevine that in some places they aren't, so check the label carefully.

First, take one 350 gram bag of Oreos (three sleeves) and process them in your food processor until all you have is crumbs. Next, add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 2/3 container of Tofutti Cream Cheese, and process until you end up with one big oreo ball. Shape these into small truffle sized balls and refrigerate until cold. (30 minutes did the trick for me.) These balls pictured I made using vanilla Oreos, which were good, but not as good as the regular old Oreos. (I made two batches.)

Then, in a double boiler melt 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2 Tbsp grated parowax. Use medium heat and stir often until the chocolate is melted. Then it's time to dip! I use the fork and skewer method:

First, drop the truffle in the chocolate and stir it around to coat the outside evenly. Lift it out of the chocolate on the fork, tapping the fork against the side of the pot so the excess drips back into the mix. Run the skewer along the underside of the fork to make excess chocolate drip off. Use the skewer to gently persuade the truffle to leave the fork and slide onto the wax paper.

Aren't they bee-yootiful? By the way, any extra chocolate can be spatulated into a dish and re-melted later to make more. (Which you are going to want to do, BTW, once you find out how delish these are.

I swear, I don't think you would know that these truffle centers are made of Oreos unless someone told you. They just taste like a decadent Sexy Party. Here are some more pics I took.....(and I expended mucho energy doing it too, by the way. My cheapy camera practically requires that I stand on my head on the windowsill with all the lights on to get a decent picture. Did I mention that the flash on it died last week as well?)

Finally, I made one more treat yesterday, but it isn't vegan, so be warned. These are for my Mother in Law, who absolutes LOVES Toblerone chocolate at Christmas. I found a recipe for Toblerone fudge that caught my interest.

First, you take 3/4 cup evaporated milk. (I made this by using 1/2 cup soymilk powder and 1/2 cup water, stirred well. ) Add the milk to a pot, along with 1/2 margarine and 1/2 cup white sugar. Stir well over medium heat until it reaches a rolling boil. Boil gently for five minutes, and then stir in 400 grams of Toblerone, which has been chopped up. (I went the inexpensive route and used the President's Choice version of a Toblerone bar....)

Then you stir the mixture until the chocolate is totally melted....

...and then spread into a pan lined with wax paper, leaving excess paper hanging over the edge. I didn't read the recipe carefully enough, and I used a 9 x 13 pan when I should have used a 8 inch square, but no matter. So the fudge is thin, who cares, right?

For any non-vegans out there reading this, I must insist that you go make this. NOW! I had a little nibble of this and it absolutely blew me away. Offical recipe link here. I think this is likely the best fudge I've ever eaten in my entire life, and hubby agrees. And if anyone knows of a vegan chocolate bar that approximates a Toblerone, please, please send me a link. I'll be sure to stock up before candy making season next year.

All in all, it was a busy and successful day one of my candy marathon. Right now, it's early Sunday morning and I'm girding my loins for Day Two. I have three or four projects on the agenda for today, and I need to get busy, because we're braced for the arrival of a Nor'easter later today that meteorologists predict may dump more snow in a single day that any other day in the last decade. Great. (Thank God we bought the kids new snow shovels, heh heh.) Anyway, it would suck to have the power go out in the middle of candy making, now wouldn't it?

So I'm off and running. Check back tomorrow (or Monday morning, if we have no power later) to see what we whipped up. I leave you with this shot of my daughter before her formal Cadet banquet last night....isn't she cute?

And oh yeah, my camera flash, which hasn't worked in a week, chose this moment to come back to life. Fucking piece of garbage....if it wasn't my only camera left I would bury it in a snow bank.

Have a great day Blogland! Batten down the hatches!