Chewy, Soft, Honey-Sweetened Butter Caramels With NO Corn Syrup

Maybe you are snowed in with a little extra cream from holiday baking. Or you want to master the art of candy making. Perhaps you want to impress someone with the most delightful sweet bite at the end of a meal. Maybe you have some fantastic honey to highlight. I adapted this recipe because I had excess expiring Snowville cream I couldn't let go to waste. Caramels sounded good but I could find precious few recipes without corn syrup. I'm not rabidly against corn syrup but I don't choose to keep it around the house. I also wanted to practice candy-making. I am inconsistent because I typically become distracted with another chore or are trying to manage too many things in the kitchen at one time.

I started by making butter by hand to use up more of the cream. I waited patiently while sugar and butter roiled on the stove until the exact right temperature. I even remembered to let the hot sugar cool before tasting - no burnt tongue!

The results were worth the effort. These caramels are soft and chewy but not pull-your-fillings-out sticky. They smell floral from the honey and surround the taste buds with richness. Whatever your reason, you will not be sorry after you spend an evening cooking caramels.

Soft Caramels adapted from Chez Pim Makes: 40-50 1 1/2 inch squares Time: 30-50 minutes

1  1/2 cups granulated cane sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup sweet cream butter (make by shaking approximately 2 cups room-temperature cream in a quart jar and skimming butter from buttermilk or use unsalted butter) 1 generous pinch salt 1/4 cup finely chopped chocolate (optional) parchment paper

1. Mix sugar and honey in a heavy-bottomed pot. Heat over medium until the mixture is melting, swirling the pan to stir without using a utensil. Continue to cook until the sugars have caramelized to a deep brown.

2. Meanwhile, in another heavy-bottomed pot, slowly heat cream to a simmer.

3. Whisk butter in small pieces into the sugar and honey. When it is totally incorporated, whisk in the cream and salt as well.

4. Cook over medium heat until the mixture measures 255F with a candy thermometer. Do not stir. This may take up to 15 minutes of boiling - be patient and keep cool water nearby in case you accidentally touch a splatter.

5. Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet or baking dish with parchment paper.

6. When the candy reaches 255F, pour onto the parchment-lined pan. If using chocolate, sprinkle over the top after 10 minutes of cooling.

7. Allow the caramel to cool completely. Cut with a serrated steak knife and wrap in parchment squares or layer between parchment paper in a covered container. Consume within 7 days for best texture.

Handmade Gifts On A Snow Day

Our Christmas wasn't white but the sky dumped a fine layer of sleet and five inches of snow on the homestead today. We decided not to take the travel risk and drive seventy miles to my aunt's house for a handmade gift exchange and dinner. Instead, we took a snow day.

We let the chickens out to exercise before the heaviest snow fell. They don't seem to mind the cold stuff on the ground but when visibility lessens they run for the coop.

Alex and I shoveled the ice from part of the driveway. Our lengthy drive allows us some privacy but we're realizing that our responsibility to clear it is a bit of a downside. And we're wishing that just one of the three garage bays was organized enough so the car wouldn't be out in this weather. Soon we will get around to unpacking the garage.

Inside, we are enjoying generous gifts from our family. Alex received this clever army guy bowl from one of my sisters and the handmade leather bolas from another. I unwrapped this painstakingly painted birdhouse by Lil.

We also received a dedicated meat grinder, Le Crueset (our first!), books, toys, earrings, food, drinks, and more. Lil's big present was a trip to Disneyland in early January! We'll be accompanying Alex on a business trip and make a trip to the mouse while we're there.

We're discussing where to hang our new handmade artwork. I crafted the bacon and eggs piece from remnant wood in our garage and egg tempra from the yolk of a backyard chicken egg and Alex's home made charcoal. My sister made the Ohio nail art - she says it's not nearly as time consuming as it looks.

While we miss extended family, this day to decompress and enjoy each other was most welcome. How were your holidays?

P.S. I just realized that my comment spam filter was marking all comments as spam. I approved about a week's worth of real comments this afternoon. There could be more that the filter deleted before I could approve them and if this happened to your comment I sincerely apologize. I do appreciate discussion and will be more attentive to the spam filter from here on out!

Seasonal Snaps - Winter Solstice 2012

A friend had a good idea to take pictures from the same angles over time as we transform our property to a working homestead. I decided to start today on Solstice, which happened to include the first snow in our new home. Behold the land of possibilities: From the mailbox looking toward house - we have a swing for the front oak tree

Property line looking at front of the house - we planted the walk with blueberries this week

Backyard as viewed from house - three car garage, lots of trees, chicken coop behind the garage currently

From the back of the property looking forward - biggest tree is four people around and will be site of treehouse and natural playground

Front yard as viewed from inside the house - what can we grow here?

Switch to Wind Energy with No Windmill and No Hassle?! Sign Me Up!

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of speaking about my vision for a net-zero homestead (more about that soon) at a 'Make the Switch' fundraiser for Green Energy Ohio. I expected to be a little nervous, speak too quickly, visit with like-minded folks, and enjoy Cafe Bella's fascinating small-space edible gardening. I didn't expect to find out that people who want to support alternative energy can do so within their current AEP electric service. Even better, the switch usually saves money! The deal is that AEP offers customers a choice of providers. You are probably well aware of this if you are an AEP customer because these providers send mail constantly encouraging you to switch. Most of them are competing on price alone. A few providers are competing on values - they provide energy by wind instead of coal.

I believe in renewable energy and was excited to know that our household can choose wind with no windmill on our property or difficulty beyond paying the regular electric bill.

How can our electric be powered by wind? Of course the actual electrons coming into my house will likely still be generated by coal. But choosing 100% wind means that our provider (AEP Energy 100% Wind) buys green energy credits from a wind farm versus buying energy from a fossil fuel power plant. As more people choose 100% wind, more green energy credits will be purchased and the wind farms will grow. Enough demand will support building wind farms nearer to home and eventually the juice coming to our house will be from wind.

The good folks at Go Sustainable! Energy brought this revelation to light. Greg, one of their green energy gurus, explains further:

"In AEP-Ohio territory, you have four primary components of your bill: Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Service charge. Due to de-regulation, when you switch your provider the only effect on your bill is that your generation and transmission charges are removed from the AEP-Ohio portion of the bill and are relocated to your new provider. If you do the calculations, which I have done a few hundred times in my career, the "price to compare" number on your bill is the combination of your generation and transmission charges, divided by the number if kWh you consumed that time period.  Thus, if you switch to someone providing renewables or someone providing coal, you just replace that number with the number that they're offering.

It's a simple switch, and a powerful market signal to the utility providers that there are more customers who want to purchase all renewable energy, which in turn will cause more large wind farms to be built."

Most consumers who haven't already made a choice for an alternative provider will save money by switching. Greg, quoted above, dropped his rate from 7.55 cents/kWh to all wind at 7.19 cents/kWh.

Alas, our household was one of the very small percentage for whom switching to wind costs a little more. Our existing variable rate is 6.9 cents/kWh and the all wind rate is 7.19 cents/kWh. At our annual consumption, this increase will total around $30 for the year, a pittance to pay to support renewable energy.

Want to switch or compare? Here's what you do:

1) Check out electric provider options on Apples to Apples via PUCO.

2) Select your service provider, AEP for most Central Ohioans.

3) Scroll through the choices. If it makes sense to you, choose 100% wind operated by Ohio AEP Energy.

4) Fill out your name, address, and Service Delivery Identifier - listed on your bill under current charges.

5) Select 'I agree' to terms and conditions, type your signature, and click 'submit'. Easy peasy.

 I would love to see demand increase for non-polluting, non-fracking electric providers. Will you join me?

Cyber Bullying in the Neighborhood

The previous content of this post, my narrative about being a victim to a several-year-long bullying pattern of behavior, has been removed in response to written demand from a lawyer representing the other party. I stand behind my story and the truth contained within but have better things to do with my time and money than defend myself from frivolous accusations. However, I will not be silenced about cyber stalking and bullying. These are very real, very wrong approaches to conflict. Adult bullying is rarely written about but its effects can be as harmful and long-lasting to both victim and perpetrator as child-to-child bullying.

StopBullying.org, a program of the US Department of Health and Human Services, defines bullying as a pattern of using an imbalance of power to manipulate others. While this pattern often stops in childhood, it can continue in workplaces and communities.

PBS’ This Emotional Life writes “Research has found that as many as a quarter of American employees will experience some form of bullying at work. Different from constructive criticism or conflict, bullying is persistent, it focuses on a person rather than a task, and the recipient feels powerless to stop it. Worst of all, employees who experience bullying find that it’s just as hard to explain and stop the abuse as it is to suffer through it.”

The Washington Education Association details the potential toll on a bullying victim. “When one person bullies another, the targeted person's emotional strength becomes strained. As a result of this strain, serious health conditions may arise.  Psychological health conditions include stress, depression, and mood swings; loss of sleep and fatigue; feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and low self-esteem. Physical health conditions may also result and include post-traumatic stress disorder, reduced immunity to infection, stress headaches, high blood pressure, and digestive problems.”

I found that adult relational aggression is difficult to address between adults with no clear authority figure. If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are some resources to help:

• Jenise Harmon, MSW, LISW, offers 6 Steps for Dealing with Adult Bullies.
• Jezebel.com, often a humor site, tackles this topic seriously and thoroughly in ‘How To Stand Up To Adult Bullies.’
• Workplace Bullying Institute has guides, offers coaching, and provides timely blog articles.
• If you are a victim feeling very depressed, get help from a mental health professional or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Gingerbread: House for the Kids,Crisp Cookies for Adults {Recipe}

A few days ago, I shared some of our holiday crafts. I told you that my pastry-chef sister Heather baked gingerbread house pieces for Lil to decorate. Our kitchen remains sticky from the amount of frosting and candy used on that house. What I didn't reveal are the ridiculously good spoils from the house-making: Heather gave us all the trimmings from the gingerbread walls. Rough in shape, but generally slender, these perfectly crisp cookies beg to be dunked in coffee or tea. I eat a few pieces a day for a mildly sweet, spicy, crispy snack.

Sugar-coated house for kids and refined cookies for the adults - what a sweet holiday tradition!

Crisp Gingerbread

Yield: 1 # 12 oz (enough for a good-sized gingerbread house or approximately 4 dozen cookies)

4 oz (1 stick or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter

4 oz (~ 1/2 cup) brown sugar

6 fl oz ( 1/2 cup) molasses

1 whole egg

12 oz (~2 2/3 cup) all purpose flour

1 teaspon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

parchment paper

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Add molasses and egg, beat to combine well
3. Stir together remaining ingredients in a separate bowl
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, beating until just blended (Dough will be very wet.  If making for a gingerbread house, you may want to add extra flour to enable an easier roll out)
5. Gather into a disk, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (for easier rolling, freeze dough and then roll out as soon as pulling from the freezer. It will still be a wet dough, but easier to roll out)
6. Roll out to ¼ inch, using as much flour as necessary for easier rolling
7. Cut with floured cutter, or bake for gingerbread house **see note
8. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350 until lightly browned and feels barely firm when touched

**To get clean lines for gingerbread houses:

•  First make a template out of cardboard or firm paper.  After freezing and rolling, bake before cutting out the pieces (this will work well if you roll the dough between pieces of parchment.  You can then just pick up the parchment paper, rather than trying to move the fragile dough).
• Bake partially, until the gingerbread is golden, but still slightly soft to the tough.  Pull from the oven and let cool for 3-5 minutes, or until you can cut the dough without tearing it.  Place the template on top of the dough and deeply score the desired shape with a very sharp knife (I like using an exacto knife).
• Let the dough cool entirely, then remove the excess gingerbread from the shape you cut out (wall, roof, etc.), you may have to cut the lines again, but it should be fairly easy to remove the excess gingerbread.
• After removing any excess, return the shape to the oven to dry out one more time.  You will want the gingerbread to be very firm before taking out of the oven.
• Let cool entirely and then assemble the house with a very thick royal icing (1 egg white whipped with enough powdered sugar to make a thick spread; add a splash of vinegar, or lemon juice, to help it to harden easier).  Decorate as desired.

PS. If you want to see some professional creations, I recommend the gingerbread house display at Easton Center on the second story of the mall near the AMC theater. Heather worked on The Pearl recreation with the Cameron Mitchell Catering group, pictured above.

PPS. I finally have a new laptop! After two months of scavenging time on shared computers, I have one of my own! It's taking a little time to set up all my preferences, but my first impressions of the Lenovo Twist are excellent.

Crafty Holidays and #STEMchat Thursday!

Our house is like Santa's toy shop with handmade projects day in and day out this month.

On December 1, Lil ran downstairs and opened the first day of this cute muffin tin advent calendar my mother made. Mom saw the idea in a magazine and found scrapbooking paper with the numbers already written and adhered them with rubber cement to top the tins. Inside each is a little gift that Lil can't wait to open each morning.

I invited friends over to see our new house and make hand-rolled beeswax candles, one of my favorite activities of the holiday season. I order wax from Knorr Beeswax; this year they even went out of their way to rush my order.

Lil decorated a gingerbread house using cake pieces made by my pastry chef sister Heather, recipe on Facebook tonight. I view gingerbread decorating as a 'process not product' activity - we will eat it rather than display, not that the pets would leave a display in tact!

Lil and I designed, sewed, and lettered new stockings for our food-motivated animals. My favorite craft has been these felt star ornaments for gifts. I printed a template from AllSortsMakery, reduced and copied for the inner star, and embroidered Lil's heart illustration. She stitched the smaller heart to the outer, stuffed the inside, and we shared stitches around the outside. I love that we made this together and hope I can talk her into creating one more for us to keep.

#STEMchat

I'll be talking (typing?) DIY tomorrow night at 9 pm EST on Twitter with Kim Moldofsky, the Maker Mom. She runs the monthly #STEMchat, a time to tweet about creating, hacking, and making. This month, the chat is about Hack-y Holidays - exploratory gifts, making open-ended presents, and gifts that keep on giving.

Kim asked me to share this about the sponsor, littleBits:

"littleBits, invented by a woman, are (cute!) little electronic modules for prototyping and play. The bits snap together with magnets, so you can't mess up with them. These colorful bits take crafting projects to a new level allowing people with little or no electronics knowledge to add lights, sensors or other bells and whistles to their projects. Ayah Bdeir set out to put the tools of engineers into the hands of artists and she's succeeding. Seriously cool stuff, people.

littleBits is hosting a creative holiday challenge. It's kind of like Design Squad for adults- dream up a creative project incorporating littleBits, sketch it out and submit the sketch to win. How easy is that? "

What are you crafting and making for the holidays? If you're a twitterer, I hope you'll join the #MaketheHolidays #STEMchat conversation tomorrow night.

Swiss With No Holes - How Cheese is Made At Pearl Valley {Factory Tour}

Do you love knowing what goes on behind the scenes? I do. Factory tours and 'How It's Made' type shows bring out the geek in me, especially when they relate to food. Naturally, I was eager to take the tour of Pearl Valley Cheese Company during my recent Ohio Dairy Adventure. I wanted to see how a 'big' cheese maker compared to the much smaller Laurel Valley, Kokoborrego, and Great Hill creameries I visited in the past.

Chuck Ellis, a fourth generation cheese maker, shared about his creamery. In 1928, Swiss immigrant Ernest Stalder blew a whistle daily to let local cow farmers know that he was beginning to make cheese and needed their milk. He produced one 200 pound wheel of Swiss cheese each day and returned the whey to the farmers to feed animals.

Pearl Valley Cheese Company grew over the years and now makes 25,000 pounds of cheese in eleven varieties daily. The company buys milk from eighty farms. Ten pounds of milk is required to make one pound of cheese which means Pearl Valley processes about a million pounds of milk every four days!

Milk arrives by truck and is tested for pathogens and antibiotics before filling large silos. A glycol cooling solution circulates the tank so the milk stays cool. From the silos, milk travels to a pasteurizer which heats the products to 168 degrees F for 16 seconds before being rapidly cooled and separated. The seperator allows cheese makers to regulate the fat in the cheese.

Next, milk for each batch of cheese is pumped into a computer-controlled vat. Temperature, time, stirring speeds and amount of rennet and culture are all monitored and recorded by the computer. Colby-type cheese spend approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes in the cooking vat; Swiss-type cheeses take three hours.

Whey is seperated from the curds in cloth-lined tubs. They are pressed and allowed to sit overnight. Then, the blocks are placed in a salt brine and stay there to absorb the salt for a few hours to overnight, depending on the type of cheese.

The blocks are packaged and cooled for one week. Finally, they head to the room temperature aging room for approximately a month. There, the holes in the Swiss cheese develop as bacterial cultures transform the flavor of the cheese and off-gas bubbles of carbon dioxide which form the 'eyes' of the cheese. Swiss cheese is graded by the size of the eyes, with Grade A having eyes of one quarter to three quarters of an inch. When the cheese is deemed finished, it is packaged and stored at refrigerator temperatures.

Chuck remarked that "Swiss is tough to make." There are only 42 creameries making Swiss in the country; nine are in Ohio.

Sustainable Cheese-making

Pearl Valley Cheese Company operates with an eye (Swiss cheese joke!) towards reducing their environmental impact. In the process of treating their waste water, they generate biogas that is used to heat boilers in the factory. They reduce waste (and generate income) by selling all by-products including whey which is made into whey protein concentrate and lactose for energy production. Solid by-products are used as fertilizer on cow-feed fields.

At the same time, Pearl Valley uses electronic tracking to label and monitor all batches of all cheeses so they can be traced back to each milk load. If there were ever a quality or health issue, they could pinpoint the error.

Tasting Pearl Valley Cheese

Look for Pearl Valley's new red, white, and blue label featuring Swiss mountains to buy their cheese from a local grocer. It is not particularly easy to find in Central Ohio, as 50% of the Pearl Valley cheese is privately labeled. Fortunately, you can purchase online or visit their factory in Fresno, Ohio, an hour and a half from Columbus. I recommend the Aged Swiss for those who like bold flavors and the Colby for those who are more inclined toward mild cheeses.

Pearl Valley Cheese Company 54775 Township Road 90 Fresno, OH 43824 (740) 545-6002

Disclosure: The American Dairy Association Mideast provided lodging, meals, and tour arrangements for the Ohio Dairy Tour.