Fudge-a-Mania

       I just finished making four batches of fudge for neighborhood friends. They're not going to be packaged in beautiful holiday tins. The only thing that is festive about each plate is a brightly-colored bow on top of the plastic wrap. I'm a purist, and I know my friends. They will tear into the fudge so quickly, like a pack of wolverines into a moose, so what is most important is the chocolate.

     My mother used to make fudge, and it would take a while. The ingredients would have to come to a rolling boil, then to a soft-ball stage, or some similar nonsense. She had a candy thermometer, and I became an expert at making the delectable delicacy.

     Then I adopted a friend's recipe for fudge. It had to be on the stovetop for less time, which was a step in the right direction, but required a long list of ingredients. Some of the marshamallows had to be frozen (and some not), the fudge had to be stirred at one point until some of the "sheen" was gone...There were occasions when I would worry if the fudge was still glistening too much ('Do I need to stir some more?'), and other times when I would panic, since I had forgotten to put the marshmallows in the freezer and tried to "flash freeze" them.

     That fudge was extremely expensive to make, but delicious. Because of the cost involved, I only made it on special occasions.

      Unfortunately for my hips, but fortunately for my friends, I was given a fudge recipe by Holly, one of my team-mates. She knows how much chocolate third grade teachers need on an hourly basis * and for the past two years, it has been the recipe I've relied on, casting aside all others.

      Since I'd like to spread the madness, I'm sharing the recipe, in case you do not already have it.  Make a batch or two during this holiday season and share (or not).

1 bag of milk chocolate chips
1/2 bag (1 cup) of semi-sweet chocolate chips 
(Aldi's has the best price, and their chocolate is great)
1 can of condensed evaporated milk

Put the above ingredients in a glass microwavable bowl (I use a mixing bowl) and cook for 5 minutes at 50% power. Stop it halfway through (at 2.5 minutes) and stir. Then continue cooking.

When the 5 minutes are up, take out, put in a splash of vanilla, and nuts (if you want). I line a glass pie pan with plastic wrap, then I can lift it out easily and cut it up, or wrap up the "disc" of fudge and present it like that. One batch can be poured into a pie pan-sized container...it makes a relatively small amount.
                                                                    

* In our teachers' lounge we don't have a soda machine. Instead, we have a chocolate fountain that is plugged in constantly and restocked regularly. 

     

   

An Easter Ditty

photo by katerha

Too many bunny ears
makes you avoid the mirrors...

A jumbo chocolate treat
makes your boobs and gut meet.

A bagful of jelly beans?
Ensures your feet will be unseen.

Dove eggs---a whole bag,
means your butt will soon sag.

Happy Easter to all of you--
and eat some chocolate for Sioux!

New Year's Resolutions

photo by Carlos N. Molina--Paper Art

        Most years I don't make any resolutions; I never keep them, so why go through the motions simply because a new year has begun?

       But maybe I should.  Maybe I should make some resolutions, but reasonable ones, so there's a possibility the changes will stick.

1.  I will try and alternate dark chocolate with milk chocolate.  I know eating dark chocolate results in some health benefits.  In fact, when I was in my late teens, I preferred dark chocolate and for some unknown reason, I switched to the less healthier variety.  So when I pop a blue-foil wrapped Dove or two into my mouth, I'll try and give equal time to the red-wrapped ones...

photo by lisaargiris

2. I will try and stop making snarky comments about pain-in-the-butt people.  Okay, scratch that one.  There is no way I can corral my snarkiness.  Sorry.

photo by Linda Cronin

3. I will get my eyebrows waxed on a regular basis.  Eight bucks is not a big deal, and my Nazi Eyebrow-Archer does a much better job than I can do with tweezers.  Why do I end up thinking of it as an annual event? 

4.  I will slow down when it comes to the accelerator.  Recently, I found that the hold-your-breath-until-you-pass-by-the-officer-shooting-radar technique does not always work.  Since I am not a cardiac surgeon, I am never heading to an emergency.  I need to ease off the gas a bit.

photo by sewingamelie by liebesgut

(It looks like Viggo the Piggo is going to have some company!)

5. I am going to find a way to "treat" myself that does not involve potatoes or pizza or hot chocolate.  I have not figured what would be good alternatives, but I'm hoping to discover the key to controlling what goes into my mouth.

6.  I'm going to write more.  Today I was at the library, picked out four DVDs, and then put them back.  I need to write tonight, and do report cards over the weekend, so no time to watch movies.  And since this is my "warm up" writing, to get my fingers into the right groove, good night...And have a great time--either in a quiet or rowdy way--celebrating the start of a new year.

What are your resolutions for 2011?

If You Know Your Character, You Know...

         Something that's stuck in my brain for decades was a nugget that one writer said.  Something like, If you really know the character you've created, you know what they have in their pocket.

          I was thinking of a variation of that last night, when watching The Closer on television.

          The main character opened up her desk drawer and it was filled-to-the-brim with candy.  (She was rooting around for the last chocolate bar...Definitely a kindred spirit!)  She is a high-ranking police official; one of her detectives, when he saw the contents of the drawer, was visibly surprised.

          Nowadays, some of us are stuck at work for such long periods of time, our desk becomes our home away from home.  Perhaps what we keep in our desk is more "telling" than what we have in our pockets.  (And sometimes our desk at home is our place of work.  That would add another layer of meaning, if we examined the inside of the drawers.)

           What can you put in a drawer that would make for an intriguing character?  What drawer contents would reveal important character flaws?

           Please share.  Writers are wonderful thieves...

photo by Winnie_nevrothwen