Caramel Fudge

I scoured the internet looking for a recipe for Caramel Fudge, but not finding anything too tempting, I tried a variation of my own, and it may be my best fudge recipe yet, though it is impossible to choose which type of fudge is my favorite flavor, it varies by the minute!

You'll need:

1/2 cup butter (one stick)
2/3 cup evaporated milk (5 oz)
1.5 cups brown sugar (darker the better)

2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup soft caramels (Kraft are good, cut into pieces)

A greased 9x9 pan.

Melt butter in large microwave safe mixing bowl, stir in evaporated milk and brown sugar. Microwave on high until boiling, remove and stir.  Replace in microwave and boil on high for 7 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. Remove and stir in marshmallows, white chocolate chips, and caramels and stir until smooth and creamy. Pour immediately into a greased 9x9 pan (it sets up quick!).

Enjoy!

Not a Hallmark Christmas

Obviously it need not be stated that everybody enjoys this strange, wonderful, wacky Holiday Season, whatever your worldview, religious beliefs, culture, traditions...there must be something about this time of year that warms the heart (however slightly) of even the most dour materialist or hardcore secular humanist, be it only a holiday bonus in their paycheck, an extra day off, excellent shopping deals, or the mysterious beauty of moonlight on fresh snow with that sharp, exquisite chill in the air of a starry winter night.  What is less widely known, is that everybody also loathes this season to some extent.  Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch easily come to mind as the ultimate holiday haters, but it isn't an actual loathing of the season itself and the weird transformation it seems to cause in otherwise mundane life and people.  There are many who would happily forgo the expense and stress and busyness of the season, but neither is this the cause of this deep-seated dread of the phrase, 'Happy Holidays.'  Nor yet is it those who royally dislike 'the Christmas story,' and all its associations, for this uneasiness afflicts many a staunch lover of that age old tale.

What scares us so much about this dreadful season?  Pain.  Longing.  Loneliness.  Unfulfilled hopes and longings, broken lives and relationships, shattered dreams.  We've lost a loved one or a relationship has crumbled or we feel we have no one to love or that no one loves us.  We desire a relationship, a life, a family, a home, a job...our health is imperiled or age presses heavily upon us.  We've lost our job or haven't reached the place in life we thought we should at this point or our family is broken, shattered, or scattered and we have no happy memories of the past nor a place to celebrate the present.  We are victims of abuse, violence, poverty, disease, neglect...  Whatever it is, we each carry something, perhaps several somethings, that cause us secret pain and agony with every thought of the looming season, when everyone else's joys seem on brightest display, our own disquiet night seems all the darker.

But the crazy thing is, no one's life is what social media portrays it to be.  Everyone is struggling with something, especially during this holiday season, but we are all so worried about ruining some else's joy that we forsake our own by wallowing alone in our unique sorrows and miseries rather than seeking love and encouragement from the equally broken people around us.  This season did not begin as a joyous frivolity for the unbroken folk all about us, there aren't any, we all have some sorrow, some regret, some longing or dream unfulfilled.  It began in poverty and fear, darkness and loneliness, amid social ostracism and political unrest, four hundred years since anyone had dared hope that a light might truly shine in the darkness.  The most important event in the history of the world began in very substandard housing, witnessed by the meanest folk society could then boast.

Listen to the Christmas hymns, no, not the modern secular variants giddily proclaiming silver bells and roasting chestnuts for all.  Rather listen to the timeless music, mysterious and haunting, reverent, sad, but joyous; actually read the verses, full of mystery, pain, longing, unmet hopes, and the answer thereto.  Advent is the season of longing, of centuries of desire and unmet promises coming to fulfillment.  You are not alone, nothing afflicts you that has not beset every human heart since the dawn of time.  There is a tinge of mystery in the tradition of Christmas, and certainly a little sadness, but also a joy the world can ill contain.  Your pain won't magically go away, but perhaps you can find strength to better bear it, and a hope beyond this world.

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high, 

And cheer us by your drawing nigh, 

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, 

And death's dark shadows put to flight. 

Oh, come, O Key of David, come, 

And open wide our heav'nly home; 

Make safe the way that leads on high, 

And close the path to misery.

Amen!

An excellent reminder that a clean house isn't the most important thing in life!

A First Step

While emotional abuse is finally starting to get a little recognition/street cred, there's apparently something even more insidious and invisible with which many people are struggling, and probably don't even know it: emotional neglect.  Here's a pretty good article introducing the subject; take a peek, it may just turn your world upside down, or rather be the first step in setting it right side up!

Hope and healing

Taking care of yourself isn't selfish, especially for those who don't think they're worth it.  This article hits the nail directly on the head!  Abuse is abuse, be it physical, sexual, or emotional.  There is hope!

The word that just might change the world

I was riding with a friend the other day and my son was along, she has a little girl a year younger and asked if she needed to spell the word 'cookie,' in my son's presence, as she must in her daughter's lest he throw a fit.  A day later I was shopping for a few small items to fill a shoebox to be sent to a child somewhere in need this Christmas, my son was along and insisted that he should have his share of the gifts in the cart, though he has a house full of toys, he still wanted more.  I firmly told him 'no,' and that was the end of the matter, explaining that he had no reason to doubt or worry that his parents and extended family would not take excellent care of him this Christmas, not that he even needs anything.

Both of these incidents were rather curious, not that they are out of the ordinary in either modern society or human nature, but the different approaches to parenting in the matter say much about our culture and us as individuals.  A child should be able to hear of some delightful or negative (in their mind, think nap) word and not fall to pieces when they do not immediately receive the former or are anticipating the latter.  They should also be able to peaceably complete a shopping excursion without being bribed into compliance with a new toy or a treat.  I fear we are buying momentary peace at the expense of our children's self-control and future happiness.  No wonder kids get to college and need to be 'protected' from everything from Shakespeare to world history to bad grades and poor athletic performance.  We never taught them to endure the word cookie without falling to pieces, how much less can they be expected to  handle the disappointments of the real world?  Do the world and your kids a favor: teach them the word 'no.'

No Knead Oatmeal Bread

I've wanted to try one of these 'no knead' recipes for awhile, I'm not sure what the results are supposed to be like, but it is something of a cross between a muffin and actual yeast bread, tasty but for all the putzing around, you might as well make a 'kneaded' bread!  I'll play with it some more and see what happens, maybe I'll turn it into a 'kneaded' recipe and throw it in the bread machine?

2 cups warm water
1 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sweet sourdough starter (amish or herman)
1 tsp instant yeast
2 eggs
4-5 cups flour

Combine everything but the flour until well mixed, gradually mix in the flour until a firm but sticky dough is achieved.  Cover and let sit 2 hours, then shape into loaves and place in a greased pan or place in a greased muffin tin for buns (I used an ice cream scoop to work with the dough), allow to rise until double and bake at 375 until brown and sounds hollow.

The texture is course and crumbly, but the flavor is nice, makes good toast.