Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fix Broken Lollipops

The face of a two-year-old weeping over a broken lollipop is nearly unbearable. That angelic face led me to the Internet a few days ago in search of a way to repair the shattered confection. So here you go, in the event you encounter the same emergency.

1. Heat oven to 325°F.
2. Crush candy bits inside a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin, hammer, or similar whacking tool. The smaller the bits, the faster they will melt, but bigger bits we've prettier colors. Decide which you prefer.
3. Spray nonstick spray in cupcake liners or cupcake pans or candy molds or whatever you choose for your shape. I used cupcake liners, even though I knew that would leave a ridged edge.
4. Pour crushed candy bits into your molds.
5. Bake in preheated oven approximately 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it, because time will vary depending on the size of the mold and the size of your crushed candy bits.
6. When the bits are melted, take them out and let them cool couple of minutes. Then either insert the sticks into the molds, or wait until they are cool enough to handle, but still soft, and pop them out to stick the sticks in. (I did not have any lollipop handles, so I used chopsticks from the Chinese restaurant I found in the back of my silverware drawer. I snipped a tiny hole in the paper cupcake liners and poked the sticks through it into the candy.)

I assume this technique would work well for leftover bits of any hard candy. May the joy return to the face of your little one!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Whipped feta? Yes, please!

A friend inspired my bedtime snack this evening - home grown Heirloom tomatoes with whipped feta and black Hawaiian sea salt on crostini. Delish! Next time, I think I'll try whipped goat cheese. (For the whipped feta, I blended 8 ozs. room temp feta with 3 ozs. room temp cream cheese and a little splash of olive oil in the food processor until creamy.)

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Rosemary

I love the flavor of rosemary, but I hate the little woody twigs in my food. I have texture issues - my husband teases me relentlessly. My solution? I put the rosemary into my coffee grinder and pulverize it to a fine powder. Hurray! Delicious flavor without the annoying twigs.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Costco Dipped Ice Cream Bars

Did you know that the Costco snack shop does hand-dipped ice cream bars? I remember seeing them on the menu near the frozen yogurt sundaes, but have never ordered one, and have never seen anyone else with one. My secretary brought some into the office today, and these things are incredible. They are huge and delicious. Definitely worth a try!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Tomato poachers

Something is eating my tomatoes. Squirrel, maybe? Has anyone had luck deterring squirrels? If so, how?