St. Patty's Day, Traditions

We are big time St. Patty's Day fans in our house because first of all, it's our wedding anniversary and second of all, we come from a strong Irish background on Grandma B's side. So we had the traditional Corned Beef dinner with a sweet Irish BBQ Sauce and Pistachio Salad and Irish Soda Bread and Blarney Stones for dessert. Blarney Stones are a homemade white cake cut into squares and frozen and then frosted with a thick gingerbread cookie-type icing and rolled in salted peanuts and refrozen. I was afraid to make the Irish Soda Bread because baking bread scares me. Yeast just does not like me. But I've been thinking the problem is that I have not been kneading my bread enough and this is why it does not rise all pretty and fluffy like I want it to. So this time I left it stuck in the Kitchen Aid with a bread hook until it had a "gluten window", which means when you tear a piece off and stretch it the bread does not break right away, but forms a thin "window" in the middle that is almost transparent. It seemed to work, and by the time it was done rising and baking it was quite fluffy and beautiful.

The one on the right has a Gluten Window

For something fun this year we decided to make Leprechaun traps, using the examples in this month's Family Fun Magazine. Here's the link: http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/feature/ff0309-to-catch-a-leprechaun/ff0309-to-catch-a-leprechaun3.html. They have several really cute Leprechaun trap ideas. Bob painted the rocks and pots and glued them together, and then he and Buzz made some rainbows for the backdrops. We left them on the table overnight and in the morning, the Leprechaun had run through them and rearranged them and left Leprechaun tracks! He also managed to turn our milk green... Sneaky little bugger!

Leprechaun traps before bedtime on March 16th

Leprechaun traps before breakfast on the morning of March 17th... Sneakers!! :)

The boys decided to take their Leprechaun traps to school and got to show their friends and in Buzz's class, a Leprechaun even ran through his trap and swiped his pot of gold!! It was fun and the kids' friends had fun too as one of the teachers gave them golden painted beans to take home as a remembrance.

Disney Dayz

Buzz with Tigger and Pooh. They were so much fun!

We are a Disney family. We love to go there in the rain, day or night, any day of the week, and never get tired of it. We especially love to go in the rain because the lines are short (5-20 minutes usually) and well, we just like water. Disneyland really is a happy place for us. We took Books to Disneyland for his 11th birthday on Tuesday and then we had a day off of school on Monday, so we took the opportunity to get another Disneyfix. It was really pouring in the morning, but we loved it~! The kids were able to ride Big Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn, and Peter Pan in 20 minutes, and Pinocchio, Snow White, Dumbo, Star Tours and Splash Mountain were all 5 minutes. We fast passed Indy, and Small World and Space Mountain were each 10 minutes. We walked right onto Winnie the Pooh and Pirates of the Carribean. Small World was fun because they added dolls that represent Disney characters. The lady who works in the Winnie the Pooh candy store said there are 32 of them, and we were able to find 24. We also discovered they have some really delicious candy in their candy shops. We tried a Valentine candy apple (yum!) and the Goofy Cotton Candy is the most delicious cotton candy ever! We are looking forward to going back one day next month.

Buzz, Belle, and Bob with Lightening McQueen on Books's Birthday

English Toffee

Every Christmas, my older brother used to make English Toffee as a gift for family members. He would package it beautifully and the aroma was heavenly. It was the most delicious candy in the universe. I have tried many times to duplicate it, but mine is never as good.

True to my heritage, however, I make English Toffee for the kids' teachers for Christmas every year. It's not my brother's, but when I don't rush it, it's pretty good. Here's my recipe:

8 sticks of butter
4 cups of sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped pecans

Grease 2 cookie sheets with butter. In a large saucepan, melt butter. After the butter is melted, add sugar. Bring to a boil. With a candy thermometer clipped to the side of the saucepan, cook and stir the mixture until the candy thermometer reads "hard crack" stage (between 300 and 320 degrees). Remove from heat and pour toffee onto cookie sheets. While the toffee is cooling, melt chocolate chips in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring constantly. When toffee is cool and hardened, spread melted chocolate over candy. Sprinkle with pecans and refrigerate at least one hour or until completely set.

note** the biggest mistake I make with English Toffee is undercooking it. If you don't cook it long enough, it is chewy and sticks to your teeth. When it is cooked long enough, it is kind of crumbly and easy to break. You can break it by placing a knife about two inches from the edge and forcing it into the candy. This creates a nice random break in the surface. Then it's ready to eat!

Friday Fun Day!

Every Friday is something to celebrate in our house because we have what we call "Friday Fun Day". Friday fun day means the week is over and it's time to kick off your shoes, enjoy some Playstation, and eat some ice-cream. We have tried various ice-creams: Cold Stone's, Foster Freeze, McDonalds Soft Serve, Ben and Jerry's, and 31 Flavors. So far Foster Freeze's rootbeer freeze is the winner, and most requested choice by my kids. It really is fabulous.

Friday Fun Days are therapy for all of us. The boys get to visit the amazing worlds of Star Wars Legos and Looney Tunes and Belle and I get to enjoy some quiet time just the two of us. She likes to sit on the back of my chair and brush my hair while I type.