Sunday, December 27, 2009

Homemade Mint Marshmallows



I promised you all that I would share with you the Christmas treats I made this year. It was a very busy Wednesday, let me tell you, with some successes and some frustrations. Just like Santa, I made a list and checked it twice, but wouldn't you know it, I left the grocery store with all my bags, and NO white sugar!! I probably thought I had plenty at home, but alas, I had none.

Let me tell you how the day went. First on my list was homemade mint marshmallows. After sorting through my bottles of flavourings, I found almond and vanilla, but no mint. And then I realized that I had picked up the almond, which was right next to the mint, and put that one in the cart instead. Doh! So, I put on my jacket, my mitts, my hats, and headed out to the local grocery stores. Store #1 - nope. Store #2 - nope. So, I head back home a little defeated, but think that the marshmallows don't need to be mint, and I'll just make them regular. So, back at the condo, I'm reading the recipe, boiling the water, and getting ready to add the main ingredient, sugar. Sigh...I was all out. At that point I was ready to throw in the towel and forget about baking anything at all this year! But after a cup of coffee and talking with Matt (who said he would pick up some sugar and mint flavouring on his way home), I moved on to other items on my list which didn't include sugar or mint.

In the end, I was able to make the marshmallows. And boy were they sticky!! After boiling the sugar and adding to the gelatin, you whip the heck out of it until it's white and gooey. Then you slap the whole thing in a generously greased clear pan, and let it sit on the counter over night. Then the task of cutting begins. As mentioned, they are very, VERY sticky. Matt had to lend a hand in slicing once I got too tired and frustrated. But after they are dusted with icing sugar, they are delicious! I'm still debating if I will make them again next year, but so far the feedback has been good, so I just might have to.

Recipe:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 tbsp unflavoured gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp peppermint extract

Directions:
  1. Grease sides and bottom of 11x7" glass baking dish with butter; dust with 1 tbsp powdered sugar. In bowl of stand mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water to soften; set aside.
  2. In medium saucepan, heat granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Heat to boiling; cook uncovered without stirring for 30 minutes to 240 degrees; remove from heat.
  3. Slowly pour syrup into softened gelatin while beating on low speed. Increase speed to high; beat 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture is white and has almost tripled in volume. Add peppermint extract; beat on high speed 1 minute longer.
  4. Pour into baking dish, patting lightly with wet hands. Let stand uncovered at least 8 hours.
  5. Dust cutting board with 1 tbsp of powdered sugar, and put remaining sugar in small bowl. Loosen from sides of dish and gently lift in one piece onto cutting board. Using a sharp knife greased with butter, cut into 1 inch squares and add to bowl with powdered sugar. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

Now, doesn't that sound easy!?!? I once heard that once you've had homemade marshmallows, you can never go back to the store bought ones... you be the judge!





Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas Eve Brunch



This was our first year celebrating Christmas together in our condo, and since we had a couple other visits to make over the holidays, we decided to have our Christmas morning on the 24th. I found this great little festive table cloth, which matched perfectly with the Red Daisies Matt brought home for me on Wednesday (he's very sweet that way!).

For our brunch, we had French Toast served with strawberries, a side of bacon, and non-alcoholic Mimosas (orange juice and ginger ale).  It was a great way to start the morning, followed by opening stockings from each other. I love stockings... it's like a never-ending sock filled with little goodies! And Matt did a great job of filling my stocking!

After all of that, we were ready to set on our travels, heading first to my parent's house for dinner on the 24th, followed by another brunch and more stockings Christmas morning. From there, on to Matt's mom's house in Belleville for Christmas dinner #1, followed by Sherlock Holmes at the show. I had never been to the movies on Christmas Day, but it was a really great idea! I'm thinking we might make a tradition of it!

Christmas Dinner #2 airs on Sunday back at my parent's, and Christmas Dinner #3 is New Year's Day back at Matt's mom's house. It will be a fun week celebrating Christmas... followed by the gym!


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Mmmm.... Pizza!




If you're ever in a pinch for what to make for dinner one night, might I suggest a simple and delicious homemade pizza?! Matt and I often make this for a quick dinner during the week, and by mixing up the ingredients (which we don't often do. We've found one with great flavour, so we usualy stick with it...), you can have a different flavour each time.

All you need is a flatbread from the bakery section and some imagination. The one we like is salami and goat cheese on a layer of pizza sauce. Sometimes we add sundried tomatoes, sometimes not. This time we added some green chiles that we brought back from New Mexico, and they added a nice heat.

Since most of the ingredients are already cooked, it's really just a matter of putting it in a hot oven for 10 minutes or so to melt the cheese and warm the sauce. Then slice and serve! One flatbread usually makes about 6 slices, and if you serve it with a leafy salad, you could easily feed 3-4 people.  Feel free to share your variation!


Monday, December 21, 2009

Felting 102 - A Cherry Red Bag



My second attempt at felting was this stripped red handbag. I loved the two contrasting reds together, and the cherry themed lining of the bag is just as fun. It's a Christmas gift for a girlfriend of mine who loves red, loves handbags, and had recently gotten into knitting. I figured she could use this for any number of purposes, so I was very happy when she said she loved it!




Lessons learned from my first attempt at felting were valuable for this next project. Most importantly, Read The Instructions! Turns out, the reason my first project didn't turn out right (the sizing was all wrong...) was because I used the wrong size needles! I usually don't make that mistake, but I think I was so excited to get working on the project, that I may have read the pattern quickly and grabbed the wrong sized needles. This time, however, everything worked out perfectly! I am really loving the way things turn out after felting them, so I'm not looking for new projects.

And, turns out, after felting a project, you can cut and trim, and the whole thing will not unravel, so that's good news for my first unsuccessful bag... I can now turn it into something else. I wonder what that might be...?



Sunday, December 20, 2009

Why not Baked Brie for lunch?!?



This weekend has been all about finishing up last minute Christmas shopping and completing outstanding homemade holiday gifts. Throw in a little Christmas cheer and visiting with friends, and you've got yourself a great line-up for the weekend! 

Today was spent finishing up last minute craft items; a bit of cutting and sewing, a bit of knitting and purling, and bit of cursing and swearing (as any good craft project usually has...). Of course, the highlight might have to be our lunch today: Baked Brie in Puff Pasty with Almonds and Red Pepper Jelly. Quite a tasty treat on a cold Sunday afternoon, if I do say so myself... Although we did have to make some substitutions at the grocery store, it did turn out very good, and will surely be a repeat in the near future (of course, Matt and I are both huge cheese lovers, so any cheese dish is probably going to be a favourite...). 



Saturday was saved for braving the crowds and knocking off the last of our Christmas items, which we did with record efficiency.  Of course now we still have the daunting task of wrapping, but I enjoy that, so it should not be too terrible. We also capped off the night by visiting the Bay Christmas windows (a really great display!) and then heading over to Nathan Phillips Square for their Festival of Lights. With a hugh Christmas tree and timed fireworks set to various works of music, the whole effect was quite enjoyable. It made bearing the cold just a bit easier as we watched the colours explode and fill the night sky. Only a few more days until Christmas now...



Saturday, December 19, 2009

Fat Friday - New Mexico Style!




This week I thought I'd share with you one of our Fat Fridays from our time in New Mexico, where after a day of hiking through the dunes of White Sands, we stopped at the infamous Owl Bar (at least according to Matt).

He had been talking and raving about their Green Chile Cheeseburger (to much debate amongst our kind hosts - apparently the diner across the street has a competitive Green Chile Cheeseburger, but Matt would hear none of that...). I think it was only fitting that we left this stop for our last day there (it also happened to be a Friday...).



From the look on Matt's face while he was enjoying the last bite (of both his burger and mine...), I would say it was a successful Fat Friday. And that left both Matt and I with great food memories of New Mexico (not including the nachos we settled on at the airport for dinner the next night... we are still trying to forget about those ones...).

Last night's Fat Friday was a lighter fair; we shared a REAL plate of nachos from Gabby's, with none of that fake liquid cheese stuff, followed by a bag of popcorn as we enjoyed the new George Clooney movie, Up in the Air. And a very cool thing happened just after Matt and I were seated at Gabby's. I was wearing one of my knitted sweaters, and the lady next to us asked if I had knit it? She said she had knit the same one, and then high-fived me! I think that was so cool! Plus, I think Fat Friday is catching on... we saw at least 2 other people  Gabby's photographing their food! He he...




Friday, December 18, 2009

You may have already guessed...



Some of you might have picked up on it in an early post, so just to confirm, Matt and I are indeed engaged!

He proposed one night on our trip in New Mexico, and it was all very romantic and a big surprise! We took a trip up a steep, snowy mountain road to a Japanese spa called Ten Thousand Waves, where in a private hot tub under the falling snow , he got down on one and knee and asked me to marry him! He did such a great job of planning out every detail, and hiding it all from me, so I really was surprised to hear him ask. And of course I said yes!

The ring he picked out for me (which is just stunning!) is Pink Morganite gem with two diamonds, one on each side. Neither of us really wanted a traditional engagement ring, so we were looking for something unique and different. We have a friend who is a jeweler (Jeff Ross), and Matt asked him to design the ring similar to one we had seen in his store earlier this year. I had no idea what would be in the box when he opened it, and in fact, didn't even look at it when he proposed! It was only after that I saw the ring... and loved it!

And, as is his style, when we got back to the hotel, he had Pink Champagne (to match the ring, of course) and strawberries waiting for us. He really did think of everything, and it will be a night I won't ever forget.

(The time and place is still to be determined. We're just enjoying the holidays and being engaged, and will start planning early next year... I'll keep you posted...)





Thursday, December 17, 2009

Thumbs up!



After completing my first sock (second sock to complete the pair still pending...), I thought I would attempt a pair of mittens for my next project. They hopefully will make a very nice Christmas gift for a friend... So, I picked out the perfect yarns, packed my needles in my carry on luggage, and intended on knitting them while travelling to and from New Mexico.

However, with the upgraded security at airports these days, I decided it would be best to ask when checking in to make sure I could bring the needles onboard. Well, the Check-In people were not very helpful at all, and said that I would have to ask the Security folks. If I decided to do that, by the time I asked them, if they said no, I would have had to either toss the materials or bring them back to check-in. Rather than risk it, I decided to check them. Turns out I would have been just fine, so I did do some knitting on the way back home.

Turns out mittens are fairly easy to knit, and also knit up fairly quickly! The one in the picture was my test mitten, to make sure I could do the techniques right (I knit the one mitten in maybe two nights in front of the tv). I didn't really like the pattern itself on the mitten, so I then started another mitt with my own stripped design (I'll post the finished pair after the holidays...). It sure is a lot of fun to play with different colour patterns (which are endless with a bit of imagination), and knitting the mittens has also given me a new love of knitting in the round. It allows for more complex colour patterns (sometimes they keep me up at night, honest! Plotting and designing in my head... and then graphing and sketching when I find the time...). I think I'll try some Fair Isle designs soon (those patterns are fantastic!!). And I say if you're feeling adventurous, give it a try. If you get stuck on the thumb part, remember that YouTube often has some really helpful videos.



Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Playing catch-up...



You may have noticed some inactivity on the blog this past week, but I'm back at it! I was happily enjoying a much needed vacation in New Mexico, where Matt and I did lots of sight-seeing, and lots of eating! Back in the city, we're busy getting ready for Christmas - I'm so looking forward to the holidays!


We got off to a bit of a rocky start as we missed our connecting flight in Atlanta, and our Fat Friday meal that night, unfortunately, consisted of greasy Sparro's Pizza in the airport. We were really looking forward to waking up in New Mexico, and with the next flight not leaving until 11am the next morning, we were going to have to settle for getting there Saturday afternoon instead. But after that little hiccup, the rest of the trip went smoothly.

The highlight reel:


  • hiking up snow covered mountains in Socorro; 
  • Christmas shopping and gallery browsing in Santa Fe while big flakes of snow surround us (our first of the season);
  • a romantic evening outdoor hot tub at Ten Thousand Waves in the snowy mountains (where Matt surprised me with a very important question... I said YES!);
  • Christmas shopping and visiting the Zoo and Aquarium in Albuquerque, followed by Trivia Night at a local pub (we came in 6th, thank you very much!);
  • Hiking at White Sands National Monument with an educational sunset stroll.
The week seemed to just fly by, but we had a really great time, and I can' wait to go back. And of course the trip included some great food stops!, but I'm saving those for another time.


Thursday, December 03, 2009

Packing...




Matt and I are getting ready to leave on our vacation to New Mexico this Friday. We're very excited to be getting away for a few days, but man, things sure are busy and hectic here right now! That will hopefully make the vacation even more enjoyable, if I can manage to forget about work, and the work that I'll be returning to, while we're away... Plus, hate to tell you all, but I do believe there is snow in the forecast for the coming week... And New Mexico is currently a balmy 15 degrees (Celsius, that is).

Above are our suitcases, already overflowing... and I haven't even started to pack yet! One suitcase is entirely filled with snow clothes, as we thought we might be able to do some skiing in the mountains while we are there. But it turns out that they haven't really had cold enough weather, so we might be reconsidering that option. And that will free up at least one of the bags for me to pack in, plus leave some room in case we do some Christmas shopping down there.

In any case, we have a jam-packed week ahead of us with some great items on our itinerary: lots of sight-seeing, maybe some shopping, and definitely a LOT of eating good Mexican food. Don't worry, I will certainly do my best to keep you all updated on that front. Look or a solid week of Fat Fridays!



You can Google me!

If in case you somehow forget how to find me online, like you haven't yet book-marked me in your favourites (shame on you!), you can now Google me:



Ok, so you have to type in the full BusyBeeBets, all one word with no spaces, to find me, but still, you can find me. And I am the only one that comes up! How is that for advertising?!?

And yes, this might have been a mildly egotistical experiment for a small smidge of enjoyment...

Perhaps some of you might be wondering, why, in fact, the blog is called BusyBeeBets. There are 3 reasons (because 3 is my favourite number), which I will happily elaborate on:
  1. I enjoy alliteration, hence the 3 B's;
  2. I am often very busy;
  3. And after being introduced to the amazing show Mad Men, on which one of the lead character's name is Elizabeth, but is often called Betty or Bets, and I, too, adopted the nickname Bets, which I quite enjoy. (Note: Matt was the one who first started calling me Bets, and actually probably the only one, but that is how I adopted the nickname...)
And there you have it. The brief history of BusyBeeBets (and in typing this last sentence, I accidently added a "t" in Busy, creating an entirely different type of blog!! Oh, my...).

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

**New** Fun Facts

I realize that not all of my readers will be interested in cooking and baking, or sewing and knitting, so I would like to offer a bit of variety with a new segment I am calling Fun Facts!

These are odd pieces of  interesting information that I gathered from various searches on the internet, regular television watching, or through daily conversations in life, and then shared with you, my dear reader. Feel free to later use them as fun conversation starters.

Today's fact is Space-themed, and for the hubby of a good friend of mine:




If Saturn were put in a pool of water
(and it would have to be one mighty big pool),
it would float!



Tuesday, December 01, 2009

A knitting nook...



This past weekend, while Diane was up spending time in Toronto, Matt and I took her to the Bata Shoe Museum. I don't think any of us had been before, and who doesn't love spending an afternoon admiring shoes and their history?! While we were there, we came across a knitting nook, where patrons could stop to knit or purl a few rows on one of two scraves currently being created. What a really creative and inspiring idea!

While I was browsing for yarn (surprise, surprise!) at the Knit Cafe one afternoon, there were small postcards that advertised the Knitting Nook at the museum, and also let us know about the Warm The Sole Event. With a donation of a new pair of white sports socks, entrance was free on Saturdays or Sundays. I guess, if you've got shoes to wear, you might need socks, so the idea really isn't that far-fetched. And 'tis the season for giving, after all.

It was a rather interesting way to walk through history and culture. We saw many different styles and kinds of shoes, and the history behind them all really was something else. There was also an exhibit on the sports shoes, including skates and ski boots. This seemed to go hand-in-hand with the upcoming Olympics, no less.

Feel free to browse my online photo collection of shoes, or drop by the museum with a new pair of sports socks and experience it for yourself for free!

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