Week 42 Thursday (10/30/14)

Recipe Review        

Today’s Recipe and Location:           Caramel Apples

         Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

I figured out that there are 550 calories per serving, if 12 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

I started with beautiful Granny Smith apples

Of course, you need a lot of butter
to make homemade caramel.

This is the real McCoy - homemade caramel

The caramel started on the apple,
 and just slid right off - what a drag!

It just made a huge puddle. What you can't see
is the final product after I waited until it was
stone cold and reapplied it - it then finally looked good

         I totally blew this recipe. I followed the directions to a tee and when I tested the first apple, the caramel just slid right off. So, I did what Ree said and reheated and recooled the caramel. Once again, it just slid right off of the apple. I even added nuts, but nothing worked. My thoughts are, that I will give Nicole the extra caramel and the kids can just dip the apple in the caramel. Of well, I guess I messed up somewhere.

         Since I wrote this, I made one more effort to get the caramel on the apples. Now that it has been sitting for two hours and is firm, I scooped it up and spread it on the apples. Then I refrigerated them for 30 minutes. Believe it or not – most of it stuck. I think the problem was, that it was too hot when I applied it to the apples. The Serpico girls and Nicole thanked me for a evening treat.

Random Reflections - The Glorious Garden       

         Unfortunately, it is time to clean up the garden, and put everything safely away until the spring. Cleaning up my gardens is a royal pain. Last weekend, I removed all of the yard art and cleaned the garage. This is very important, because now that we are having freezes, the glass birdbaths that have water in them can crack. Now that the art is gone, what remains is to begin cutting back the plants. Grasses should never be cut back until March prior to new growth. Last year, I had 37 lawn and leaf bags after I began cutting the beds. This is an expensive time unless it falls in the leaf free pickup weeks. So, each and every night after Curves, you will be able to find me in the garden cutting my little heart out.

Here is the hosta bed before I cut it back

Clean and tidy and ready for next spring

This is the daylily and mandevilla corner bed

Here it is stripped of the glorious plants

Lastly, the penstemmon digitalis bed

It looks so sad after all is said and done. I pulled 12 bags
from the back, but still have about three to go when
the remaining plants lose their green color. The back
grasses will take about 13 bags in March/April.
Now that the back is done,
I am on to the sides and front yards. 

Irksome Ideas and Images

         I made a huge mistake this weekend by going to Walmart to grocery shop on Saturday afternoon. OMG I swear that every rude, disrespectful, and ill-mannered child was in the store. There was one Mom whose six children were running through the aisles and screaming as she blatantly ignored their behavior. There were several other toddlers screaming in carts, and I felt my stress level rising rapidly.

         I do not blame these children. Shame on the parents, who do not know how to say no, or teach their children basic manners. If a child misbehaves to the point where others are bothered, the child should be removed. JUST LEAVE. The child will then learn that this behavior is not acceptable. Don’t be your child’s friend – be a PARENT!