Gooey popcorn balls without corn syrup!

My mother lives hundreds of miles away and we haven't seen each other in many years so staying connected is sometimes more involved than a telephone call.  We both have subscriptions to Netflix and so one of the ways we remain confederate is by ordering the same movie or TV series and watch "together".  Currently my husband and I are watching Dr. Who season 3 "with" my mother.  The other day she suggested that I make some popcorn balls and I thought that would go great with our TV-time!  I haven't made them in well over a decade, so it'd be good to enjoy them again.  I really, really don't like the pre-made ones available near Halloween at the store, so I just haven't had them at all.  Fall is the classic time for these treats, but I think they're great for snacks during baseball season as well.

I love the flexibility of seasonings for these, too. They are little blank canvases and you can even enjoy flavoring each one individually if you like to also!

 I tried to follow a recipe since I was just starting to stretch my popcorn-ball-making muscles, but almost every popcorn ball recipe calls for corn syrup. Well, I'm not a big fan of it in general.  It serves a purpose, but I almost never use it and don't keep it on hand.  Running out to the store for one ingredient is a waste of an hour since I live in the boonies, so I made due with what I had...and I threw recipes out the door.

Make popcorn
I popped a pile of popcorn in my cast-iron dutch oven.  Like, maybe 8 cups.
A bit of oil in the bottom, set the temp. to medium, shook it around to coat the kernels with  oil, and put the lid on with a small gap. After most had popped, Hubby dumped it out onto a piece of parchment and then put only the popped popcorn back into the dutch oven and discarded the kernels left. 

Make sticky-candy goodness!
Not being too sure what would make a chewy, gooey, but not overly sticky (messy) candy, I just winged it.  Y'know, because I make candy all the time! (I don't!) and because it's so easy! (it takes practice!).
The only ingredient amounts I actually measured was what I started with: 1/2 C wildflower honey, 4 giant Campfire brand marshmallows, and 1/4 C water.  All of that went into the pot on medium.  Once the marshmallows melted, I added about 1 T of butter and turned the heat to low.

It did that foamy, swirly, bubbly, thing that liquid candy does so I thought I was golden!

Not so much.

I dipped a piece of popcorn in, blew on it until it cooled, and tasted.  It was a sickly sweet honey flavor.  Ew. I mean, I like honey but this was like

"I'm a queen bee and I love honeeeyyy!!"

So I added a bunch of salt, like probably 2 Tablespoons of sea salt (but I wasn't measuring). 
Then Chinese five-spice, vanilla bean paste, a few Lancaster caramels (I figured, "Hey, what can it hurt? They already taste like ooey gooey caramel!")
I added a pinch of cinnamon, more salt, a big spoonful of dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and a bit more butter.  Many tastings.  It was getting better.  Now it was more like

"I'm a bee-keeper and I love honey!"

I dropped a bit into cold water and it was at ball-state so I poured it over the popped corn, stirred, and let it cool a bit while Hubby was setting up our TV watching area by the fireplace.  We don't keep a TV in the living room, but we wanted to snuggle by the fire during our Dr. Who marathon, so he moved it <3  He's the best.

Make the balls
Then we PAM'ed our hands and formed the balls and placed them on the parchment to cool.  If the candy coating isn't cool enough it will be hard to get it to stick together instead of sticking to your hands, so make sure it's cool enough (you also don't want to get burnt by the liquid candy!! It gets super-hot.)

Pack 'em up
After the shows were over, I packed the remaining balls away by cutting the parchment I had already used and wrapped each ball like a piece of peppermint candy and twisting the ends and securing with a rubber band.  I save those fat blue bands that come on broccoli, so I just cut them in half to make two! 

Next time
These came out pretty good and the consistency of the candy was perfect (by sheer luck), but it took everything but the kitchen sink to tone down that strong honey flavor.  My takeaway from this is that I won't use that much honey for them again; it just added too much flavor. 
Some ideas to try instead:  Marshmallows (a'la krispie treats), just break down and buy corn syrup next time I'm at the store, or use granulated sugar.

Thanks to Mom for the idea, Hubby for the ambiance and companionship, and everyone who makes the awesomeness that is Doctor Who!

The Taste of Autumn Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is all about the spices, the texture and flavor of pumpkin, and that burnt orange color.
I love pumpkin pie.  I love the simplicity. I love the warm and inviting color.  I love that it embodies seasonal flavors in a not-too-sweet package.  But why do so many recipes get it wrong?
If you follow the label directions of the famous pumpkin puree brand, you will get a decent pie, and if passable is what you're shooting for then you are probably pretty happy with it,  however, it lacks character (seasoning), and the unctuousness that makes you close your eyes and savor it.  

After a few years of piddling around with my recipe, I decided to scrap it and completely deviate from my original (which was based on that famous pumpkin puree brand).

After a bit of searching and pondering (because pondering pie is a wonderful way to spend a day!), I crafted this recipe, created from the Pumpkin Pie recipe of Food Network's Paula Deen.  Now Mrs. Paula's pie is pretty good, but I am not a fan of pretty good.  If I am going to consume a high-calorie dessert, it better be darn great!  Blog-worthy, even!

What really makes this pumpkin pie such a standout is the creamy thickness that the cream cheese lends.  It also cuts the sweetness without cutting the amount of sugar (which is necessary for the color and texture).  You get a nice, thick pie deserving of that gorgeous dessert plate!

This pie also perfectly straddles the fence between dessert and side-dish.  I abso-freaking-lutely detest super sweet desserts and this is NOT one of them... I specifically shot for a recipe that makes you feel like you are cuddling next to a fireplace with a cuppa coffee. In fact, that would be the perfect accompaniment!

Ingredients

• 8oz.  Cream Cheese, softened for an hour (Philadelphia)
• 2C  Pumpkin puree (Libby's)
• 1C  Granulated sugar (Domino)
• 1/4 t  Table Salt (Morton's Iodized)
• 1 Lg egg, 2 yolks (Pete & Gerry's)
• 1 C  Half & Half (Market Pantry)
• 1/4 C Butter, unsalted, melted (Trader Joe's)
• 1 t  Pure vanilla bean paste (Nielsen-Massey) *Read note about the paste*
• 1 t Saigon Cinnamon, ground (The Fresh Market)
• 1/4 t Ginger, ground (Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 t Allspice (freshly ground from berries)
• 1/4 t Cloves, ground (Trader Joe's)
• 1/4 t Nutmeg, freshly shaved (Trader Joe's)
• Pie dough

Directions

1. Set out cream cheese and butter to soften for an hour. 
2. Prepare pie dough if necessary (if you are being lazy like me, just use Pillsbury Pie Crust and take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before prep-time so it can be successfully rolled into the pie dish.
3.  Preheat the oven to 350° after the cream cheese has gotten really soft and you are ready to start making the pie.
4. Roll dough into a 9" pie dish and press firmly into the sides and bottom of the dish.  Cut off excess (save them for a mini-pie!) and crimp the edges.  To make the design in the pie pictured, I placed one index finger flat against the inside rim and rolled the adjacent section down, alternating all the way around.
5. Place the pie crust in the freezer. Take a 10 minute break. I usually take this time to tidy up where I've been working and get everything prepped for mixing.
6. Pre-bake the crust- Place aluminum foil into the crust and fill with blind baking beans.  Bake in pre-heated 350°oven for 10 minutes, remove the foil and beans, bake for about 10 minutes more.  It should look toasty and dry.
7. Make the filling in a large mixing bowl while the crust is pre-baking.
1.  Beat the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer until it's whippy.
2.  Add spices (they will help color the cream cheese)
3.  Add pumpkin and beat on medium to combine.
4.  Add sugar & salt and beat on medium to combine.
5.  In a small bowl, combine eggs, half & half, and melted butter.  (Do not add hot melted butter!)
6. Add liquid mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat on low to combine.
8. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake at 350° 60-90 minutes until the center is set.
9. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature (about an hour) and then refrigerate.

* A few notes*

Okay, so about that vanilla paste:  Hubby made a whoopsie at the store when he picked it up for me on his way home from work one day.  I didn't even know this product existed.  It looks JUST like the regular vanilla extract by that brand, but it has a wider mouth on the bottle.  I opened it to discover it was a thick liquid!  I read the bottle to find out that it measures the same so I used it and I'm officially a convert!  The only time I'll use the liquid again is in frostings and drinks and such.. This thicker stuff was perfect in my batter and it was easy to dip my measuring spoon in.

I do occasionally like to use molasses, brown sugar, or maple syrup to sweeten my autumn pies, and I haven't experimented with this pie yet.  I think sweetening and flavoring whipping cream with one of those to garnish would be lovely.

I include the brand names and links to specific products I've used mostly for my personal use in case I decide to tweak a recipe later or something doesn't come out quite right.  I am not sponsored by any of the brands used in this recipe. 

There will be a bit of crust and batter left over, so stuff a ramekin and bake it off at the same time.  You know, for SCIENCE!

The pic was a quickie I took to share with my mom via iPhone, so it's not really great, but that pie was cut up and devoured before I even thought about blogging it :D
Oh well, I'll have to make another one to get a better pic, right?!

 

What are your favorite pumpkin pie ingredients? What do you like to pair with it or garnish it with?

Journaling about the market, picnic, mowing, and a low country boil

Mike & I had a busy Saturday:

We headed into town to go our weekly shopping and about half-way there I remembered that Saturday mornings there is a local farmer's market that we keep missing.  At first I thought it was in Orange, VA so Mike turned around to head in that direction...as soon as he did, I remembered for sure it was in Culpeper, VA which was where we were heading to begin with. Oops! On the way to Culpeper we pass Commonwealth Park which is equestrian competition grounds and there was a big show going on.  I was so torn because I wanted to stop and watch a while, but I was pretty sure the market closed at noon and we really needed some good corn, potatoes, and veggies for The Piggals (our guinea pigs).

We made it to the local market in time and there was a great selection.  We got some freshly picked corn, small red potatoes, and cucumbers from the C&T Produce stand.  I was encouraged to try the corn...even though I already had a dozen in my cloth sack.  I happily nibbled away while I browsed and Mike paid :) We had other shopping to do so I didn't pick up eggs or meat from one of the other vendors although it looked good. I was really glad we made it.

Three horses in the shade. Commonwealth Park, VA

The shopping trip took longer than we had hoped (it always does) so at three o'clock we were soooo hungry and picked up a pizza and headed home.  I didn't want to eat in the truck and the pizza was way too hot anyway so I figured we'd find a pretty spot to park and eat.  My first thought was Mt. Pony where the Library of Congress is located. I've been up there for events before and it has a breathtaking view of the mountains, but the gate was closed and it didn't seem that anywhere else lead up to the vista.  My next idea was Commonwealth Park!  It was just a minute away so we quickly parked and found a nice spot under a shade tree next to one of the rings where the young-adult division was participating in the jumping portion of the competition.  It was great to sit and watch while we enjoyed our picnic lunch.

Enjoying our shady picnic next to this beauty

A young-adult jumper competing. Commonwealth Park, VA

We cross the Rapidan River on our way home and we saw this

Rapidan River Mill cluttered with logs after the storm

As soon as we got home, we unpacked, changed, and I headed out to mow!

Mowing silhouette

Scene from the tractor - the Blue Ridge Mountains

Then I made my first attempt at a low country boil.

Low Country Boil
Fresh corn * smoked sausage * new potatoes * peel-on shrimp
1/2 C Old Bay * 2T sea salt * 8Q water
Boil water with seasoning.
Add potatoes. Cook 13 min.  Add corn. Cook 5 min. 
Add shrimp and sausage, Cook 3-4 min.
Drain. Dump onto paper or plastic tablecloth and dig in!

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Have Lunch with Me: Shrimp Salad!

Have Lunch with Me: Refreshing Shrimp Salad!

This is another light and easy lunch that this housewife adores!  It's my go-to in the summertime when I want light and cool fare.  

No hot oven or stove! Filling! No guilt! Ready in minutes!
Perfection!

I always have frozen shrimp on-hand for little lunches like this one.  I buy them on sale, usually buy-one-get-one-free.  I also always have an assortment of veggies since I feed a nice variety to my birds and guinea pigs.  They love when I make a salad because there's always little leftover bits that they get as a mid-day snack.

_______
Shrimp - 1 dozen, large, pre-cooked, frozen, tail on, peeled, de-veined

Dressing - 1T Lighthouse Homestyle Ranch

Romaine lettuce - 2 leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

Broccoli florets

Carrots - shredded

Snow peas - cut in half width-wise

Sea Salt & Freshly cracked black pepper

I wash all my veggies the day I get home with them from the market so that's one step of prep that's already done!

I put the frozen, pre-cooked shrimp into a colander in the sink and rinse them with cold water for a few seconds, give them a swirl and rinse again and let sit while I continue prep.

I get the rest of the veggies ready.  The lettuce gets torn into pieces and placed in the bottom of the bowl.  Layered ontop are the snow peas, broccoli florets, and shredded carrot.

Then I rinse the shrimp some more.  By this time they shouldn't have ice on them.

I put the vegetable trimmings into the compost bin, put anything extra away and get a small plastic storage container out.

The shrimp should be thawed by now (I give them a pinch to make sure they aren't icy inside), this should be about 5 minutes after prep started.  I lay the shimp out on the counter beside the sink ontop of a few layers of paper towels and I give them a firm press with another dry paper towel.  When they seem almost dry I take a dry towel in my hand and gently squeeze each shrimp one by one and place them into the plastic storage container .  I need the shrimp to be nice and dry so the dressing will adhere to them and not be a watery mess.

The dressing is added on top of the shrimp in the container and I add a few shakes of sea salt (or kosher, but never table salt) and a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper.  Then I put the lid on and shake gently to coat the shrimp in the dressing and seasonings.   

Then I place each shrimp on top of the salad bed.  I definitely prefer to dress just one component of my salad instead of the whole thing so there is never a puddle of dressing in the bottom or the risk of the salad being over-dressed.  It's also handy for portion/calorie control if that's a concern.

Have Lunch with Me: Open-faced Pintos 'n Cheese

 As a housewife, I like to use up leftovers when I make lunch for myself, and I like making it as yummy, quick, and easy-to-clean up as possible!

Here's my first meal share; I hope you enjoy the inspiration!

Have Lunch with Me: Open-faced Pintos 'n Cheese

Technically, I didn't use leftovers for this; I used stuff I'd need to open for tonight's requested dinner of Chorizo Burritos. So call it an early prep :P

Fresh tortillas

Tortilla toasted over open gas flame

Old El Paso Vegetarian Refried Beans

Refried Beans smeared on toasted tortilla

Old El Paso Mild Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce covering refried beans

Trader Joe's Garlic Salt Grinder

Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning

Seasonings sprinkled on

Tostitos Artisan Baked Three Cheese Queso Corn Chips

Tortilla chips crushed (about 3)

Crushed tortilla chips layered ontop

Queso Fresco (fresh cheese)*

Used a fork to "grate" queso fresco

DONE!

Open-faced Pintos and Cheese:
Cheese sprinkled ontop.  Concoction baked on 350° about 12 minutes.  Lifts out well with a spatula.

This was a nice and quick lunch.  I loved that it was vegetarian, warm and light, but filling.  Using the queso fresco instead of a meltier cheese kept it from being greasy and gloppy.   I topped it with a bit of cilantro that I shared with my guinea pigs.

I was inspired by one of my all-time favorite Taco Bell menu items, the Pintos N Cheese.  I live out in the boonies now so it's a bit of a trek to the nearest one...not that I ever went that often for health reasons anyway, so I make my own.  I usually use leftovers from Taco Night and bake it in a bowl, but I decided to try a different way.  Leave a comment below and let me know if you've done something similar!

*Queso fresco, if you haven't seen it before, literally means fresh cheese.  You can make it at home with just milk, salt, and rennet, but it's inexpensive to buy and can be found in most markets.  If you can't find it, try your local latin market.  It has a mild milky taste and I use it in place of Parmesan when I don't mind missing out on the tang or salty flavor that Parm has.