Valentine Lollipops in the Microwave

The plan was to make cherry heart lollipops for our friends for Valentine's Day...and although ours did not turn out as cherry as we hoped, the rest of this project worked very nicely.  It is so much easier than boiling sugar in a pan.

Step 1:

Prepare a mold - I put A LOT of powdered sugar in my biggest sheet pan and spread it as flat as I could.

You would think with 2 little girls in our house we would have a plethora of heart shaped objects, but none surfaced, so I had to make a heart of cardboard.  I hot glued a Scooby Doo pencil on the end to use as a handle and pressed hearts into the powdered sugar (leaving room for sticks).

I tried both putting the sticks in before adding the candy and putting them in at the end.  Both work ok, but the sugar sets up quickly, so the last few don't go in as nicely if you wait.

Step 2:

In a 4 cup bowl, mix 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup light corn syrup.  Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.  Uncover (away from your face) and stir with a clean spoon.  Recover (with new plastic wrap, although this goes without saying b/c the first sheet will be toast) and microwave again on high for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.  Uncover and stir again with a clean spoon.  When it stops boiling, add food coloring and flavoring as desired.

I added 1/2 tsp of cherry extract.  They taste like a cotton candy Dum Dum.  The extract I have is from the baking aisle and not specifically for candy.  Maybe that would have made a difference.

Step 3:

Pour the sugar mixture into the mold immediately.  Allow to cool a few minutes before removing.  The recipe made a whole pan's worth.  After I removed the lollies,  I spread the sugar again and pressed the mold again, then I sifted the sugar at the end and I think I can reuse most of it.

Voila!

The look nice and clear and the color is perfect.  Rob really likes cinnamon hard candies, so that is a future project for us.

Arroz con Gandules

I mentioned before that my cooking goal for 2013 is to increase our bean consumption.  Beans are one of those foods that seem like magic to me.  You soak them and they double in size, you mash them and they make a creamy sauce, they cost next to nothing, and they're good for you on top of all that.

One of the recipes for this month is Bahamian Style Peas and Rice - this recipe is not unique to the Bahamas.  In Spanish it is Arroz con Gandules and is credited to Puerto Rico.  I think I've seen this dish at a church potluck, but I'd never knowingly eaten a Pigeon Pea.

Standard bean prep - overnight soak in 4:1 water/bean ratio - or same ratios boiled for 2 minutes and let set for 1 hour.  I use the quick soak at least 3/4 of the time.  After the soak, drain them, re-water (same ratio) and gently boil them for 1.5 to 2 hours and then use as you would canned beans.  I think the main benefits of dry beans are the price and the ingredient control.  Canned beans taste fine to me!  But if you are extremely careful about salt intake, dry beans may be the way to go.

My peas and rice in my caldero - I have never known what to call this pot  - sort of an aluminum dutch oven.  Evidently it's a Caribbean style pot.  It came with Rob, he got it when a roommate moved out, it is of unknown origin.

Bahamian Peas and Rice (14 servings)

3 slices of bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 green pepper, you got it - diced
1 can of Pigeon Peas (or about 1/2 cup dry pigeon peas prepared as I noted above)
1 cup ham, diced
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 1/2 cups water
1 can coconut milk
3 cups brown rice

Cook the bacon in a large pot (caldero if you've got one).  Drain bacon bits on a paper towel and reserve 1 TBSP bacon fat in the pot.  Cook the onion, celery and green pepper in the fat.  Add bacon bits, peas, ham, thyme, tomato paste, salt and pepper, water, and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil, add rice, reduce heat to simmer and cover for 50 minutes or until the rice is tender. 

She asked for thirds!

February Eatz

I am very happy with my January experiment.  I'm not exactly sure how much it took to feed us, but I know it was under our usual expenses by around $100.  And even though planning a frugal meal plan for 14 days is akin to preparing for a final exam, $100 is enough incentive to do it again!  Here's the plan for this month:

1st and 3rd
T - Skillet Lasagna, Salad
W - Broccoli & Cheese Potato Soup, Rolls
R - Bahamian Peas and Rice, Carrots
F - Bean Chicken Salad, Bread
S - Chicken Lo Mein, Broccoli Slaw
U - Chili, Corn Bread
M - Mojo Chicken, Black Beans, Rice, Yellow Sauce

2nd and 4th
T - Spaghetti, Salad, Rolls
W - Ham & Bean Soup
R - Swedish Meatballs, Egg Noodles, Peas
F - Pizza, Salad
S - Bramble Beans, Salad
U - Chicken Fiesta with Black Beans, Tortillas
M - Red Beans and Rice

This should last more than 28 days.  We have a lot going on this month - it is one of the nicest months to be in south Florida and there are a gazillion events on the schedule.  Some of them involve free food!  That also means food someone else cooks and cleans up after!  Hooray!