Christmas Marshmallows

Powdered candy canes add extra zip to these melt-in-your-mouth mallows!

If you don't own a stand mixer, borrow one... You'll be happier making this recipe if you do!

Servings: 90 mallows (approx)


Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup hot tap water
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 envelopes (or 2 T plus 2 1/2 t) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water

2 large egg whites*
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
*if egg safety is a problem in your area, substitute powdered egg whites reconstituted according to manufacturer's instructions

Sift together:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup corn starch
3-4 candy canes, powdered in blender.

Oil bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 x 2 rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with confectioners' sugar blend. You can also line with parchment paper, dusting bottom only.


Preparation:First, in a large bowl, or in bowl of a standing electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand to soften. (add an extra tsp of water if necessary to wet all gelatin)

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt over low heat, stir to combine then increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, 10-12 minutes.

As sugar mixture comes close to temperature: In a medium bowl, beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they hold stiff peaks.

Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Removing any un-dissolved bits before whipping.

Beat sugar and gelatin mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 5 minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. Be careful this taffy-like mixture doesn’t take over your hand mixer!

Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan and sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar blend evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours.

Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert onto a large cutting board. Lifting up 1 corner of inverted pan loosen marshmallow with fingers and let drop onto cutting board. With a pizza cutter (or large knife) trim edges and cut marshmallow into generous 1-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners' sugar blend in large bowl and add marshmallows in batches, tossing to evenly coat.

Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1-2 weeks.

My Brother, the Chef

This is my brother Charles. He is a chef. It took him a while to find his passion, but it certainly is that! He's so happy... happier than I've ever seen him in his life. He's working hard and doing well for himself.

Everyone at the restaurant where he works wanted to come meet his family - so you know they like him, that they wanted to see where he came from. (well, that or they think he's crazy and wanted to see the loons he grew up with... but I'm gonna stick with the story that they like him)
The food at The Wilshire was amazing. I could go broke eating there and be happy doing it. I've never had such AMAZING food. Now I understand why people make lives in the culinary arts. There is a whole world of food out there I never even knew existed! And my little brother is a part of the club! How cool is that?!
And then he made the gravy for Thanksgiving. I think our friend Marilyn said it quite appropriately "I just want to pour it all over my fingers [so that I can lick them clean]". It was truly awesome. And then he made pot d'creme... let your tastebuds imagine with me: the best hot chocolate you've ever tasted, rich, smooth, creamy, not so sweet that it overwhelms you but just right - turn that into the tastiest chocolate pudding you've ever had and you're close to what Charles made. And he just whipped it up! :) He's so comfortable in his skin. I'm so very happy for him. (and sad that we don't live closer to enjoy his culinary musings more often!)

Hooray for Charles. For coming and spending time with us, for sharing the passion that is food, and for being my happy, sweet brother again. It's so good to see you doing so well!!! I love you kiddo. Even if I do have to look up to you nowadays! :)

Family Thanksgiving

This is my family!
Richard, Charles, Ben, Papa
Stan & Alex, Me, Mama


This is an outtake of my family:


I don't even remember what Alex did but Richard's girlfriend, Debi, was snapping the photos and doing her best to be a loon and get Alex's attention for a good picture!

It's the first complete Yoder family photo since Alex was born! He'll be 3 in January... you'd think we were all cameraphobes. Isn't it a great looking picture though!? I'm so happy we all got together - and that we have proof!

*and if my brothers are listening... I'm calling dibs on Raindrops! :)

Cruise Control

I got my first speeding ticket this morning. Big one.

And I feel really bad about it, because it's money we just didn't need to spend.

I don't actually feel bad about the speeding, however I realize now that my habit of speeding isn't a line item in our budget. Nor am I willing to make it one.

Which means it's a habit I have to break.

Hello cruise control.

Whatever sound it is you make when you're annoyed at yourself, but not pissed off because you knew you were going to get caught some day, and really you're only upset because you have to take it home to your husband and it's going to impact your shopping, and result in a good deal of razzing from here on out even though it's your first (and not his)... and that you managed to go ticketless longer than your Mom did... even with her 6th sense for when a cop was around. And, and, and...
That sound, whatever it is - INSERT HERE.

*thanks to gaping void for the art

Confession

I've worn my "I Voted" sticker all day.

And, even though I swore off news until the polls are actually closing, I logged on to RealClearPolitics.com for a little fix. I'm feeling better now. I might actually be able to stay away from talk radio during the drive home. Just a few more hours... hang in there!

An Election Day Note: Thanks, President Bush
By Andrew Breitbart

I have a dark secret to tell before the election so that it's on the record. It's something that is difficult to say to certain friends, peers, family and, lately, many fellow conservatives.

I still like George W. Bush. A lot.

For starters, I am convinced he is a fundamentally decent man, even though I have read otherwise at the Huffington Post.

President Bush is far smarter, more articulate and less ideological than his plentiful detractors scream, and, ultimately, he will be judged by history - not by vengeful Democrats, hate-filled Hollywood, corrupt foreign governments, an imploding mainstream media or fleeting approval ratings.

George W. Bush is history's president, a man for whom the long-term success or failure of democracy in Iraq will determine his place in history. He may end up a victim of his own tough choices, but the cheerleading for his demise when Iraq's outcome is yet determined has hurt America and possibly set up the next president for the same appalling partisan response.

The fact that the United States has not been attacked since Sept. 11, 2001, far exceeds the most wishful expert predictions of the time. Perhaps facing another al Qaeda-led barrage would have reinforced our need for national unity, caused us to recognize the gravity of the Islamist threat and fortified Mr. Bush's standing at home and abroad.

Yet, thankfully, that never happened. And Mr. Bush has been punished for this obvious success.

By most accounts, al Qaeda is reeling from the damage inflicted by our efforts against the once-thriving terror network. Yet reflexive enemies of the president - including Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee - shamefully mock him for not having caught Osama bin Laden.

It's a playground taunt from the same people who never seriously advocated for a strong military foray into the regions where bin Laden could have been caught. These Daily Kos armchair generals also rhetorically ask why we don't invade North Korea or Saudi Arabia. Yet no one takes this hypothetical warmongering seriously, or expects a President Obama to go on the offense in any of these conveniently preferable hot spots. It's meant to hurt, not help, the president.

While President Bush has been marshaling a multinational force to take on modernity's enemies in foreign lands, the American left has decided to go to war against not only Republicans but also moderate Democrats.

Bush hatred was a fait accompli.

Back in November 2000, when Al Gore contested Florida and the demonizing of George Bush began full-bore ("President Select," "Bush Chimp," "the illegitimate president"), I told Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund, "You watch, the Democratic Party will never grant Bush his humanity, and they will never let up."

And they never did.

The Democratic Party chose to send a clear message that the impeachment of President Clinton incurred by the newly minted Republican-led Congress and the upstart new media - talk radio and the Internet - would be countered by unprecedented partisan fury.

The media will shape "the truth" that Democrats were always behind the initial Afghanistan effort or were poised to grudgingly accept the president whom they previously mocked as "illegitimate."

But those brave liberals who stood by the president were mostly a small minority, and all of them have since been excommunicated for their apostasy.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and actor Ron Silver were presented as cautionary tales to left-of-center politicians and public figures who would lend support to a wartime Republican president.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who was described as the "conscience of the Senate" when he ran for vice president with Al Gore in 2000, was summarily dismissed from the Democratic Party for dissenting over one thing.

And the youth movement that is fueling Obama-mania is riddled with minds that do not have the perspective of what happened before Mr. Bush, and why the media and the Democratic Party have stood against Mr. Bush and his motivations from the word go.

Much of Mr. Bush's 28 precent approval rating is born not of "failed policies" - of which there are many - but of the ill-gotten gains pilfered from a pre-Bush inauguration strategy to send the message to Republicans that the Democrats play politics harder and better.

Mr. Obama said it best: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."

I don't think Albert Einstein could have devised an equation to guide the leader of the free world during the wildly tumultuous post-9/11 realities without a modicum of help from the opposition party and the vast majority of the print and electronic media.

Right now, America appears to be leaning toward electing a man for whom popularity is a paramount concern. That means he must trust the American media and the American electorate to guide him to difficult decisions, not the other way around.

The American people pay closer attention to "Survivor: Gabon" than to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yet the majority will soon have a greater say in how we proceed in the war on terror. We are headed to the "American Idol" presidency. The last thing I want is my text vote on the financial crisis to have a say on how we proceed.

If Barack Obama is elected the next president of the United States on Tuesday, I hope the Republican Party and conservatives take the higher road. The republic cannot handle another four years of undeclared civil war while we have real enemies out there to fight.

Andrew Breitbart is the founder of the news Web site breitbart.com and is co-author of "Hollywood Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon - the Case Against Celebrity."

Miracles Happen

It's a bumper sticker I read on the drive to work this morning. It's had my attention all day. It could apply to many parts of my life right now...

Miracles Happen

-McCain could squeek by Obama via the "silent majority" for a victory.

-I could be given a raise.

-KCP&L could be preoccupied by an ice storm and not be able to hook-up the project that's currently preventing Stan from joining Alex & I at my parents for Thanksgiving.

-ChurchMP3 could take off and our financial life would be turned upside down, in the best way.

-I could read 2 bedtime stories to Alex, get the laundry and dishes done, sit on the couch and talk with my husband for an hour, shower, and still have my head hit the pillow before 11pm. (yeah, that would be a miracle)

-I could pay less than $2.00/gallon for gas... oh, wait! I already do! See, miracles do happen!



(Yes, that is indeed a Waffle House in the background. They do exist, not just in the movies. But, if you know what's best for you, don't actually go in. Just admire the yellow awning from a distance and trust me that they're much more glamorous from the outside.)

When I grow up...

This has been floating in my drafts box since the day after Sarah Palin accepted the VP nomination. Oops.

I haven't thought of myself as a feminist before this morning.

But last night, I watched the entirety of Sarah Palin's acceptance speech, and loved every minute of it. I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing like the rest of the country at the jabs and verbal poison darts she threw at "O-bummer's" camp. I like a good battle of words as much (if not more) than the next person.

But this morning, it became more. This morning, on my drive in to work, with my husband and 2 year old still asleep in their beds I realized just how much her presence means to me.

The mere fact that she was standing on that stage made me proud. Hilary never did because she doesn't have the same values as I do. Sarah Palin holds the same values I do... freedom, family, faith. Working to make this world a better place for my kid, and his kids. Doing everything in my power to cling to the traditional family unit; dinner at the dinner table with a home-cooked meal, setting an example, even something as simple as nursing... all when a world says that you could just "have it your way", use the "easy button", blame someone else, take a pill for that...

Instead, she's successfully doing what I do on a smaller scale. She doesn't make me feel any less for the fact that I'm not as accomplished, she instead inspires me to be more. There's something about the fact that she could hunt or win a beauty pagent - turn heads or turn legislation - that makes her oh-so-very fairy tale come true.

And I realize that it means so much to me, the prospect of having a great woman in the White House. So much more than I would have anticipated. It means that maybe, just maybe, some day my boss will take me seriously... not just pretend to. He won't ask me if I'm dedicated enough to take the company to the next level because I have a young family at home...

Would he ask a man the same question? Doubtful.

Will I allow the conversation to continue without calling him on it next time? Doubtful.

We are on the front edge of a revolution. The glimmer of which, I can say with confidence, has already changed the environment of the workplace!

Palin is a self-sufficient woman. A get-it-done, and do it with grace, kind of person (in heels, a flawless hairdo and lipstick, BTW). She is strong and caring. She is the absolute opposite of all the women on the liberal left. She does not blame anyone for the hypocricy she meets, she works harder to rise above it. She has never expected anyone to bail her out or do anything for her. She has pulled herself up by her bootstraps, struggled thru, and risen victoriously with a beautiful family, successful career, and her faith in tact. She is the American I want to be. Not without struggles. Not with everything. But with freedom and dignity, faith and family.

When I grow up, I want to be like Sarah Palin.

The Life Cycle of a Democracy

I've always found this really interesting, hope you do too:

Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the Univ of Edinburgh in 1787 has this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2000 years earlier A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy which is always followed by a dictatorship The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years.

From bondage to spiritual faith
From Spiritual faith to great courage
From courage to liberty
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to complacency
From complacency to apathy
From apathy to dependence (which is where we are now)
From dependence back into bondage.

I don't want Obama to be the first American dictator... (ok, I don't want a dictator, period)

I'm voting McCain/Palin. I hope you will too. If you don't know who you're voting for and would like to talk about the issues - leave me a comment. I'm happy to talk politics. Just keep it clean! We're all grown-ups!

Enchilada Lasagna

I just shared this recipe with a friend and as I pressed the SEND button it dawned on me that there are probably a lot of friends out there who would love a new recipe. This one is a favorite in our house. No rolling required! :)

Enchilada Lasagna
Preheat oven to 350F
Makes one 9x13 pan

1 19oz can Old El Paso Mild Enchilada Sauce
1 15oz can HyVee Mild Enchilada Sauce
1 10oz can Old El Paso Mild Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
(You'll have some sauce leftover, but they each taste different and blend to make it just right.
If you can't find these brands, just pick any 2 red and 1 green... it's a forgiving recipe!)
4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or a cheddar blend)
36 +\- white corn tortillas, cut in half
1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can black olives, sliced
1 can sweet corn (or frozen)
1 small can diced mild green chilies

Brown ground beef, using directions on taco seasoning packet (also yummy as plain cheese enchiladas).

Cut tortillas, slice olives, open & drain green chilies and corn. Use can opener key to open pour spouts in enchilada sauces. Open/prepare cheese.

Begin with a layer of enchilada sauce on bottom of pan, enough to coat the pan bottom (this will keep your tortillas from sticking).

Then the tortillas, with flat edges along outside of pan - arrange 3 along the sides, 1 on each end, and 3-4 down the middle.

Then 1/3 each of all other ingredients, and ~1 cup cheese. Another splash of sauce, tortillas, ingredients... repeat until pan is full - usually about 3 layers. Finish with a final layer of ingredients and cheese. Cover with foil, shiny side down, and bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.

Serve with sour cream, chips & salsa. Enjoy!

It's so easy to double this recipe and make the whole thing assemly-line-style that I usually make 2 pans at a time and freeze generous portions in quart ziplock bags. They reheat beautifully!

I just have to brag...

I was finally able to purchase my Talented Berry lipstick form Sephora! It's been out of stock for weeks (since I got the free sample) and I was just moaning to my BFF today about how I'd give them my money if they only had what I wanted...

Now I just have to pretend to be a grown up and actually figure out how to reliably wear lipstick without looking like I'm playing dress up - or having it wear off of my lips all blotchy-like...
I'm a big girl. I have a kid of my own. A career. I should be able to conquer lipstick.

Wish me luck. (Because it's gorgeous!)

The Geese Are Back!

So there are about a million other things going on in life right now, but yesterday, among all the chaos, I noted the flocks and flocks of geese. They are once again passing our way. Before the grass browns or the trees turn - the geese come thru town.

Winter is on it's way and if it weren't for the amazing weather and round of golf last Friday I would feel as though I'd missed summer entirely. My head spinning, buried in paperwork, lost somewhere between a computer monitor and a pallet rack.

I'm taking tomorrow off just to play with my son. There's a trip to the park in our future...

Butterfly, freestyle, relay - monologue?

Phelps is hosting SNL Sept. 13th...

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etmike285819164aug28,0,7870159.story?track=rss

greeting cards

I have this thing about buying greeting cards without having a specific need for them.

They'll make me laugh in middle of the store, or well up a little - or I'll buy them so far in advance of whatever I do need them for, that I can't find them and have to go back to the store - resulting in yet more unallocated cards.

This one I bought at LifeWay while picking up a card for my BFF a while ago. I stumbled across it today while considering cleaning out my work bag... I think, without knowing it, that maybe I bought it for me because it's what I needed to hear:

You are going through

trials and difficulties

not because God

has abandoned you,

but because He has

chosen you and called you

to know His heart.

-Roy Lessin

-----

"And we know that in all things

God works for the good of those

who love Him, who have been

called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28 NIV

-----

There is a purpose

in what you are

walking through,

and God would

never allow it if

He could not keep

you close to His heart

and use it for good

in the plan He has

for your life.

Can I just take this moment to confess that no matter how many times I hear that God has a purpose for my life and that he will use all things for good... it somehow sounds new every time.



My heart tingles as though I've never heard that message before. I am God's. He knows me and knows what I need. He put this card in my hand in the store, and again this morning... I believe that - so why does it always come as such a surprise to me?

Dropping Gas Prices...

Does anyone else find this interesting...?

Let me outline it for ya:

-People freak out about the high price of gas.

-People buy less gas. (and less of everything because there's only so much room in the budget)

-Gas companies sell less gas. (and other companies sell less stuff)

-Companies see less profit.

-Companies freak out about lowered revenue.

-Investors freak out about lowered revenue.

-Gas prices drop.

-People buy more gas. (and other things)

If I have this straight, we're talking about basic supply & demand here...

Capitalism in our great free country at work!

Irish Soda Bread

This is courtesy my S-I-L. She made it for St. Patrick's Day and I'm suddenly craving it so I had to dig out the recipe. It's on the list for this weekend now. Maybe it will make it on to yours too!

Irish Soda Bread
3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (or use 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour plus 1 cup unbleached)
1/2 to 3/4 cup raw or brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1-1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup golden raisins, cranberries or currants (soaked to plump)
1 teaspoon dried caraway seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut the butter into the flour mixture, until crumbly. Add egg and buttermilk. Mix until moistened. Add raisins or currants and caraway seeds if desired.

Form into a round loaf on a greased baking sheet. Use a knife to cut a spiral or cross on the top. Bake one hour.

(She said that she only baked it for about 45 minutes and used all whole wheat flour. The original recipe called to soak the currants in whiskey I think, but she just used water overnight and it was oh, so tasty!)

He bought me flowers!

These are better than roses. Our front planter has been seriously neglected and I haven't had the time to do anything but shake my head at it... but my husband bought me flowers, and mulch, and killed all the weeds, and yanked out the half-dead plants (ok, he paid a friend to do it, but he got it done):



And didn't he pick pretty flowers!?! It's just fabulous!!!!

And he managed to take my car to the mechanic for new tires and an alignment and all that good stuff that will keep it from falling off the road with me in it!

Never mind about the empty toilet paper roll...

I have flowers!

And new, balanced and aligned, tires!

toilet paper

I just don't understand.

He pulls a new roll from the cabinet, uses a few squares (because the glue is gone), and leaves it sitting on top of the counter to be lightly dampened by the splashings of handwashing (at least he washed his hands)...

Really?

So last night I hit the edge. An edge maybe, as I've hit it before, made it back to solid ground and begun racing towards it again...

I am exhausted from work and torn in all different directions trying to be boss, valuable employee, wife, mommy, friend, daughter, granddaughter, and volunteer... Still finding time to sleep and attempt to remember who Tracy really is.

Could I get "restful sleep" in a pill form please? I just don't have time for it anymore.

At small group Tuesday night I heard (and preached a little) about the power and importance of prayer... even when you don't know the words to ask for what you need... even when you don't know what you need. So I stopped.

Between brushing my teeth and hopping in the shower I stopped and shared my heart with God. And I cried to him and gave him my burdened heart and heavy head. And he gave me a hug - which I expected. What I didn't expect was that he would tell me something too. He told me "You're doing a good thing" And I'm thinking, what? I'm doing a good thing by working hard and being a good employee that I'm away from the house for sometimes 14 hours a day and only get to see my son for an hour and a half before his bedtime. When I'm too late to cook dinner and too tired to stay awake to even watch a movie with my husband. When I can't remember the last time I just did something nice for a friend "because I could". What could I possibly be doing that's so good, God? "You're enabling your husband to grow and he's going to grow into someone who helps make My Kingdom known"

Well, how do you respond to that?

With renewed purpose (and some crocodile tears).

I go to work because that's how Stan can start his own company. That's God's plan for him. I'm just part of the plan to get Stan where God has set for him, but I'm part of the plan. All the hard work, stress, and emotional tuggings are worth it because He's worthy. God is worthy and whatever He's going to do with my husband is worthy and suddenly, I'm just glad to be on their coat-tails.

way cool lightning!

Okay, so this is nothing compared to what the storm was really like. I took about a dozen shots and this is the best I could get.

Why?

Because there was SO MUCH lighning that every shot just looked like a boring shot of dusk! aarrgghh. (but this one's really cool.. right!!?!)

This storm was fantastic - lots of lightning jumping from cloud to cloud. Drenching sideways rain. Pea sided hail. And big CLAPS of thunder. So cool! I really wish I could have better captured it's intensity.

Maybe next time I'll be a little more dedicated. This was from our front driveway (for those of you familiar with our place - yes - that's the school zone sign in the very bottom of the frame). I sort of hap-hazardly ran out there, Stan chasing me with the tripod, after we got home from church group. Most of the storm had already passed us. sigh. The tripod's by the front door now and I'm looking forward to the next storm!