Backyard Farmgals

We have a local chocolate shop near us that makes the most delicious caramel popcorn.  Gooey and sweet, it's hard to stop once you start into the pile of caramel goodness.  I set out to somewhat mimic their recipe, not exact, but it is still marvelously addictive.  The secret is not letting the caramel get too hot, just below soft-ball stage is where you want to be.  I admit, it took me a few trial runs to discover this, and a garbage can full of popcorn.  Some things have to be done right. This is so far from my normal Christmas cookie madness.  I have found I have to be in the right mood to make them well.  A very dear friend of mine tragically died on Thanksgiving afternoon and it has thrown me for a loop.  I have had a hard time making my way back to my crazed cookie-baking self.  It will come back with time.  For now, it's caramel popcorn finding it's way out my door (thank heaven it is going out... too tempting) with a sm...

This is not healthy!!!  Let's just get that out of the way.  The original recipe is from the goddess of butter Paula Deen... do I even need to say anything else?  We are NOT calculating calories or fat grams on this - sometimes it's better to let some things go.  For your sanity, let it lie girls... let it lie... This is one of our favorite New Year's breakfasts.  We might as well start the year off with butter, right?  This has also made an appearance at Christmas morning brunch, although this year we made the Pioneer Woman's Caramel Apple Sticky Rolls... A moment of silence for my thighs... ... ... I have a 100 mile bike ride coming up, we are just going to say that I am building up carbs for that ride at the end of May.  Don't tell me it's 6 months away...  lalala... I can't hear you! The key with this recipe is the bread.  You have to use really good heavy bread.  I got a few loaves of white chocolate pecan bread fr...

Happy Valentine's Day!  I woke up to some great surprises this morning!  Hand made cards from my sweet little farmhands and some very lovely local chocolates (from Chocolat and Millcreek Cacao Roasters) that I am having a hard time not staring at...they are gorgeous, I don't know if I will be able to bite into them!  I feel very loved, and the fact that the hubby tried to make everything local makes me smile - he knows me a little too well! I thought that I would share something fun that I enjoy doing at Valentine's Day.  Every year, I make a list of the things that I love.  It's totally random, whatever comes to mind.  It's kind of fun to remind yourself of all the things that you love.  It fills your heart with gratitude and lots of joy!

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."       - Martin Luther King, Jr. (December 10, 1964 - Nobel Peace Price Acceptance Speech) Why is freedom so hard to come by sometimes?  Looking back, it seems so out of place that people have been denied basic rights and freedoms.  Why would you have to fight so fiercely for something that without questioning or reasoning should simply be yours?  Unalienable rights...why are they so easily denied to people at the darkest moments in our history? I have a very deep and almost reverent respect for Dr. King and the battle that he fought with such valiance.  What a marvelous example of immovable strength and equanimity.  I hope that I have these qualities somewhere within me...  With Human Rights Day comes a lot of fun for two little farmhands that I know. ...