Boil, Bubble, Toil & Trouble

Today for #NationalFudgeDay we made two variations of fudge, a simple microwave peanut butter deal with only 3 ingredients, and then an old-fashioned chocolate variety, cooked on the stove that required a candy thermometer and way too much of my time. I figured, why not? I have a candy thermometer in the closet that I have had for 10-15 years that I haven't ever used. #NeverHaveIEver has become a theme with doing these National Days, somewhat. We've used them for learning and trying new things, it's led us into a few somewhat ridiculous undertakings such as smoking a brisket back on Otis' birthday, which we had never done, but #NationalBrisketDay fell on that day so why not? Life should be playful. That one didn't really turn out so well, though, but we learned a lot and most importantly we tried something new. We tried something new today in making fudge as well as using a tool that I had all the intentions of using in the past but didn't. Ironically, I intended it for candle making, all those years ago, but broke it in today with candy making. Luckily, the same tool can often be used for different jobs. We spent most of the time waiting, it seemed. There is so much waiting in fudge making, both varieties; even the easy kind needed to set up in the fridge 2 hours.

The fancy kind had several stages of waiting, though: wait for it to boil, then let it simmer and wait for it to heat up, then let it sit and wait for it to cool down; don't stir me now or I'll crystallize, waaaaaaa, now stir me or I won't set up right! Fudge is sure finicky. We mixed it up and Celie did the constant stirring part, but soon after we came to a boil, she bailed on me. She came back for the next stage, but I got stuck with the waiting while she went off to more interesting things. She came back around before it was all said and done, though. It was a process, but in the end, I'll be damned, we made fudge. Maybe Tom Petty was talking about fudge making when he said the waiting is the hardest part? #CelebrateEveryDay

Frustrating Fun in the Heart of the Home

 Well, I decided against celebrating #AxeThrowingDay and #ForkliftSafetyDay today with the kids, but hey, there's always next year, right? So, instead we made some cookies together. Yesterday, we missed #NationalPeanutButterCookieDay so we tackled that one retroactively today on what was, incidentally, #NationalKitchenKlutzesDay! The kids all helped make the cookies, mostly Jasper and Celie, while we listened to Bluey: The Album. Good times. Cooking with them is frustrating fun, which is somewhat like a positive threat, or eustress, as I have discovered it to be called...it keeps you on your game. Jasper loves using the mixer and will get a little wild, but he's generally a good helper. He helped roll the cookies into balls and did the crisscross pattern with the fork. Celie helped to measure out all the ingredients. Yesterday, she actually made all of us scrambled eggs for breakfast, but being the junior kitchen klutz that she is, she had egg all over the counter, and dropped the ramekins into the mixing bowl twice, but pushed on through the inevitable mishaps. It's pretty much how you learn, making a mess of things. She made tuna salad this morning and it was all over. She's a klutz-in-training. I'm the senior kitchen klutz; I wasted our last stick of butter the other day. Thinking Jasper had put sugar into a measuring cup, I beat it into the butter, and here it was salt. Thing is, I looked right at him when he was playing with the salt beforehand, so I should have known? "This is the worst icing, ever!" Celie said when she tried it, and I was confused because I hadn't tasted it, until I'd realized what I did. Oops. A little salty, much? We're just clumsy learners, I reckon; haste makes waste, but practice makes perfect. #CelebrateEveryDay