Maple Syrup Candy Fail + Candy Kick Caramel Recipe

Has anyone here read the Little House on the Prairie books?  Or seen the show?  I've never read through/watched through them, but I've read excerpts in literature classes and my family has several DVDs from the show.

One thing I've always wanted to try is making maple syrup candy.  That was from one of the early books, which I read an excerpt of in elementary school.  The whole Ingalls family got together during the maple-sap season and made syrup and maple candy.  Basically, they boiled the sap into syrup and then poured some hot, "waxing" syrup onto a pan of snow.

After breakfast out one Saturday, I took home three little glass bottles of Cracker Barrel syrup and decided to spend my last morning in Indiana, with all its winter snow, testing out this candy-making.

My first attempt involved microwaving a bottle of syrup and pouring it onto a plate of snow.  Which did not work at all.  Also, I forgot to photograph that one.

Take two!  This time I decided to pour some syrup into a bowl, add powdered sugar to thicken it, and then microwaved and poured onto snow.

I really thought it was going to work.

It came really close, but it didn't quite work the way I wanted.

So then I asked my Mom and Grams if there was anything else I could add.  Eventually that landed me on an internet search for pure maple syrup alternatives, since we discovered that my little Cracker Barrel bottles were half cane syrup.  After a good bit of research, I came back prepared.

Take three!  Without Cracker Barrel bottles this time.

Part one:

Part two:

And the result?  Well, it came out like really soft, not quite sticky taffy.  However, I wrapped most of it in plastic wrap and refrigerated it until my brothers came home.  At that point, it was more like a thick fruit and veggie dip.  So I decided to combine and rewrite the two recipes I used to create my own Homemade Candy Caramel Dip recipe!  You can read the recipe below.

Candy Kick Caramel Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup water
1/4 cup salted butter
1 teaspoon maple extract or vanilla extract

Instructions:

Pour granulated sugar in a heavy skillet. Heat on high until the sugar melts and turns brown. 

Meanwhile, pour brown sugar into a heavy saucepan. Pour water over brown sugar and bring to a boil without stirring.

Carefully add caramelized white sugar to the melted brown sugar in the saucepan. Simmer, stirring often, until syrup is thickened.

Whisk in butter and extract.  Keep on medium-high heat, stirring to prevent boiling over, until the mixture stiffens when dropped onto a plate.

As a dip: Remove from heat and let cool before pouring into seal-able container and storing at room temperature.  Stir before serving with carrots, celery, apple slices, or other dipping foods.

As a syrup: Remove from heat and let cool before pouring into seal-able container and storing at room temperature.  Warm on stove or microwave and stir before serving with pancakes, waffles, etc.

As a candy: Remove from heat and let cool before pouring into seal-able container and storing in the refrigerator.  Scoop small pieces to serve.

Sources used:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/condimentrecipes/r/blcon119.htm

http://www.charmofthecarolines.com/charm-of-the-carolines/2011/01/maple-snow-candy.html

Author Interview: Stephanie Morril of Go Teen Writers

Today's interview is a bit unique - a first for me.  I've never actually read any of this author's books!  However, I am a subscriber to and follower of her blog Go Teen Writers, as well as a member of its Facebook community.  Being the face of a large part of the teen writing community, I felt like I ought to invite her to the party.  I do plan to read her books eventually... meanwhile, her blog is above inspiring and awesome.

Hi Stephanie!  Welcome to my blog!  Let's start off with some generic questions.


How long have you been writing? 
I started writing stories in 1st grade as part of my school curriculum and fell in love with it. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a writer. As I grew up, I was always writing stories and pursued it as a profession. Sometimes I wanted to be a writer and a teacher or a writer and a veterinarian, but writing was always going to be in the picture.

Who or what has had the most influence on you as a writer?
Oh gosh, it’s tough to pick just one thing. My parents are both readers, and they really encouraged me to pursue it. And then I married a man who believed in me as well and who was willing to do things like support me financially while I wrote full time for 2 years before we had kids. There’s no way I’d be where I am now if I hadn’t had parents and a husband who helped me to prioritize and respect my dream.


How much research do you usually put into your books?
It depends on the book. Because I write contemporaries, I don’t have to do the insane amount of research that my historical writer friends do, but it’s still important that I get my facts straight. Like in my book that’s releasing this spring, The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet, my main character lives in Visalia, California. I lived there as a little girl, but I was never a high school student there. I spent a lot of time on Google Streetview and exchanging emails with my childhood best friend who graduated from Redwood High School.

Ooo, I love Google Maps.  I don't know where a lot of writers today would be without it.
Do you base events or people in your books off of your life, or your friends' and family's lives?
Sometimes I do, though typically I use it as a springboard to something “better.” I’ve found that when I rip something out of my life and plunk it down in fiction, I don’t go nearly as deep with it as I do the other scenes. I don’t think through what the other characters are motivated by nearly as well as I do when I’m writing other completely made-up scenes.

I just recently saw your blog post about that, ironically.
What do you do when you're not writing?
I’m home with my two kids. McKenna is 5 and Connor is 2½. They keep me humble and give me a great excuse to dress up like a princess or play car crash. It’s great.

What was the biggest obstacle to getting published for the first time, and how did you overcome it?
Well … that’s a tough one to answer. The first time, it honestly happened very quickly for me. Practically as soon as my writing became close to publishable, an agent signed me, and a few months later I had a contract for the Skylar Hoyt series.

Honestly, it still kinda baffles me how that all came about. While I had worked hard for several years to improve my craft, the getting published part wasn’t too tricky. I don’t know why. I know lots of amazing authors who can’t seem to find an agent, and I know lots of amazing writers with agents who can’t seem to find a home with a publishing house.

In light of all that, I think going to writers’ conferences was what made the biggest difference for me. I never got anywhere with query letters, but when I attended conferences I not only learned a ton, but I was able to meet face-to-face with writers and industry professionals. It made a big difference for me.

What is your writing process? Do you write regularly at certain times or just when inspiration hits?
I write regularly at certain times … but mostly because if I didn’t schedule it, it wouldn’t happen. My time would get eaten up with laundry or putting away lunch dishes or something.

When my kids are napping, I write or work on writing related stuff (like marketing or Go Teen Writers). And the grandparents come over and hang out with the kids a couple mornings a week so I can have a chunk of time to get stuff done.


What keeps you motivated?
That I love it so much. I mean, these days I get reader mail, which is super encouraging and which I appreciate greatly. But it’s never taken much to motivate me to write. Even if I never had another book published, I would keep writing stories.

Are there any books you wish you'd written?
Well, aside from the obvious like Hunger Games or Harry Potter or something? There are definitely book ideas that I’m jealous of. I adore the concepts of both The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares and The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. So simple and relatable, yet so easy to pitch in one sentences! And I have title envy everytime I look at my copy of Carolyn Mackler’s The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things.

Haha, honestly I've read the first two and wasn't a big fan.  Well, okay, the first Pants book or two was really good; I just didn't like the later ones.  Everyone has a different opinion, though.  To each her own!
What inspired the Go Teen Writers website?  How did it all start?
Practically the day my debut, Me, Just Different, hit shelves, I was receiving emails from teen writers, asking for advice. I’ve never thought of myself as a teacher, but I really enjoyed talking to them about writing. When I created the blog, I did it with my teen writer self in mind, and I did it in hopes of passing on knowledge that I know would have helped me.

What was your favorite book or author as a teen? What's your favorite now?
I went to a college prep high school and was in a rather demanding AP English class, so I honestly didn’t read a ton of non-assigned stuff in high school. (I spent free time writing instead.) We read a ton of great books though. My favorites were The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. My senior year we read the classic writing book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. It was a life changing experience for me.

If you could only share one piece of advice from GTW with aspiring teen authors, what would it be?
I think everything on Go Teen Writers really boils down to if you love writing and want to be published, respect your dream and your stories enough to do it WELL. Avoid the temptation to take shortcuts with your writing, or with getting your books out there. Being successful requires patience and endurance. And good writing friends!

Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie!

Stephanie Morrill is a twenty-something living in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and two kids. Her only talents are reading, writing, and drinking coffee, so career options were somewhat limited. Fortunately she discovered a passion for young adult novels and has been writing them ever since.

Stephanie is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series and is currently working on other young adult projects. She enjoys encouraging and teaching teen writers on her blog, www.GoTeenWriters.com. To connect with Stephanie and read samples of her books, check out www.StephanieMorrill.com.

Interrupted Book Giveaway!

In a few days I shall share my review of Interrupted by Rachel Coker.  But first!  Today you, my lovely readers, have a chance to win a copy of this great book for yourselves or a friend!  Just enter with the Rafflecopter below. :) Good luck!

Click the cover to buy

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Book Review: Connection

Connection by Emily Ann Ward

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Anna and Aaron have read each other's minds - literally - since they met as kids.  Eight years later, their touch sets off massive electric currents and a mysterious agency claims there are others like them.

I'm just going to jump right in with this one, since I can't come up with an introduction.

The characters in this book were realistic and varied.  Some of them were more irritable, while others were definitely lovable   I enjoyed the spectrum of people shown, especially the siblings that you could tell were related but were still very distinct, different people.



The plot was okay.  I love the premise of mind-reading kids who find out they're not alone at the same time they start having weird powers with any contact.  I don't love how I felt like it took nearly half the book for the story to go anywhere.  The first half of the book was Anna and Aaron healing their estranged relationship from a year-past fallout, while hanging out with friends/love interests and discovering their new power.  The second half was them learning they're not alone, practicing their powers, and cool stuff like that.  I felt like the two halves shouldn't have been distinct - the scenes should have corresponded more, with the appearance of other Pairs being sooner in the book.  Since this is the first book in a trilogy, the pacing of this book's plot might make more sense in the trilogy as a whole.  As its own book, it felt imbalanced.

The writing was good enough to keep me reading despite the first half's slow pace.  I felt like the book was lacking something up until the other Pairs showed up, but the writing still drew me in enough to get me to that point.  However, there's a lot of strong language and innuendo/inappropriate content I certainly didn't appreciate.

In all, I give this book 3.5 stars.  I'm not sure if I'll get the other two books when they come out; it will probably depend on the price.

I received this book for free through LibraryThing's Member Giveaways program.  No promise of a review was given.  All thoughts expressed are entirely my own.

Author Interview: Gail Carson Levine of... a Lot of Great Books!

This is huge - amazing - epic.  Today Gail Carson Levine, THE Gail Carson Levine, the author of Ella Enchanted and Fairest - of Ever and The Two Princesses of Bamarre - of the Princess Tales and Disney Fairies - is here, at my blog, for an interview!  Excuse me while I have a panic attack.  She's here!

Ms. Levine, I love your books - especially the Fairest audiobook, which is what introduced me to contemporary audiobooks - and I know you're a pretty big name author.  Not to mention the person behind what became Ella Enchanted, the movie!  I'm so honored to have you here.  Let's get started!


How long have you been writing? I wrote as a child, but I stopped after high school, and only started again in 1987 when I was thirty-nine. Then it took me nine years to become published.

Why did you start writing? Have you always wanted to be a writer? I never thought of becoming a writer. I was interested in acting and painting. But I always read, and one day I had an idea for an art appreciation book for children, which never was published, but it got me started.



Who or what has had the most influence on you as a writer? My teacher Margaret Gabel, who taught a workshop for adults at The New School in New York City. I still hear her voice in my head.

How much research do you usually put into your books? Depends on the book, but I always do a little. For the novel I just finished I read about earthquakes. For my historical novel, Dave at Night, I did a lot, read books, visited museums, conducted interviews.

Do you base events or people in your books off of your life, or your friends' and family's lives? Sometimes. Dave at Night again is loosely based on my father’s childhood.

What do you do when you're not writing? I love to walk, read, watch TV. I lift weights, as you can see on my website. I’m very strong for a tiny old lady.

What was your favorite book or author as a teen? What's your favorite now? As a teen I was reading a lot of plays, like J.B. by Archibald MacLeish or The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux. My all-time favorite book is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

What was the biggest obstacle to getting published for the first time, and how did you overcome it? Getting the right manuscript into the right hands. I educated myself about editors and I also got an agent.

What is your writing process? Do you write regularly at certain times or just when inspiration hits? I write regularly. I don’t depend on inspiration, which is notoriously fickle.

What keeps you motivated? Writing is my job, and I love stories.

Are there any books you wish you'd written? The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson.

Which of your books is your favorite, and what's it about?  (If you can't pick, how about your first book?) Dave at Night, which takes place in 1926 in New York City and is about an orphan boy who’s sent to an orphanage to live and who slips out at night to have adventures in the Harlem Renaissance.

What inspired this book? My father’s childhood, his silence about it, and my curiosity.

Do you have any advice for aspiring teen authors like myself - or any age, for that matter? Patience and stubbornness are the two qualities a writer needs most. Patience because both publishing and writing are slow, and stubbornness because stories are sometimes recalcitrant, and it takes a stubborn writer to tug them through to completion.

Thanks for coming by, Ms. Levine!

Gail Carson Levine is an award-winning author of children's and young adult fantasy, magic, and fairy tale novels.  She wrote Ella Enchanted, which later became the movie of the same name starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy.  You can see her books, read her blog, and more at http://gailcarsonlevine.com/.

Worst Photos of 2012

During last year's party, I posted funny search terms used to find my blog and the worst photos taken during my year of blogging.  Well, this year I was going to do the same thing.  Except last year's list of search words was merely two, and this year's has absolutely nothing.  Seriously, most searches that lead to my blog are Christmas-related... plus searches for cookies, griffins, and other random stuff that I actually have blogged about.

Therefore, I decided to do away with the search term list and instead make the Worst Photos my tradition.  Enjoy the awful!

a photo of a sea sponge at the aquarium, taken by my then-ten-year-old brother Nick

my Christmas tree... with all wrong lighting

a coconut growing into a tree in Dominica

ugh... *shudder* me in Capitol citizen costume for seeing The Hunger Games the first time around.

this was an awful idea. (the costume, not the movie)

blurry image of some wild daisies by the lake

playing with my new camera when I first got it

(the hutch in our living room, photographed with fisheye or fishbowl lens or something)

me attempting to take a photo of a hairdo I liked

extremely blurry image of our living room decorated for a birthday party

me making Dr. Pepper cookies, as photographed and head-chopped by my brother Jon

Last year I cheated and posted eleven photos.  This year I totally forgot I was planning this and recently cleaned out and sorted through the photos on my computer.  Therefore, I only have nine somewhat lame images.  Hopefully next year's awful will be better.  (Worse?)

One Word 365

Last year at this time, a favorite blogger of mine - Melanie from Only a Breath - shared something she'd discovered: OneWord365.  The idea is that, instead of making lists of things you want to change or creating resolutions that never go anywhere, you choose one word which you then live out through the year.

For 2012, Melanie chose "give."  I've watched as she and the online community she influences were blessed by everything that one word led to.

I did some research and discovered just what a huge movement this one-word idea has grown into.  Actually, there are communities/individuals who do this with no affiliation with/knowledge of the OneWord365 site.  I've decided to try it myself.  Maybe I'll make it a lifetime tradition.

My word for 2013 is...

If any of you, my lovely readers, want to join this year's journey, here's a link that you may find helpful: Choosing Your One Word.  I also like looking through one photographer's friends and family, whom she has photographed holding their 2012 word.

When I was first looking into this idea, I was curious - what do people do once they choose their word?  I know every word has different actions attached to it, but I wanted to find some things that I could do every year, regardless of what my word is.  So here's a list I've come up with from around the web.

Claim your word - with free blog buttons made by Melanie, personalized with your word to match your blog design (the images above? those are buttons she made for me!).  You  can also share your word on www.myoneword.org, and link up a post about it on Melanie's blog here.

Wear your word - on personalized jewelry from Etsy!  You might know of an Etsy shop that makes personalized, hand-stamped jewelry.  If not, here are a few I've found: Tiny Tokens Designs; Bee Baubles Jewelry; WSayle Silver and Stone.  I think this particular necklace would be perfect: personalized mini tag necklace.

Write your word - with ink, pencil, crayons, paint, markers, tape, in dust, in sand, in dirt, in the steam on your mirror, on your computer, on a typewriter, on a wipe board, with magazine letters, with newspaper cutouts, in a letter to your future self, in letters to friends and family, and any other way you come up with.

Find your word - on billboards, in television ads, in a magazine, in a newspaper, in books, in movies, in daily conversations, at work, at home, at school, in brand names.  Just keep your eyes and ears open; you'll find it.

Journal your word - why did you choose this word?  What do you want to get from this year?  How do you want to change, to grow, to learn?  Activities, overheard conversations, realizations and lessons, magazine and newspaper clip outs, Pinterest images - it can all go in the journal.  A blog or other online journal works just as well.  If you're not a blogger but you want to share your word with others, email me at newyorksnowflake @ gmail.com.  I'll be considering OneWord365 guest posts throughout the year, although I don't promise anything.

Share your word - let those around you know about your word.  Have them join you in the journey.  They can each choose their own words, and you can all stay on the lookout for the words in daily life.  When they hear your word in a song, they will share that song with you.  When you find their word in a magazine article, you can clip the article and mail it to them.  And on it goes!  Even if they don't join you, they can still help you with your journey this year.

Post your word - around your house.  Use post-its, bulletin boards, dry erase boards, computer backgrounds, refrigerator magnets, and anything else you can find to display your word and keep it in the forefront of your mind.

Quote your word - maybe you sit down one day and find a few random quotes on the internet, or maybe you keep a one word quotes journal through the whole year.  Regardless, seek out the inspiration that others have found through this word and take hold of it yourself.

Study your word - find book(s) and/or blog(s) that talk about or focus on your word.  Set out to learn as much as you can about your word.  Look into its origin, etymology, uses, synonyms, and antonyms.  Find out how this word has changed, grown, or taught others.  Learn what it means to other cultures.  Memorize it in as many languages as possible.

Create your word - write, paint, draw, photograph, collage, compose.  Take advantage of the freedom in art, whether or not you're a creative person, to capture your word and what it means to you.  You know that wall art where photographers write a name with images of things that resemble letters?  Make one - or several! - that spell out your word.  Have fun with it!  Another idea can be to write your word - on an index card, in the dust and dirt on your car, on a handmade banner or shirt, etc. - and then take a picture of you with your word.  Do this with friends or family and their words.  Just be creative!

Sources:

http://oneword365.com/what-to-do-with-your-word/

http://alwayswellwithin.com/2011/12/12/one-powerful-word-2012-a-simple-approach-to-new-years-resolutions/

http://aliedwards.com/2010/02/one-little-word-february-2010.html

http://melbreeland.wordpress.com/