Joining the February Kitchen Challenge

I’ve never been one to participate in a lot of challenges that are offered by various blogs throughout the internet. However, I came across the February Kitchen Challenge sponsored by the culinary adventures of Lindsay and Taylor at LOVE & OLIVE OIL last month and couldn’t resist the urge to give it a try.

The February challenge pertains to Old-Fashioned Fudge, so what’s not to love? According to the post, the challenge is to make old-fashioned fudge - the kind you would find in quaint little country stores. For the challenge you can’t use marshmallow fluff, powdered sugar or sweetened condensed milk in your recipe. For the complete instructions, visit the February Kitchen Challenge post.

The post listed a number of resources and recipes. One of the links was for the Hershey’s cocoa fudge recipe. Looking over it, I realized it was very similar to the recipe my Mother-in-law has. The ingredients are the same, she had just changed the amount of each ingredient and prepares it differently.

The challenge is to make a batch of old-fashioned fudge by Friday, Feb. 28, and then send a photo of the results to LOVE & OLIVE OIL. The results will be featured in a roundup the following week after the challenge ends.

Since everyone in the family loves fudge, I thought this would be a fun challenge to participate in. If I had to make several batches to get one that looks right, well I guess that’s the price you have to pay.   I was lucky/unlucky, my first batch turned out like I wanted it to.

Here’s the recipe I used:

4 tablespoons cocoa (we use heaping tablespoons)
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1 stick butter (room temperature)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

Now my Mother-in-law has never been one to write down a recipe completely. She may put down the ingredients, but not the amount. She may include the ingredients and amounts, but not the instructions on how to prepare the ingredients. This was the case with the card that I found for her fudge recipe. Fortunately I had made fudge with her many times before the Alzheimer’s took away her memory and have made it on my own many times since. Here’s the way I prepare the fudge.

Start by lightly buttering a platter. Combine the sugar, cocoa and salt and then add the milk. Mix well, add the butter and place on medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture comes to a rolling boil. Turn heat down slightly, continue to stir occasionally and let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes. After the mixture has boiled for about 4 ½ minutes, check to see if the mixture forms a hard ball in a glass of cold water. If it does, remove the pan from heat and add the vanilla flavoring. If it doesn’t form a hard ball, continuing cooking and checking until it does. 

If you’ve never tested by using the hard ball method, what it means is you put about two inches of cold water in a glass and let a drop of the fudge mixture drip into the water. If it’s the right consistency, it will form a ball. If it’s not ready, it will splatter out or be stringy. Pour the water out, get more and try again.
Once you’ve added the vanilla, you begin stirring or beating the mixture until it loses its glossy shine. When it does, pour the mixture out onto the patter and cut into square once it sets. 

This is where the fun/hard part comes in. There’s no way to say actually how long you have to beat the mixture before it’s ready to turn out. It’s just a trial and error process and also has a lot to do with the weather. The more you make it, the better you can determine when it’s time to pour the fudge out. If you pour it out too soon, it’s just runny and sticky. If you wait too long, it will turn so hard you’ll have to chip it out of the pan.

This is my attempt at the challenge. How about you? Are you up to the challenge? Do you have a favorite family recipe for fudge? Remember, no marshmallow fluff, powdered sugar or sweetened condensed milk. What about family secrets on how to make it turn out just right? I’ve read that you shouldn’t use a wooden spoon, have you heard that before?

If you decide to join the challenge and post about it, be sure to stop back by and leave the link to your post so we all can see your results.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope this crazy winter weather is treating you well. A big platter of creamy, homemade old-fashioned fudge and a glass of milk (or a cup of steaming coffee) sounds like a yummy treat to have handy as you curl up with a good book on these cold winter days.

Imagination … What Is It?

What comes to mind when you see or hear the word imagination?

While I’m sure everyone would think something different, the foundation would be the same - it’s what your mind/brain creates.

But how does our mind create these images? Why can 2 people look at the same thing and image completely different things? What causes a person to have more imagination than another? Why do some people seem to have no imagination at all?

I’m sure there have been and will continue to be thousands of studies and tests to determine the answers to these and other questions about imagination.

Imagination propels our existence. Without imagination there would be no inventions. Without imagination, what would our future look like?

Imagination is a must for a writer in my opinion. It’s what spurs the writer to create the stories they create. A lot of writing is based solely on the author’s imagination with little or no reality involved.

I began to think about imagination and what fuels it while listening to my mother-in-law. She will soon be 91 years old and has Alzheimer’s. What little I know about this terrible disease is that it causes the person to digress to their younger self. They live in the past when they were children or young adults. They sometimes don’t recognize their own grown children because to them the children haven’t been born or they are only infants. The also relive events from their past.

My mother-in-law has these symptoms. But she also talks to people no one in the family has ever heard of. At times she also thinks events are taking place that she never experienced before such as the house burning or a child drowning. She sometimes carries on conversations with people as one does when they’re young and create imaginary friends to play with.

I guess my ramblings today are to say those who have imaginations seem to have them with them from birth to death. At various stages of our life we use our imaginations in different ways. However, it’s always there whether we use it or allow it to lay dormant. And at some point with this terrible disease, the imagination can take over becoming the reality without us ever realizing it.

Do you make an effort each day to use your imagination? Do you remember the fun you had as a child when you put your imagination to work? Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you take time to enjoy a good book today.