Goddess of Cocoa and Chocolate

Aunt Mary has decided that I should be called the Goddess of Cocoa. Probably because every other sentence out of my mouth was "You know, chocolate / cocoa / sugar _______ would go really great with this. I made candy, pudding, hot cocoa, and cake. We had a bit of chocolate with almost every meal. This won't surprise anyone who knows me and my sweet tooth, but I kind of like the new moniker, Goddess of Cocoa - it suits me. In honor of this title here's my Mom-Mom's candy recipe, which is what started this whole thing. We used to have this always at Christmas - but I'm sure it's delicious anytime of year. This recipe takes patience, and doesn't always turn out right (it didn't set completely in New Mexico) but even the mistakes are delicious.

Mom-Mom's Candy
3 cups sugar
3 heaping teaspoons cocoa
1/8 teaspooons salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium pot
Stir in milk - heat on low and stir continuously
Let mixture boil (about 20 minutes)
When the mixture begins to thicken (approximately another 15 minutes) Add 1/2 stick a butter

Test every minute with the cold water test:
Use a spoon to drop a drop of the candy mixture into a cup of cold water
When the mixture forms a ball in the water take the mixture off of heat

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter

Pour onto a buttered platter (13 - 18 inch oval or round) one with a vertical lip works best. Let platter sit until candy is hard. (several hours)

If the candy sets correctly it can be cut into squares of a hard sugar like consistency. If it does not set correctly it will be more like taffy and should be eaten with a spoon.

Enjoy!

New Mexico, part 2

On Tuesday we had a breakfast of english muffins and hot cocoa. (The first night we made a quick trip to the grocery for cocoa and sugar, two things every household should never be without.) Then Mary and I took Valerie shopping for some boots, so we could hike some. She got some UGG like boots with "LOVE" on the backs from Marshalls. She is so stylin' now.

After breakfast and shopping I made come candy (gotta love the cocoa) then we went for a short walk / hike in the snow covered foot hills of the mountain. Somehow we found the perfect mix of exercise and relaxation.



After lunch we went to Old Town Albuquerque for some shopping and sightseeing. We went to the old church there and saw the nativities and walked through some of the galleries and stores. There is so much artwork to be found. And everything is decorated for Christmas.Then when it got dark we went to the botanic garden for the Christmas light show. All the trees have lights. And there are hundreds of mechanical lawn lights. I liked the elephants that sprayed water on each other - of course that one we didn't get a picture of...


For dinner we had some authentic Mexican food. The first restaurant had a super-long wait so we went to the back-up. The food was pretty good, but the memorable part were the sopaipas. These fried dough pieces that you fill with honey are one of the most delicious foods I've ever eaten. Yum! (There is much talk of food in these posts from our trip, but we ate oh so well.)

New Mexico, part 1

Catching the Plane and Seeing the Mountains:Last Monday Rob, his mom Valerie, and I flew to Albuquerque to visit Rob's Aunt Mary and her husband Ahad. We got in right on time after some early morning airport drama.

I travel frequently alone, and rarely check bags. Hence, I forgot all about crazy Christmas travel and people who don't fly often, and also forgot to take into account that we were checking bags and traveling with someone who has not flown since before 9-11. So I only allotted an hour and 15 minutes to check-in and get through security. The car was 15 minutes late, and by the time we got to the airport at 6 for a 6:55 flight, well you can imagine. The kiosk wasn't working for us because we had a flight that had been changed several times or some other unknown reason; and of course the line to see an agent was at least 90 minutes. Uggh. So we got to cut in line to get our boarding passes, and then I talked our way in to cutting in the security line too. Luckily we had no liquids or gels to worry about. And we made our flight just fine. Or bags however did not, and upon arriving in Albuquerque we left our address with the airline, and our bags were delivered about 8 hours later. Crises averted; I'll file this under things to remember about holiday travel.

Monday with Mary and Ahad was pretty low key, we were all jet lagged and stuff. They have the most beautiful house with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

Oh how beautiful!

We're Back and Ready for 2009

We're back from New Mexico and starting to settle back into a routine. We are coming up with this theory that time moves faster on the east coast. Sunday was spent lounging around after the nearly 12 hours of travel on Saturday. Then yesterday and today, so much to do on the "To Do" list, and as I am looking at it now a lot has been crossed off, but there is still so much to do. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

I am spending this week cleaning and organizing for the 2009 plan. I'm going to visit my mom this weekend, hence the jump-start. We are starting off this year in very different circumstances. Last year we were working at Nick Jr. and talking about getting engaged, this January we are married and jobless. It's a scary place to start the new year, looking for work, but we have a plan.

We have been trying to simplify our lives and minimize our possessions since Rob and I combined households. I've found a few good blogs that give lots of ideas on living simply, and on a budget. One idea implemented this week is that of meal planning. I've been doing this somewhat for awhile, because it is much easier to go to the grocery with an idea of what you're going to make with the food bought. What we are doing now, is putting a budget to the plan. $50 a week. I sat down on Sunday night and made a list of 25 meals (some are repeats) for January. No 31, because there will be leftovers, and the occasional meal at a friends home. I planned the first week, and loosely laid out the other four. This way we can move things around and try not to have beef four days in a row for example. And since I have more time, we can watch the sales and cook around that.

This week's menu:
Monday - stuffed salmon with grilled aspargus (we had salmon in the freezer)
Tuesday - Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Wednesday - Skyline Chili
Thursday - French Bread Pizza
Friday - Indian chicken from Natascha

We came in at just under $60 for the week. That is $10 over budget, but food for lunches and some of the ingredients will be used next week. Hopefully we can make up the difference later in the month.

We are also cutting all unnecessary spending with the exception of a $10 fun budget for each of us each week. Yesterday we each spent $2.50 at Alpha Donut. There is so much mindless spending that goes on in our lives. I'm going to keep on the blog searching for more ways to simplify and budget our lives.

We are keeping hope that by mid-year those awesome jobs will once again have come to us, and we can have the occasional dinner out.

I just remembered one more thing. We FINALLY dropped off two bags of clothes, kitchen supplies, and a CD player to the Salvation Army thrift store. The unexpected upside is that we got a tax write off form from them, and since it is December 30 I don't have to keep it on file for a whole year - just until tax season is over.

Here's to living simply in 2009.

Traveling for Christmas

We leave for Albuquerque early tomorrow morning. I'll post about the trip next weekend when we get back. I'll miss the Frazier and Ables family Christmases this year. I'll miss you all.
Merry Christmas!

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothing and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
- Luke 2:6-7

December 19

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Chloe had so much fun trying to make snowballs this afternoon.

Angel Tree at the Met