Few things bring to mind Halloween quite like pumpkins and caramel corn.

Making caramel corn is a lot like making candy. It's not particularly difficult, but it's time sensitive and needs some attention.

I've made five batches of caramel corn in the past week. Some with nuts, some without (My son informed me that "Little people don't like nuts." )

The repetition helped me figure out all of the tricks to getting it right. A few things are crucial.

1) A gigunda bowl and humongous spatula are a must. It's much easier to mix the caramel and popcorn if you have a lot of room to stir. If you don't have a large enough bowl or big enough spatula...steaming hot sticky popcorn pieces will fly out and land on your hand.

2) Boil the sugar, butter and salt over medium (not medium high, not high, but medium) heat for 5 minutes. No more. No less.

3) Don't worry about making popcorn in a kettle to get homemade taste. It doesn't make a difference. Microwave popcorn works great. Take advantage of the convenience.

4) Remove the hard kernels of corn before coating the rest with caramel. Candy coated popcorn kernels are hard as diamonds in your teeth.

5) The only way to get an even coat on the popcorn consistently is to remove the popcorn from the oven every 15 minutes, dump it in the gigunda bowl, stir it with the gigunda spatula and put it back into the baking pan and in the oven for another 15 minutes. Do this four times. Don't skip! The fourth time is the one that makes it crunchy later.

6) Measure the vanilla and baking soda into separate little bowls before you begin to cook the caramel sauce. The sooner you can add the vanilla and baking soda after you remove the kettle from the heat, the easier it is to get a consistent texture.

The actual recipe is quite simple.

Pop three bags of microwave popcorn. Dump the popcorn (no kernels) into a gigunda bowl. Add in 3 cups of your favorite nuts. I prefer 2 cups of cashews and 1 cup of roasted, salted peanuts.

In a medium kettle over medium heat, cook 2 cups of light brown sugar, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir frequently. Once the sauce starts to boil, let it continue to boil for 5 minutes. Continue to stir throughout the process. It is important to not rush this step. If you do it correctly, the mixture will change color and begin to look creamy.

After 5 minutes have passed, remove the kettle from the heat. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon good quality pure vanilla.

Immediately pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn mixture. Mix well with a large spatula.

Empty the coated popcorn mixture into two 9x13 baking pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for one hour in a preheated 250 F oven, removing every 15 minutes and thoroughly stirring each time.

Allow to cool on wax paper.

Store in an airtight container.

Happy Halloween!

The Muse Gourmet

Friday, October 30, 2009 6:21:57 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)         Blog reactions

There is something magical about being forty (ish)...give or take. Every once in awhile a revelation comes. Random occurrences in life come together to explain something mysterious.

Sitting around sick this week has given me plenty of opportunity to rummage around in the dark corners or my mind. In movies...this would be called foreshadowing. Close this post while you have the opportunity. :^)

I am the only person I know that can gain weight...and usually does...while they're sick. How is that even possible? Seriously. Think about that for a moment. I have barely eaten anything all week and have gained 2.1 pounds!!!

I met hubby in the garage tonight when he got home from work to announce..."There is something medically wrong with me. I gained weight."

E: "That's what all fat people say."

H: "No, seriously. I gained weight while I was sick this week. It's not normal. It doesn't make sense. There must be something wrong. I need to see a doctor."

E: "No, seriously. Think about it. You've laid in bed all week sleeping. What do you expect?"

H: "Whatever. I still don't think it's right."

E: "Did you ever think that all the cupcakes you've been making haven't helped? Any why don't you ever blog on any really healthy recipes?"

H: "Because they don't taste as good. That's why. Everybody knows that."

E: "Well why don't you try."

H:.......silence. (In our house, silence doesn't mean agreement, just tactical retreat.)

He did have a point.

My inspiration has always come from gals like Ina Garten and Paula Deen; bacon and butter. Two women with different style but one thing in common...a little round 'round the middle.

Alright. So I'll give it whirl and blog on healthy food ideas....for a some period of time TBD.

H: "So if I start making healthier meals do you promise to eat them and not fill up on chips later?"

H: "Even if they have more vegetables?" (The funny part is that I actually typed these lines before I said them. Real time blogging.

E: "I'll try to."...pinky swear.

And there it is. The course is set for the next few months. I'm kind of excited and kind of wanting it to be over so I can make a big giant chocolate cake.

Oh, and as for the Jell-O comment. Just a little trivia for you. Every time that I successfully lost weight in the past, I ate a lot of sugar free Jell-O. It was my "go to" snack when I got tired of carrot sticks and apples. I think it sums up the weight loss program quite nicely.

If your splurge treat is sugar free Jell-O, how little must you have to eat to lose weight?

Thursday, October 08, 2009 10:49:31 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)         Blog reactions

Being sick is a bummer.

My house looks like a four year old lives in it...unsupervised.

The laundry is multiplying and has plotted the demise of the washer and dryer.

The groceries don't remember where they live and have set up a campsite on my kitchen counter.

And Seb...well he thinks this is all my responsibility. He's not lifting a paw to help. Thanks Seb.

Monday, October 05, 2009 12:25:13 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)         Blog reactions

If you're one of those people that likes to skip to the end of a book to read the last chapter first...let me save you some time. The net result is a recipe for some pretty darn good chocolate chunk cookies, that are gluten free and just happen to be made with agave nectar. If all you're looking for is the pictures and recipe then go ahead and skip to the bottom. If you want the story...here it is.

It all started last weekend (Saturday) when my son looked up at me and said "Momma. This is my super blaster and makes people want to blast things."

Me, feeling a little under the weather responded. "Yeah, well this is my super belly and it makes people want to exercise."

Sigh...Time to go on a diet. The holidays are coming; I have cute fall clothes to wear that just happen to be a size to small; we're going home for Christmas and I don't want to hear relatives comment "Looks as if you've taken this food thing a little too seriously." So...what to do.

I rummaged through Experience Magazine (Lifetime Fitness freebie with membership) and read a featured article on liver detox. This caught my eye, "Many people experience significant and immediate weight loss on this program, but the net benefits for energy and long-term health are every bit as dramatic."

I was in at "significant and immediate weight loss."

At a high level, the plan calls for eliminating caffeine, all sugars (refined, artificial and honey), gluten and trans fats. There are a number of things that you should consume (apples, oranges, leafy greens, etc) but when it comes to dieting I'm all about knowing what I need to leave out. Consuming things has never been an issue. It's the elimination that I struggle with.

I successfully participated in the plan for 4 days. And felt lousy. And lost no weight. None. Nothing. Zip.

On the evening of the fourth day I decided to do a little research on the author. And...I discovered that in addition to coming up with this detox plan she believes that using cell phones makes you fat.

Sheesh. Why don't I look before I leap? I suffered four days because I believed that someone (who just happens to think that using cell phones make you fat) knew more about nutrition than me.

So, needless to say, I'm off the detox program.

The truth of the matter is that there is no magic formula for weightloss. Eat less and exercise. If you put less into your body than you use, you will lose weight. Very simple.

BUT...something good did come from the detox plan. I learned to use Agave Nectar in more things (Agave has a lower sugar content than honey or sugars) and I developed a large amount of empathy for people that cannot tolerate gluten. Gluten is in practically everything (that I typically eat at least). It's a protein that is found in refined wheat products...think bread, pasta, even some soy products. I personally found that by cutting down the amount of sugar and gluten that I consumed, I felt better, had more consistent energy levels and less cravings.

If you'd like to give it a try...check out these cookies. They are gluten free and use Agave Nectar. I like them as much (if not more) than a traditional chocolate chip cookie. They stay moist and are quite simple to prepare. Since they are made with dark chocolate which tends to be less sweet than milk chocolate, kids don't usually find them quite as yummy. (At least mine didn't)  Dark chocolate tends to suit the taste buds of older folks, since our preference moves toward bitter from sweet.

Pulse blanched almonds in food processor until texture resembles that of flour. 2-3 minutes.

Combine almond flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk.

In a smaller bowl, combine melted butter, vanilla and agave nectar. Whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir in the chocolate pieces.

Roll into balls the size of a golf ball. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. 9 cookies per sheet (they spread when baking)

Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the outer edges are a nice brown color and the top of the cookies are beginning to turn golden in color.

Sunday, October 04, 2009 10:59:00 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)         Blog reactions