It might not be 5:00 yet but I have packed some stuff into today.

Met my Bro at my parent's house then we headed out to go to lunch. We drove by my Grandma's house to see what the house looked like now. The people that bought it haven't changed it too much. Took out some overgrown bushes out in front, put in new windows and look to be taking good care of the place. I did see the bowling ball in the yard, which was awesome! Then we headed over to lunch. We went for Vietnamese. Delicious. I had frog legs for the first time.



I am not the biggest fan of curry but it wasn't overwhelming but the dish was spicy enough to be amazing and not curryfilled. And the lie they don't taste like chicken, unless chicken tastes like frog legs... but very very good and I am thrilled that he didn't order them battered and fried. I was worried then he said curry and I was a little happier.

I moved onto the combination noodle bowl, which was so great. I love me some cilantro and every thing in that bowl below was amazing. The pickled veggies were amazing. The beef and pork were so good. I was overwhelmed by the menu and just chose under a quickfire decision...combination noodle bowl is fine I said, I wanted to try something else but couldn't decide because there were so many choices. I am so glad my brother and I got to go and get lunch together. I am not afforded the luxury of going to eat ethnically very often so it was such a treat and certainly not with him, so that was really very special. The only thing that was a little off putting was the fact that From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter was on the tv. Seriously not appetizing fodder to watch. It was the last half hour of the movie and terrible. And so stupid.



I went and ran into the grocery store to finally get my baking ingredients. I am four or five weeks behind on where I wanted to be and certainly I am not going to be as generous as I wanted to be. But that is just the way it has to be. I am making four batches of peanut brittle, one batch of cashew brittle (for a friend who is allergic to peanuts...and I bought a new pot to make it in so it is completely unadulterated), 3 batches of fudge and maybe two batches of sponge candy. I made two batches, but one failed so I am not sure if I am wanting to actually make a second or not.

The sponge candy was the fun thing to make.
And here are the steps and the recipe.

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark karo / corn syrup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda

Combine the sugar, syrup and vinegar in 3 quart pot. stir until the sugar is dissolved, put a thermometer on your pot and wait (without stirring) until it reaches hard crack stage, 300 degrees. Take off the heat, stir in the baking soda and quickly put into your greased 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan (don't use a full size...that is what happened to me on the first batch as it spreads out too thin), let cool.

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup and 1 tablespoon white vinegar

boil without stirring
until the mixture reaches 300 degrees on your candy thermometer

(mine has to go about 10 degrees over, I have tested it)

Remove the pot from heat
Add 1 Tablespoon baking soda stir and watch the magic happen!
Stir quickly and don't leave your spatula in the pan unless its heat proof,
I had to take the picture so forgive me!
Quickly pour the mixture into the pan. It will spread on its own.
Let it cool completely, then break into pieces.

Tonite I will cover the pieces in chocolate.

I decided to make the sponge candy this year because my boss said it was the one thing he missed from when he was a kid in Canada. He remembered calling it something different, so this might not be what he was thinking about but he is so great to me I might as well try.

I will make the fudge tonite or tomorrow which will bring me almost to where I want to be.

I don't have a clue where we are going for dinner tonite. I of course am not hungry at all but will have to go. I skipped out last night and it was nice to sit at home, watch TMZ (shut up) and write.

Better take Herschel for a walk and get ready to head out for the evening.