Martha's Peppermint Fudge

I have tried many times through the years to make fudge and it is the one thing that I have never quite mastered until now. I received my latest copy of Martha's Everyday Food and found the perfect fudge recipe.

I made it last week and when it turned out I have since made it numerous times with the intend of taking it to a cookie exchange this week.

Makes 36 Squares

Nonstick spray for baking pan
2 1/4 Cup (16 Oz) Semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup of round peppermint candies (plus 18 for garnish)
3/4 cup Heavy cream
3 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Method:

Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.Line pan
with two pieces of parchment paper in both directions, leaving 2
inches over overhang on all sides.

Place chocolate in a bowl.

In food processor , pulse candies until finely chopped.

In a medium saucepan, combine candies, cream, marshmallows, butter, Sugar and salt over medium-high. Whisk until smooth 5 minutes.

Pour mixture through a strainer into baking pan and refrigerate until set (approx. 3 hours). Cut fudge into 1 1/2 inch squares.

With a sharp knife cut 18 candies in half; press candy half into each
Square before serving or packing.

Still here...

I have started a number of posts but finished none of them in the past few weeks. Life is busy but I'm sure no busier then everyone else.

The flu found our house just after Halloween which took Faruq and Hayden out of commission for almost a week. You know my husband must be sick if he took time off of work. Hayden ended up down at the Children's hospital one night but thankfully was diagnosed with just the regular old flu but was given Tamiflu as a precaution.

During that time Laila and I tried to stay clear of them as it would be not a good thing for me to get sick this late in the pregnancy. I thought we were in the clear until one evening Laila woke up screaming and had vomited in her crib. In the hour she was in there she spiked a fever of 105 and because we weren't able to get any Tylenol to stay down we had to make another trip to the Children's hospital. She is prone to have Febrile Seizures and did in fact have one before we got her to the hospital. After 7 hours of waiting in the ER we had managed to break the fever and she seemed to be back to her happy self. We really felt we dodged the bullet with that one.

I'm really the only one that hasn't gotten sick over the last few weeks and I'm truly grateful for that. I only have 32 more days until our new baby arrives and honestly it can't come soon enough for me. I'm at the stage where no sleeping position is comfortable and sitting is even tougher. The baby has turned herself into a breech position so I'm feeling an incredible amount of pressure down below and feel as if I have to pee every few minutes. Swelling in my hands and feet are lovely as well. But through it all I'm really trying to enjoy this last month as this will be my last pregnancy for sure.

I think we are ready for baby to join us...I have bottles ready, clothes washed and sleeping arrangements figured out for when she comes home. After two there really isn't much we haven't experienced.

I'm ready for Christmas - kids gifts are bought and just need to be wrapped. I'm so glad I started that process back in August so now I don't need to fight the crowds in the malls. We are going to put up our tree the week after Laila's birthday and I hope it have it all put away the day before I go into the hospital. Our celebration is going to be pretty low-key this year but we will still cover all the important parts for the kids. Honestly, I'm looking forward to December 18th as Hayden starts his Christmas break for 3 weeks and shortly after that Faruq will start his break as well.

The kids are both good - Hayden is loving his new school (as are we). He is completely wiped at the end of each day but the things he is learning amazes us and he just received a very good report card for the first half of school. It really wasn't a surprise as the teachers are great at keeping us updated and informed on his progress. The only thing that was noted is that he needs to try to offer answers before be asked to. Poor kid is still painfully shy but has started to get better with participating in the group discussions.

Laila is doing really well....we have purchased a bed for her but have yet to move her over. It is set up in her room and she seems to be comfortable with it but honestly it's more me being selfish with my need for full nights sleep. She will sleep 12 to 14 hours straight in her crib and mama loves that. We figured we would need to move her out before the baby's arrival but as of now I'm not going to rush it and have purchased another smaller crib for the new addition.

Laila is definitely entering the terrible "2" stage and is for sure my "spirited" child. She has taken to throwing things when she is told "no" and pretty much tunes me out when I'm trying to discipline her. My patience is running a little low these days so that only adds to my overall frustration. I keep repeating to myself that this too will pass but I'm not sure some days it will be quick enough for me. I can't believe that she will be 2 in a few weeks.

That's what we have been up to the last month...I can't hardly believe it has been that long. I will try to post a few of my favorite Christmas baking recipes for ya' all to enjoy !!

Chow for now !

Halloween ' 09

Because I wasn't feeling great leading up to Halloween this year we decided to cancel our planned party and just have a low-key quiet evening with just the 4 of us. It was so great to just relax, carve a few pumpkins and just be together !

Hayden was pumped about going out this year as Optimus Prime sadly Laila was none to thrilled about donning her Lion costume but in the end they both lookws so cute.


I opted to stay home and hand out the candy while Faruq took the kids around our block. We didn't have any snow but the wind was really strong and cold so they didn't stay out too long. For the small time they were out man they collected a ton of candy so they were both pretty happy with their haul.

Once Laila was out and getting candy in her bucket she realized that this was actually a pretty good holiday to celebrate. Here are a few more of my favorite photos from last night...

I hope you all had a great Halloween and everyone got lots of treats !!!

Our new normal (it would seem)....

If you have not heard, talked about and worried about H1N1 I'm sure you must have been living under a rock on a remote island. We have be inundated with news reports from almost every angle. I must admit at the beginning of it all I had taken the stance that I was not going to immunize my family with the new vaccination that has been made available to supposedly help fight this deadly form of the flu.

After I stopped listening to the media and our top health officials I started to seek out people I know personally in the medical community that would give me very honestly answers to my questions. For a multitude of reasons I have changed my thinking with regards to getting the vaccination. It is a very tough decision to make (honestly one of the toughest as a parent) and not one that we came to lightly. But in the end Laila and I are both listed in the "high risk" category and it has been suggested all along that we indeed should be vaccinated.

I know being pregnant with my other two kids my immune system was always severely compromised and I still have 2 months left before our 3rd baby is born. One of my biggest fears was actually being in the hospital during the Christmas season when they expect the pandemic to be at it highest. While I could keep Laila and I house bound for a few months we still have two other family members that need to be out on a daily basis so that really won't help us.

We went on two different days to get the shots for our family and both days have been turned away from the clinics because their were already too many people in the lines. I'm not prepared (possibly not even able) to stand in a line for up to 8 hours either by myself or with my family. There is no need of that and I truly feel that our provincial health officials have totally failed the citizens of Alberta. They cause this panic in everyone and reassured us that there are shots for every person in the province only to now tell us there will be a shortage (temporary we hope but still a shortage). The clinics are closed today and will re-open early this week and I have heard that it will only be available to the "high risk" group.

I will be in line once again this week and try to get the shots for at least Laila and I. I can only hope that the people that have made such a mess out of this whole situation pay the price down the road and not be re-elected into office.