I could be writing a long blog post about how gorgeous it is down here in Victoria, Apollo Bay to be precise. It is, and I’ll post photos when I’ve got more battery reserve… I’m running a little low and am in a dodgy internet cafe getting a fix clearing email.
Holidaying is lovely. Hope you’re getting a chance to do it…
Oh, and as it’s New Years Eve may I wish my Grandma Mabel a Happy 99th birthday and to the rest of you?
HAPPY NEW YEAR… see you sometime in ’08.
Archives for December 2007
Hitting the Road
I’m enjoying a coffee and a tidy up of the last minute online things that need doing before I go away into ‘internet-access unknown’ territory for 10 days!!! In that time comments will be moderated (as they have been for a week… I’m still having trouble getting MT to recognize those I trust not to write spam in the comments) so, sorry you’ve had to wait to see your comment love published!!
Christmas day was a lovely one starting with a traditional midnight service at a wee local anglican church… It think it’s the first non-‘wave your hands and clap for Jesus’ service I’ve been to in [eep] at least 5 years. There’s something about the traditional quiet reverent service that was just lovely, and something we miss in the rampant celebratory type parties I’ve been used to of late!
The day itself was spent with Kirk and the family, Kirk’s little fellow is known around here as my little squire and he and his cheeky monkey sister had a fabulous day and kept us entertained. It was the first day I’ve had in I don’t know how long when there was absolutely nothing I HAD to do. No client jobs hanging over my head, no papers to write… so there was absolutely no reason I couldn’t spend much of the day playing ‘Grim Fandango‘ I played it for the first time in 2000 so 7 years later there are still lots of surprises!! I’m not even halfway through and as it’s more simple than MYST and some if its counterparts I’m loving not having to play with a walk-through close at hand!!! Needless to say, the Mac and the games are coming on hols, even if there is no internet access there is still digital fun to be had!!
So, if our motel room doesn’t have internet (yeah, likely) I’ll see you in a week or two!!! (If I haven’t been to an internet cafe for a fix before then!!). Happy New Year!
Seasons Greetings
It seems a nice rounding off to the Christmas posts to make my 400th post to this version of the blog with a Merry Christmas to you all. Thanks for making this journal worth coming back to with your comments and with your own blogs and journals as well! Looking forward to 2008 with anticipation of more great adventures.
Merry Christmas, and if I don’t make it back here before 2008, a Happy New Year to you too!
Oh Fudge. (Click to embiggen the images)
Christmas Fudge = Russian Fudge… sorry Fi if you were expecting some new revelatory recipe… for our family, this is an annual event… all of us girls make it and give it away… Funnily we all have different preferences in terms of cooking time and final texture of the completed work… this is mine… the illustrated edition…
Here’s the recipe… oooh I’m having a flashback… have I done this before??? This is another traditional Kiwi one straight out of the stock standard Edmonds Cookbook… (every other Kiwi you know probably has one…)
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
125g butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon golden syrup
- Put sugar and milk into a saucepan. (I’ll point out at this stage that I made double recipe – this is clearly more than 3 cups of sugar!!)
- Heat gently (I usually start at the very middle setting on my stove and watch it, if it starts to bubble before it has fully dissolved turn the heat down) , stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. (I always find this is tricky, just how dissolved is dissolved??? I find if I’m patient I can get the melted sugar to be virtually crystal free… how long it takes depends on the heat… and my patience – it usually runs out when it’s about 90-95% runny and that’s usually 15min or so I think.)
- Add condensed milk, butter, salt and golden syrup. Stir until butter has melted. (I stir till the melted butter has mixed in with the rest…I hope you’re not dieting, by the way…)
- Bring to the boil and continue boiling until the soft ball stage, stirring occasionally to prevent burning (you’ll notice darker flecks of fudged which has cooked to the bottom come through the pot as you do this, it’s no drama, but you do need to do this regularly as those brown flecks turn to burnt if you’re not careful).
- Edited to add – I’d probably cook it for longer than this if I were doing it now, the fudge is a bit soft here… actually, I’ll get a sugar thermometer and cook it to the right temp 235F or 113C) Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
- Beat until thick.
- Pour into buttered tin.
- Mark into squares. Cut when cold.
The recipe doesn’t tell you to eat it… I guess that goes without saying, but I can report that even if you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth this recipe is seriously restrictive in the amount you can eat at one sitting… it is rich beyond compare…
