HOMEMADE PEEPS!

Did you know that Caitie's nickname for me is Peep?  And did you know that it has nothing to do with the tasty Easter treats?  No, the reason that my nickname is Peep has more to do with immature bathroom humor than it does springtime confections.  See, my baby sister Chloe called our brother Jordan "Doo Doo" when she was learning to talk.  And I thought that that was the funniest and greatest nickname for him, so I did everything I could to make it stick.*  When I told Caitie about the reason that, years later, we were all still referring to Jordan as "Doo Doo," she decided that I should have an equally obnoxious nickname, so she started calling me "Pee Pee," which was later shortened to Peep.

Sorry to start off this post about treats with talk of bodily functions.  I just thought you should know that little bit of  history.

I love making marshmallows.  We learned that this Christmas.  So when I looked in my friend Martha's magazine this month and saw the idea for homemade Peeps, I was all, "Sign me up, Martha!"  Well, it didn't happen quite like that.  It was more of me lying on the couch with the dog, thumbing through the magazine and then tearing out the page before I drifted off to sleep while watching crappy TV on ABC Family, but let's just pretend that Martha was here seeking volunteers to make marshmallows shaped like bunnies and chicks.  Or pigs, in this case.

So here's what you do, party peeps.

You make some marshmallows, and you put them into a large cookie sheet so that they won't be too thick.

And then you take some superfine sugar (you could probably use regular white sugar, too, but I had the superfine and thought it'd be better) and some food coloring.  I happened to have this weird neon color food coloring (which I've had for years and hated in every instance but this one) that ended up making some very pretty sugar.  Use whatever you like on this, though.  Take about 1/2 cup of sugar and only one drop of food coloring and mix together for pretty, pretty colors.  (PS--I tried the gel food coloring for this, and it didn't work.  It just clumped.  So--use the liquid food coloring.)

And then you cut the shapes out with cookie cutters.  We sprayed our cutters with Pam first so that they wouldn't stick to the marshmallows too much.

And toss the marshmallow shapes around in the sugar.  Easy peasy.  Japanesey.

I really loved the pigs.

But the very best one is the rabbit with Mitch ears!

Cassie took this picture of Mitch looking up at me. Isn't it the cutest?

Except opposite, I guess.  Shoot.

And the flavor of these homemade peeps is just extraordinary.  They're light and fluffy, and basically just little sugar pillows that melt in your mouth.  You probably need to make these, like, yesterday.

And, really, all you need for this is the marshmallow recipe.  The rest is simple.  So here it is.

Vanilla Marshmallows

Ingredients

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
4 packages (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites

Directions

1.Coat an 9x13-inch square pan with cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray, and set pan aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.

2. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside.

3. Also meanwhile, beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes.

4. Pour mixture into lined pan.  Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. 


*Also, I am evil, in case you hadn't figured that out already.

I Scream, You Scream

I'm really against buying stuff for the kitchen that's too gadgety, or too big, or that only serves one purpose. It's my belief that if you're going to purchase something for the kitchen that falls into one of these categories, then it needs to be something that will get a lot of use. So, depending on what you like and what you use, certain exceptions could be made.

The ice cream maker was one of these exceptions for me. I've been jonesin' for one since last summer, when I was reading recipe after recipe for delicious homemade ice cream. I resisted, though, because 1.) I was already completely enamored with the Kitchen Aid mixer, and I was therefore getting fatter by the second, and 2.) I didn't know if I would use it that much.  I passed on it last summer, but this summer couldn't get it out of my mind.  When I saw this recipe for strawberry ice cream brownie cupcakes I knew that the ice cream maker had left the "want" column and entered the "need" column.   (I also pretended that I would make things like sorbet and other healthy snacks with it.  Pfffffffft.)

So yesterday I indulged, printed out a B3 coupon, and went shopping.  And here she is, Alma, our new ice-cream making child.  I  had considered buying the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment, but it was more expensive, would require patience because I'd have to wait for shipping, and I wasn't sure that it would fit my extremely old (but awesome) mixer.

I was debating which type of ice cream to make first.  I narrowed it down to two different flavors, strawberry and chocolate peanut butter.  Matt's mom advised me well, I think, when she suggested that I go with the strawberry since the berries are perishable.  So I did.  I actually used the same ice cream recipe from the strawberry ice cream brownie cupcakes courtesy of Annie's Eats.

It's possible that I neglected to consider the aeration factor of the ice cream process, and that my ice cream runnethed over.  Could be worse, right?

And after hours of planning and churning and licking spatulas (I dirtied five in the process) and dropping ice cream into my phone and onto my freshly-mopped floor, I had a little bowl of heaven.  It's creamy and rich.  The strawberries are like little frozen candies.  I'm salivating thinking about it.

Strawberry Ice Cream (from Annie's Eats)


Strawberry Ice Cream


Ingredients:


2 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced


3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice


1 cup sugar, divided


1 cup whole milk


2 cups heavy cream


1 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions:


Combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar; stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.
In another bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, the vanilla and any accumulated juices from the strawberries.

Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the frozen bowl. Let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add the sliced strawberries during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Ice cream will be soft at this point. For a firmer ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and store in freezer until it has reached your desired consistency.

It's a good thing that I pampered myself, because this week's going to be a doozy.  I'll be using strawberry ice cream as a stress reliever.  Happy week to you!   

Picasacollage

I just discovered that I can make fun collages with Picasa. Well, if it isn't a bunch of pictures I stole from the world wide webs?

Will You Buy Me This?

I think it'd look great in the kitchen. Here's the link.

Nerd Post: Sloanism

Yesterday, Matt got a new phone. He'd had his old one for 3 years, and it finally kirked out. Matt's not generally a fan of change, and seemed to find himself in awe of the phone choices now available to him: keypads and touch screens and colors and slidey things and interwebs. It's so interesting how many choices there are now for something so simple as a phone.


And while we sat there at Best Buy I got all nerdy on Matt and starting going on about one of my favorite things: Sloanism. I learned about Sloanism when I was a junior in college and signed up for what I thought would be a bullshit history class, The Automobile in Twentieth Century America. I figured it'd be an easy A, and I would actually get to be in a class with boys (I was an English major at a school with a girl to guy ratio of 2:1). I was right about one part, I was one of two girls in a class of 30. What I'd been wrong about, however, was how much I would learn in the class. Hell, the teacher even introduced me to Car Talk on NPR! But back to Sloanism.


In short, Sloanism has to do with capitalism and what a company can do to prosper once its market becomes saturated. Alfred Sloan's principles originated when he tried to revamp the automobile market after the Great Depression. To sell more cars, the car companies provided more options to consumers; they introduced new body styles each year, provided new and impressive features and colors--a direct contrast to Henry Ford's well-known remark that "Any customer can have a car painted any colour he wants so long as it's black." (You can read about Sloanism in more detail here and here.) In many ways, Sloanism has helped to propel capitalism because people (particularly we Americans) are always buying more stuff, even if the stuff we already have is working fine. We want the newest and prettiest and coolest stuff to show off our individuality. This principle is how we went from these cell phones. . .


. . .to these cell phones.

Today I also came across this video about one of my favorite things, the KitchenAid stand mixer, and its color history. You know, how we go from this. . .

. . .to this.

Aren't they gorgeous? Although the KitchenAid mixer has introduced a host of new colors, its basic design and function has evolved very little over the years. I think that's part of the appeal. Also, even if you don't use it, you can buy a KitchenAid mixer and display it as though it is a piece of art.

I have an old white KitchenAid that Matt's godfather, my soulmate Bill, gave to me in January. It's amazing and beautiful and has kept me fat, and it's one of my favorite things. I was thinking about having my car painter of a brother paint it a pretty color for me, perhaps turquoise or lime green. What do you think? Should I leave it alone, or try to improve something that needs no real improvement?