Cold, walks, and tired legs
The sun was out today but it was much cooler than it has been, it never warmed up over 20 degrees F, but it was warmer in the sun. The sun felt good, and we had blue skies all day.
This afternoon I worked on a project that I'm finding difficult to finish, you know those kind of projects. It's a sit down and focus kind of project which is difficult enough with the Prairie dogs slamming things (they like to chew on stuff and bang it while they do it) the Kakarikis birds yelling and then randomly talking to me...
It sounds like this in here... Kak, kak, bang, kak, bang, kak, hello? hey? kak, bang, what are you doing? hello?
So after a while me and the boys went for a short walk. I had hoped to walk to the lake, and for me and maybe Douglas it would have been fine, but Norman was with us and while he can walk that far, it's cold for him, so I didn't push that.
ewww, I shouldn't have eaten that...
Norman gave him a kiss, but also reminded him that although he is the smallest dog in the pack, he's the boss. Flavious is very tolerant, so is Max.
Izzie: Hey, where you'd get that coat? I want a coat. Give me that one! I don't care if it's too small.
Sammy and Izzie: This little dog is so strange... he gets stranger every time we see him...
Can we go in now? There's no cookies, it's cold, and we want to go to bed now. It's only quarter after 3? Who cares. We are tired.
Norman: Oh no, not you again... when you were a baby in the house I bullied you, now you are ginormous and have big horns...
Sammy: It's OK little dog. Although I have grown to leader of the goat kingdom, I forgive you for trying to steal the milk from my bottle when I was a kid. But I demand you give up all your cookies!
Before we went back inside, Norman and Izzie had a moment. They even shared a kiss.
If there is one thing Izzie loves, it's little animals. She loves anything small, ducks, rabbits, dogs. She's curious and gentle. But if you are a blind disabled sheep, (AKA Lambie) she will try to kill you. Don't ask me why. I believe she has multiple personalities, at least three that I deal with on a regular basis.
Once my evening chores were done, I set about destroying my kitchen the night before I have company over. I love doing that.
I've been working in the kitchen for 4 1/2 hours. I accomplished most of the things I set out to, but I wish I'd had a little more energy left to do a couple more things, but it's almost 10 PM and I can hardly keep my eyes open. So I'm giving up for tonight.
I must tell you, if you don't already make candied almonds in the crock pot, you need to do it right away. If not just to have on hand for parties, these candied almonds make awesome gifts and the most effort that is involved is cleaning the pot afterwards.
I must tell you, if you don't already make candied almonds in the crock pot, you need to do it right away. If not just to have on hand for parties, these candied almonds make awesome gifts and the most effort that is involved is cleaning the pot afterwards.
It's so easy. You just dump your almonds (about 3 cups of them) into a greased crock pot - spray it with cooking spray first.
Then mix in 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, 3 Tbs of ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, 1 egg white, and a dash of vanilla. Cook on high for about 3 hours. I've read you should cook it on low - but I tired that, and I didn't like it. So I turned mine to high - either way you have to watch it and stir it about every 20 minutes, so cook it higher if you want. After about an hour and a half, add about a 1/4 cup of water, not a lot, just enough to get the sugar to melt and mix easily. Then cook it for another hour, and when you feel everything has thickened up and is coated well, spoon your almonds onto some greased parchment paper and let cool. As they are cooling, keep pulling them apart when you can touch them so they don't all harden together into one mass, and try not to eat them all before they are even done cooling.
Then mix in 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, 3 Tbs of ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, 1 egg white, and a dash of vanilla. Cook on high for about 3 hours. I've read you should cook it on low - but I tired that, and I didn't like it. So I turned mine to high - either way you have to watch it and stir it about every 20 minutes, so cook it higher if you want. After about an hour and a half, add about a 1/4 cup of water, not a lot, just enough to get the sugar to melt and mix easily. Then cook it for another hour, and when you feel everything has thickened up and is coated well, spoon your almonds onto some greased parchment paper and let cool. As they are cooling, keep pulling them apart when you can touch them so they don't all harden together into one mass, and try not to eat them all before they are even done cooling.
They are so, so, good.
Then there is the sausage. I'll tell you about that later. When I can complete full sentences properly again. Hopefully that will be after I sleep. Goodnight to all!
Comments
I love candied almonds but never thought to try them in the crock pot! How smart!