Save the Bees!

I think most of us have been aware that bees are dying at alarming rates and as researchers have found much of it has to do with toxic chemicals or pesticides being heavily sprayed on crops all over the Unites States.

My husband and I like to keep our children informed of environmental issues when appropriate. The boys are 4 and 6 but still care about the world, especially plants and animals AND bugs of any sort!

After I told my oldest son that the bees are dying in part because of pesticides he asked, "Why don't farmers stop spraying pesticides so the bees can stay alive?" I had to explain that not everyone thinks the same way we do. You can read this article, and many others, regarding the problems/pesticides at PAN (Pesticide Action Network).

This bee conversation happened to be right around his 6th birthday and he wanted to take fun snacks to school for a special treat and decided he wanted bees and responsibly told his classmates why he wanted bee themed snacks and told them why the bees are dying off!!

These very simple bees are made from yellow paper glued on clothespins. I drew stripes on the paper with a sharpie marker before I cut out the strips so I didn't have to do it 25 times! Then I glued on googly eyes and bent a black pipe cleaner for the antennae.

Then using resealable snack sized bags fill each side (twisted in the center) with snacks and secure with a bee! The kids in my son's class were thrilled about the bees flying them all over the room! It was adorable!

Save the bees!

Marvel Superheroes Cake

I can't believe how fast my boys are growing up. My youngest just turned FOUR years old and wanted a Marvel superheroes cake for his birthday. I was up for the challenge and making Marvel characters out of fondant turned out to be so much fun. He requested four Marvel superheroes since he was turning four years old - Spiderman, Wolverine, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man!

I always make cakes at night when my kids have gone to sleep so they have a huge surprise in the morning when they wake up. I love to see their expressions when they see their cake for the first time.

Each Marvel superhero was created completely out of fondant. I like working with fondant to sculpt characters. It is forgiving (if I screw up!) and will last a long time if you let it dry out completely. However, I never cover my cakes in fondant just because I don't like how it tastes - and yes I have made my very own marshmallow fondant before and think it tastes bad too. Buttercream is the way to go in my house!

 

Spiderman was my favorite to make. I rolled out very thin snakes of black fondant to make all of the webbing on his suit and created a small black spider for the center. I based these Marvel superheroes from toys that I saw online. I searched Google images for 'Marvel plush toys' and it worked out great!

Happy Birthday Liam!

Homemade Lemon Drops

I couldn't stop smiling after I made these! In fact, I am smiling right now while I am eating one! It took me right back to my childhood. My dad always had a bag of lemon drops in his car and I loved going on random and pointless car rides just so I could savor the tart and sour little drops of sunshine!

Don't be intimidated by this recipe just because it calls for a candy thermometer. If you have a bit of patience lemon drops are easy!

Since I had never made lemon drop candy before I wanted to use an existing recipe instead of trying to come up with my own. I found this one that looked easy enough to follow. I used a half recipe from what the blog did and I formed them differently. So here is the recipe with my take on shaping them.

Lemon Drop Candy - (From chocswirl.wordpress.com - Adapted from Field Guide to Candy by Anita Chu)
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/4 c. water
1 t. citric acid
1/4 t. lemon extract
yellow food coloring
powdered sugar for rolling - 1-2 T.

Coat a plastic scraper with butter and have a silpat ready. If you don't have a silpat a marble slab was recommended in the original recipe.

Preheat oven to warm.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat combine sugar, cream of tartar and water. Stir just until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring and attach a Sur La Table Candy & Deep Fry Thermometer (Google Affiliate Ad) to the side of the pan. Continue boiling mixture until it reaches 300 degrees F (or hard ball stage).

Pour hot mixture immediately onto silpat. Silpats come in different sizes. Pick on that fits in one of your sheet pans. I like the silpat brand - Sur La Table® Silpat® Baking Mats 8.25" x 11.75" (Google Affiliate Ad). Sprinkle citric acid, lemon extract and coloring onto the sugar mixture.

Using a buttered scraper (of some kind) mix ingredients until combined. The mixture will initially stick all over the scraper but will eventually come together into one cohesive glob of sugar!

While the mixture is still hot pull or cut pieces off and roll them in your hands to form a sphere or egg shape. Be careful not to burn your hands. The mixture should feel hot but not hot enough to burn your skin. If it is, wait for it to cool some.

Since the mixture is hot the lemon drops will ultimately be flattened on one side. Or at least mine were!

Roll the formed lemon drops in powdered sugar (or cornstarch) to coat. This way they will not all stick to each other!
 
Tip - If you find that the sugar is hardening too quickly to shape the pieces put them in the warm oven to reheat the sugar. You will be able to shape them again once they soften a bit.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!