Tiny Hippo Creates the Perfect Hostess Gift

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With all the homes I visit during the holiday season it is great to have a delightful treat to offer my hosts. There is no better sweet treat than these homemade apple cider caramels!

Behold! These lovely caramels are a hit for anyone who tries them, and they look so cute in a little bowl or a mason jar with a twine bow.

This awesome apple cider caramel recipe comes from a great blog, Blondie’s Cakes and Things. The recipe is easy to follow with no alterations or additions needed, be sure to wear your protective goggles while stirring the bubbling candies. When you select an apple cider for making these little gems don’t buy the cheap stuff. I used apple cider from our local orchard because Wilson’s Apple Orchard makes divine cider, and it is a great place for a family outing, see my Tiny Hippo at the Apple Orchard post.

Once your awesome caramels have cooled its time to turn them into perfect little presents that all your buddies will love!

Alright, remove the caramels from the pan using the parchment paper. While you may be tempted to wrap this huge block up and keep it for yourself willpower must prevail.

Instead of scarfing down the whole block of caramel, divide it into even rectangles or squares using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter

Now for the fun part! Set up a work station for the caramel wrapping extravaganza. You will need the cut caramels, rectangles of wax paper, and a neat surface to roll up the caramel in paper.

Once your lovely caramels have been wrapped up safe and sound, all that is left is for you to take them to all those fancy parties where it is only proper to give a great gift.

I hope that you try these great caramels and take them with you when you visit friends and family this season.

How to Carve a Pumpkin (Halloween Laboratory)

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Halloween is a very fun time of year and nothing adds to the spirit of the season like a good pumpkin carving. However, to properly create the best jack-o-lantern, one must follow some key rules of safe laboratory etiquette.

First off, sterilize all your instruments.

Carefully lower your instruments into the cleaning fluid

Oops, too many bubbles!

Lay out all your clean tools, an organized scientist is a good scientist

Prepare the patient for the operation

Now, don your protective eye ware

Make the incisions for opening the gourd

Excavate the subject, this will be messy

Now, carefully make your cuts

Next, set the experiment aglow!

Finally, bask in the splendor of your creation

There is nothing better than an experiment well done, and a new friend to show for it

Tiny Hippo at the Apple Orchard

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September is the perfect time to visit the local apple orchard. The air is crisp and clear putting one in the mood for long walks and tart apples!

So off I went to Wilson’s Apple Orchard, to partake of deliciously fresh apples. Of course, there are many distractions at the orchard, other than apples.

There are several pumpkin patches that are ripe for exploration

While I am not a huge fan of actual pumpkins…

I do love a good pumpkin flower!

Enough with delightfully tasty flowers, at the orchard, apples are my ultimate objective

Getting the best apples is always a bit of a challenge

First, develop a battle plan, you don’t want to get half way to your dream apple only to be foiled at the last-minute by poor planning

I like to use a sturdy rope with knots in it to reach the apples

Now then, once I secure my climbing rope in the tree it is time to climb!

Tiny hippo tree climbing, some would say an extreme sport, is certainly not for the weak of heart

Ah, at last I reach my lovely apple, how crisp it looks!

My apple picked, I put it in my red wagon, it is the perfect size for such things

My hard work has paid off, I can go home with my prize, after I show it to a few friends, of course

A trip to the apple orchard is a great way to spend the afternoon, and there are so many things that you can make with your freshly picked treasures. Check out my spicy apple chutney recipe, or my red rice salad with apricots, and try substituting apples in place of the apricots.

Tangy Red Rice Salad with Apricots

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This Tangy Red Rice Salad with Apricots is a great side dish or a perfect light lunch for those hot summer days when warm leftovers just don’t seem that appetizing.

Tangy Red Rice Salad

Ingredients for the salad:

1 cup red rice (we like to use Ruby Red Rice from Thailand, but whatever you can find will work)

3 ripe, but firm, apricots, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/4 cup dried currants, soaked for 5 minutes in 1 cup boiling water

Ingredients for vinaigrette:

1 bunch green onions (about 5), finely chopped

1/4 – 1/3 cup canola oil (depending on your preferences)

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp orange marmalade

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp honey

juice from half a lemon

Method:

1. Cook the red rice according to directions on the package. Drain excess water and spread the rice out on a baking sheet to cool quickly.

2. While the rice is cooking, toast the pecans in a pan over medium heat, shaking pan frequently. Cook until pecans are lightly browned and fragrant.

3. Next, prepare vinaigrette by whisking all ingredients together. Set aside.

4. When the red rice has cooled to room temperature, toss with remaining salad ingredients and the vinaigrette. Serve cold or at room temperature.

We hope you enjoy this amazing summer salad!

Spiced Whiskey Sour

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Spiced Whiskey Sour

This Spiced Whiskey Sour uses a variety of spices to add great depth of flavor to the more traditional whiskey sour. The nutmeg is sweet, the cinnamon is spicy, and the cayenne adds heat to the drink; all together they make for a well-rounded medley of spices that complement this tart whiskey concoction.

Ingredients:

2 shots of Revel Stoke Spiced Canadian Whiskey

2 shots club soda

1 shot lemon juice

1 tbsp honey (local honey from a small supplier is best, we love the honey sold by Indian Creek Nature Center, if you visit the center on a Saturday afternoon you can watch the beekeeper harvest the honey.)

1 pinch (1/16th tsp) powdered cinnamon

1 smidgen (1/32nd tsp) powdered nutmeg

1/2 smidgen (1/64th tsp) powdered cayenne pepper

Cinnamon stick and maraschino cherry for garnish

Method:

In a glass or beaker mix the whiskey, club soda, lemon juice, and honey. Making sure to stir well so that the honey dissolves, it is important to do this without any ice, otherwise the honey will get too cold and harden. Once the honey is dissolved, stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne. Now fill an Old Fashioned glass 3/4ths full with ice. Pour the drink mixture slowly over the ice. Garnish with cinnamon stick and maraschino cherry, serve immediately.

Yields enough for two Old Fashioned glasses.

Because this Spiced Whiskey Sour uses honey instead of homemade simple syrup no electrical appliances (like the stove top) are needed to create it, making this the perfect drink for when the electricity goes out.

Even a Tiny Hippo can make this drink in the dark, it’s that easy and oh so good