Sweet thoughts, end of Shopping Therapy

Feeling better but nerves in face still touchy.

Got a comment from Doreen about making honeycomb candy and while lying in bed trying to distract myself from pain I got to wondering about why the brittle in peanut brittle (which I used to make years ago) and honeycomb have such different texture. Peanut brittle is hard and shiny while honeycomb is full of air bubbles, as the name suggests,and tender (there's a better word for what I mean but I can't think of it just now). I also remembered I have a recipe for the Irish version called Yellow Man. Hm, when able to get to PC I'd have to look at the differences. I suspected it has to do with amount of baking soda and maybe with use of Golden Syrup as opposed to other ingredients. As it happened, I finally got my stomach settled in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and when I got up to drink some milk, the Violet Crumble called my name. Crazy, I know, since all I'd had to eat Tuesday was a little bread, milk and cereal. I "reasoned" :) my blood sugar was low so it might even be a good idea to break off a bit and slowly enjoy it. Know what? I have to retract my earlier statement about Violet Crumble being better than Cadbury's Crunchie bar. In my defense, it's been ages since I had the Australian candy while I can occasionally find the Cadbury here in Virginia or have my son get some in PA. I realized that the chocolate on the Nestle's product (Violet Crumble) is waxier and less chocolatey than Cadbury's chocolate. And the honeycomb center of Violet Crumble is a lighter, finer texture with less flavor than the center of the Crunchy bar. Isn't that fortuitous since the Violet Crumble (when it can be found here) is nearly twice the cost of the Cadbury?

So I checked the various recipes and found that only 1 tsp. of baking soda is used in peanut brittle, 2 tsp. in Yellow Man and 1 tablespoon in honeycomb (at least the one recipe I looked at). Big difference! Doreen, if you are reading, I wonder if you've used the Golden Syrup the British and Australian recipes call for or just honey and corn syrup. Would be interesting to know how much difference it makes in taste. Glad Dorren reminded me too of the intense reaction that happens when the baking soda is added. I'd nearly forgotten that and it can be tricky. Will be awhile before I can get around to trying the recipe -- too much work to catch up on and not good to make when weather is so humid and stormy. I agree that coating the pieces in chocolate is a must. We can discount the extra calories because the chocolate helps preserve the honeycomb which needs to be in airtight container.

We have reached the end of Shopping Therapy with final items in silver and pink.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4mthwd4l0hhetj8/ws_ShoppingTherapy_33.zip?dl=0

I'm not quite where I wanted to be with Boho Baby. Had hoped at this point to be a week ahead but just not happy with some of what I've done.

Migraine today & freebie

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/je0rvckh83sdlrz/ws_ShoppingTherapy_32.zip?dl=0

We found out the proper name for that product & freebie

I was incorrect in calling my candy find a Velvet Crumble it's called a Violet Crumble, which should be easy to remember since the wrapper is purple lol. Hubby checked a tiny shop yesterday morning that carries some Italian food. They didn't have the product he is looking for, but the Italian woman who runs the store understood what he was looking for and told him it's an appetizer called Caponata which is
" a Sicilian eggplant dish consisting of a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar, with capers in a sweet and sour sauce. Wikipedia" John says it also has olives and some variations include other things like pine nuts. He was able to find some on Amazon and ordered four cans.

It was a gloomy, heavily overcast day yesterday and we didn't do much other than research the Caponata, play on computer, go out to dinner with retirees from his job and check Dad's house for mail. Today we are supposed to have heavy rain so I plan to stay inside and do some housework and make some scones.

Seeing terrible news of storm damage in Texas and heard there is more to come. Prayers go out to all those in the area being buffeted by the storm.


If you didn't want to go shopping in the earlier blue car and prefer pink, today's zip is for you:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3c56h5mzflzqh2/ws_ShoppingTherapy_31.zip?dl=0

Another weekend gone and nearing the end of Shopping Therapy freebie

Yesterday my husband and I took a little trip across the river (just minutes away really) and visited World Market in Newport News. He has been craving something he calls Gobladina (guessing at Sicilian spelling). He says it is chunks of eggplant, celery and other vegetables in a dark sauce, used to come in small cans like tomato paste does and they spread it on bread. Doesn't sound good to me but it was something he and his mother used to enjoy when he was growing up in New York. He has been eager to take a trip to New Jersey where there are plenty of places to get Italian specialities. After hearing him go on about this and the fact that in Tidewater you can't get a loaf of true Italian bread, I went on line searching. And off to World Market we went.

Unfortunately, he had no luck and came away empty handed. I, on the other hand, visited the British section and got some goodies: a coconut chocolate chip scone mix, a jar of Double Devonshire Cream, and a container of golden syrup. No luck on Cadbury Crunchy Bars with their delicious honeycomb centers but with the golden syrup I can try a recipe I found to make my own version of the honeycomb center. And then the big (& expensive) score: A large Velvet Crumble candy bar from Australia. I reasoned I owed myself a good treat when I picked up this luxury. Years ago when I was in an international crazy quilt group, we had swaps where we would fill ziplock baggies with fancy fabrics, ribbons and other trims for crazy quilt square, and then add some little gift to represent our home and mail them off. During a big swap with a group of Australian ladies, one sent us miniature Velvet Crumble bars and I was hooked! The Velvet Crumble is much like the Cadbury Crunch (which I can order from Amazon in cool months) but somehow better. A good shopping therapy trip for me if I don't count the calories lol.

More blue today:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8gmui3seqrtfb3/ws_ShoppingTherapy_30.zip?dl=0
I think that background pattern would make for soothing wallpaper in a bedroom.

It's Friday, gloomy & hot and I have a freebie for you

Looking for Saturday? It posted early - go back a couple.

Today is gold day in Shopping Therapy:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnx7v6ufvuyiu5e/ws_ShoppingTherapy_28.zip?dl=0

Nursing news and freebie

News from nursing home: numbers are lower than usual in UA test for infection but because of confusion and hallucinations, Dad will get antibiotic injection for 3 days and ammonia levels are being checked too. Physical therapy benefit with Medicare ran out and therapist says they aren't going to pursue additional therapy at this time because Dad is unmotivated and with the balance problems from those min strokes, there is only so much that can be done anyway. Today will be doing more paper work in relation to Medicaid application. What fun.

Here is today's zip of Shopping Therapy, more of the blues/teal with a couple other things thrown in:

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1mzs2fbn7r4r64t/ws_ShoppingTherapy_27.zip?dl=0

Saturday again and it's hat day for freebie time

Just came back from visiting Dad and need de-stress time. He wasn't wearing his hearing aid and when I found it, it wasn't working. We spent most of an hour or more trying to figure out what was wrong. His coordination is poor and he seems confused. Kept trying to tell me he has two hearing aids there and searched for the second. Hasn't had hearing in his left ear for several years but apparently he doesn't remember. Also kept trying to fit the right hearing aid in the left ear. Replacing the battery, cleaning the wax trap - all were agonizing. We did finally get it working, just after dinner arrived. I set up his tray and he began to complain about the meal. Told me to stop by McDonald's before I come next time and bring him something good to eat. He knows he can't have that stuff. I tried to brush it off lightly , kissed him, said "I love you" etc. so I could head home for dinner. And suddenly, he was able to make the clearest statement of the day, delivered in an ugly tone: "Go ahead and hurry out so we don't have to talk about it!" [Sigh] He's old and ill and I need to have more patience and not let this stuff bother me. I know I am doing all I can but still, I feel awful.

Today we have some hats to top off our outfits.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/r6cfiruqy8wbj7e/ws_ShoppingTherapy_29.zip?dl=0

Hope you are having a nice weekend.