Day 307: Black Currant Popsicle
Not a happy gut today. Overfed and underslept. I’m sure this is the very first second of November in my lifetime during which I ate not one Halloween candy. Believe me, there are plenty here; Mike took this as proof positive that I was unwell. My midsection retaliated all day (and still is) for, I imagine, the past few weeks of abuse.
I ate two apples and an orange today – all I could imagine eating, probably because they are cool and watery and acidic and typically make me feel hungry. At dinnertime I pulled out a container of yam and lentil soup (it has been in there longer than I thought) and Mike made W a grilled cheese sandwich. Mike ate all the soup; I had a black currant popsicle – just black currant puree and vanilla yogurt frozen in a popsicle mold with a wooden stick (I hate those plastic ones that go with the mold – they just spend all their time scattered on the basement floor being stepped on).
And sorry, I went and forgot to post my recipe for bacon brittle, in case anyone is interested. I made it last week for Halloween on CBC. It was made using my Grandma’s peanut brittle recipe. Instead of the peanuts, I cooked up about 6-8 slices of bacon until crisp, drained them and chopped them roughly, then stirred the chunks in instead of the peanuts. I also ground fresh black pepper over the surface as soon as I spread it out on the baking sheet, while it was still hot and tacky.
My Grandma’s Peanut Brittle
The recipe for my grandma’s peanut brittle is written by hand on an old recipe card I still have; it turns out to make a great basic recipe whether you want to make a nut brittle with peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or mixed nuts. Try crushing nut brittle and stirring it into cookie dough or swirling it into softened ice cream.
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup or honey
pinch salt
3/4 cup water
2 cups dry roasted peanuts or mixed nuts
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking sodaCombine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has dissolved do not stir, but swirl the pan occasionally until the mixture reaches 325°F on a candy thermometer.
Remove from heat and stir in the peanuts, vanilla and baking soda – the mixture will foam up in the pan. Immediately pour onto a rimmed baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray and spread out fairly thin with a spatula or the back of a spoon that has been sprayed as well.
Cool completely and break into chunks. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 10 servings.
Per serving: 293 calories, 10.9 g total fat (1.5 g saturated fat, 5.4 g monounsaturated fat, 3.4 g polyunsaturated fat), 5.2 g protein, 47.1 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, 1.9 g fiber. 32% calories from fat
Hazelnut or Almond Brittle: replace the peanuts with toasted hazelnuts or sliced almonds.
Chocolate Nut Brittle: stir 1/3 cup cocoa powder into the baking soda; add in place of the baking soda.
Pumpkin Seed Brittle: replace the peanuts with toasted, salted pumpkin seeds; if you like, add a pinch of ground cumin too.
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November 02 2008 | snacks and sweet stuff | 10 Comments »
