Peanut Brittle Tradition

The holiday season is always a time for baking and candy making at my folks house.  This year I got to help Mom make some peanut brittle.  I managed to not burn myself by pouring molten sugar and nuts down my leg and it ended up tasting great as well.  A win, win!

Here's Mom's recipe.

2 cups of raw peanuts, with skins on
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of Karo syrup
1 tsp of baking soda

Before you start cover a cookie sheet with foil and grease it with butter.  You need to do this first so its ready for the molten (straight out of a volcano) sugar and peanuts that will arrive shortly.

Mom uses a well seasoned cast iron skillet and we assume other pans work as well and might even be easier than lifting the heavy skillet, but the danger is part of the fun ; )

You add the peanuts,sugar and syrup in the skillet and heat on medium heat stirring all the time to keep from burning the nuts.  Once it has started to boil, you cook it for 16 minutes.  The sugar and syrup will turn a carmelly brown and you'll smell the peanuts roasting. Keep an eye on it as you stir as you don't want it to get too brown.  Once your timer dings sprinkle the baking soda over it and mix it in.  It will foam up and fear will creep in but you can do it.  You move with your molten hot iron over to the waiting cookie sheet.  engage your arm muscles and pour the screaming hot sugar and peanuts onto the cookie sheet. Find a place to set down the skillet quickly and then spread the brittle out with authority so the peanuts are in one layer.  Once that's done tap the cookie sheet on the counter (have pot holders under it) carefully because its hot.  This will release any air bubbles.  Then you wait.  If the you've cooked it for long enough, if its not too humid, if you didn't cook it too long, if you didn't suffer 3rd degree burns, after its cooled, you'll break it up.

You prepare yourself for the ultimate test.  Pop a golden brown bit of deliciousness into your mouth.  The candy is crunchy, sweet, melt in your mouth goodness and the roasted peanuts add that salty edge.  You allow yourself a small piece.  The pretty pieces will go in gift boxes and bags for friends and family.  The stray bits are gathered up and shared amongst the cooks.

Another holiday season is launched successfully.  Thanks Mom 

Looking for the story

Even his shadow finds his perfection boring.

I'm taking some time this week to go on a "see what I can see mission".  This is my favorite kind of shoot.  Like Forrest and his box of chocolates, "you never know what you're gonna git".  I'll hit the road with an open mind and heart and see what appears.  Like this surprise from a few weeks ago.

Not exactly what you'd expect to see on a river bank in the hill country and all the more thrilling because of that.

So, I'll spend a few nights in a cabin in the hill country.  Shooting dark skies at night and run the roads during the days to see what might pop up.  Aliens? Wildlife? Quirky hill folk?  Anything could happen.

My Dad mentioned something the other day that has stuck with me.  He said I was just like my Grandmother, Mom's Mom.  Always wanting to "go see".  I mentioned it to my sister and she remembers always taking Grandma on rides on Sundays, always going somewhere.  I never got to know my Grandmother as she passed when I was very little but this is a lovely way to feel the connection despite that.   I'll think of it as my "bear that went over the mountain, gene".  Apparently I come by it naturally.

I'll be sure and share the best finds with you all.  Until then, keep your eyes open.  There are stories happening all around you.

Higgledy Piggledy

I love finging quirky places.  Tucked away corners that have found a use.  This little gem of a doorway was just off a main street in Stromness on Orkney.  An awkward spot made to fit. All angles and reused wood.  I love the worn paint and henges.  The palette and whimsy suits be very well.  That's one of the reasons I love travelling with my camera and bringing these bits home with me.

I'm back!

I had a wonderful trip and I hope some of you were able to follow along with some posts I had made to my Facebook page. Once again my dear friends Shannon and Mario at Scottish Dream Tours made my travel dreams come true. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland were gorgeous. Snow topped mountains, lovely Spring blooms everywhere, gale force winds ; ) what an adventure. The above photograph was taken at St Conan's Kirk on the way to our first stop in Oban. Mario is a talented photographer and we had a lot of fun finding the next "great shot" and making sure we didn't tumbled off a cliff edge. It always helps to have a buddy along. I tend to become very "focused" when shooting and can sometimes lose site of what's going on around me. Just ask some of my friends about the Mexican wrestling match we attended. So, its good to be home. I've been through all my images at least once and I'm sure I'll continue to find surprises in them as I work with them but overall I'm very happy with those I was able to capture. I'll post images here as well as in my etsy shop, Society 6 and flickr (links to the right). I'll also get back in the groove of posting here regularly and let you all share in what I'm seeing. My phone email sign off says "from my little stone cottage in Scotland" to just keep it out there until it happens but for now "from my little cottage in Texas"

Thanks for checking in,

Kim

Scotland

It's funny. When people ask me where I'm going this year on vacation I most often get two responses when I tell them "Scotland again". If the person asking has never been they usually want to know "don't you want to see someplace different this time?" and if they have had the chance to visit they say "can you stuff me in your suitcase" I find myself thinking, what if this is the last trip you get to take, do I really want to miss seeing Scotland one last time? The response is always a resounding, NO! So I'm seeing the Highlands and Islands again this year but in the Spring instead of the Fall. I'll have a "big girl" camera this time and a lot more experience under my belt. I can't wait to get swept away by the beauty, wonder and romance that I find every time I visit Scotland. Be sure and stop back in a couple of weeks. I'll be sharing my finds.

Must be jelly cause ....

You can always tell when Spring and Summer arrive at Mom and Dad's house. There is always something ready to be canned. Dad is growing it and Mom is putting it up. Today was strawberry jelly made special for the grandkids who savor each scarlet dollop. What I would fret over and plan to the nth degree (jelly making} Mom calmly goes about without a worry. Years of experience I suppose and any missteps long forgotten. No anxiety included here. The only thing that goes into the jelly now is yummy ingredients and lots of love. Must be why it tastes so good.

Barefoot Freedom

Were you a run around barefoot kind of kid? Could you walk on asphalt and stickers, hot pavement and rocky beaches? Not me. I am the original tender foot. I even wear socks in the house and not just to keep from sweeping. This perceived fault of mine has created a deep seated envy in me. I wish I didn't have to stop to slip on shoes. I'd have loved to pelt down to the waters edge without a care for shell or pokey bits. Sigh. Maybe that's why this young girl really captured my imagination. As soon as I saw her and her dog flying towards the water, In my imagination, I slipped of my sensible shoes and socks. I was boldly running with them. Ignoring the potential for a debilitating foot mishaps. Slapping my souls on the earth without a care, celebrating my barefoot freedom.

Go There or Then in a Book

I'm sure we've discussed my love of reading in the past. I was time travelling again today in a book. I slipped back in time as I read then surged forward as my phone dinged. Then eased back again to pick up the story. I didn't need a time machine, just a well written story and a willingness to go there. I did and I will, go there every chance I get. What are you reading?

Seed Your Dreams

Seed Your Dreams

Cast them out from your heart
for others to share

Work the fertile soil you find
and enrich the barren ground
with hope

Then reap what your dreams
have borne

Its your garden, get busy

Dreams of Flight

I'd fly with you, if I only could
said the little porcelain bird

to deep blue pools and far off sands
in dreams we'd never land

I'd fly with you, if I just could
my one true feathered friend

I realized again today why I enjoy making photographs so much. Yes its the beautiful places but so much more as well. I was wrestling with and image I was trying to take. I'd been thinking about it for a while and was trying to make it work and it wasn't. I read a quote from Marc Chagall recently and it hit home again.

"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing."

Once I let go of the wrestling, something else came in. A story, a line of poetry a bit of whimsy. As I took down this bowl to dust it I rediscovered a found feather and the little transfer ware bird began her story. I wish I could describe what happens when a story begins. I'm sure you creative folk have similar experiences. As you create from the heart something extra gets added and passed on for others to see and appreciate. This image is another reminder for me to let go and let the stories take flight and capture them if I can.

Worlds Collide

I spent the night in the country indulging my love of the night sky. I could see the metropolis I lived in on the horizon casting its glow like a rising sun. Each small town nearby had its own small dome of electric light it sent into sky, as if it announced and protected them from intrusion. I sat in the dark, harvested field waiting for just such a meeting. I sat in deliberate darkness waiting for my world to meet deep space. I wanted to see the meteors blaze across the darkness, their brief fire frozen by my lens. As I sat there in the noisy darkness. I could hear dogs barking from miles away. Donkeys guarding their flocks, braying at predators. The light, the dogs, the donkeys and the atmosphere protecting their little bit of space from any intrusion. How did one tiny bit of comet dust stand a chance against such vigilance? Worlds aren't allowed to collide.

Happy Holidays

The holiday season in San Antonio usually involves a trip down town to stroll the riverwalk and take in the lights on display. A chance to quack at the ducks, eat, drink and be merry. This year was no exception. I'll be spending the holidays with family and couldn't be happier about that. I hope this season you are able to be with the folks you love and love you. Peace my friends.

December Mists

As a photographer you are always looking for that sweet light. A light that does more than just illuminate. It becomes a part of the photograph. Foggy,misty, pea soup mornings do that for me. The damp turns my mundane often over looked neighborhood into a place full of possiblities. Who knows what could walk out of the mist with a story to tell. So I spent this morning within a few miles of my home enjoying what a little moisture does to the landscape and my perspective. The flickr link in the right column will show you some of my other favorite images from this morning. This particular tree for many years held a hawk's nest at the very top. The limb finally broke and I guess they decided it was a bad risk to build again. That doesn't keep me from scrutinizing it every time I drive by, which is fairly often, just in case they move back to The Hawk Tree.

Fall Reflections

I spent yesterday tramping through Lost Maples State Park with a group of fellow photographers. Lost Maples is one of the few places near San Antonio with naturally occurring Fall color and draws huge crowds when the colors start to turn. Despite the large groups of Fall color fans there was plenty of room for everyone. We each had plenty of room to kick some leaves and take photos. We stayed until well after dark. I had forgotten how gorgeous the sky could be in remote areas. Despite the sore back (from lugging camera gear) soar legs (need to get working on those lunges again) and two lungs full of cedar (no ill effects, thank you very much) I really feel like I need to make a point to get out to the far beyond more often.

Candy Corn Etiquette

It is almost the Halloween season and that can only mean..... the return of Candy Corn. That pressed sugar, kinda corn looking candy that appears every year. There some candies I can't pass up. Sixlets, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Butter Mints. Candy Corn isn't a favorite but that's not to say I don't have some etiquette I follow when I do snack on the faux corn sweetness. Naturally the segmented colors pratically demand that they be eaten in three bites. First nibble off the white tip, then the somewhat larger orange middle then finish off the bright yellow bottom. Never place Candy Corn in a pocket for later snacking. They should make lint brushes from Candy Corn. Don't refridgerate the candy. You really need room temperture for optimal munching. Please don't ignore the noses that got knocked off in the bag. Do save them for the end however as whole candies must be eaten first. Okay, I think that's all my freakish Candy Corn rules. Enjoy!