Chocolate!
With the move and all we're TOTALLY broke. Since we can't really spend much on gifts this year, I'm trying to make candy for family for Christmas. This weekend I started on truffles. I've never made them before, but I think they're really pretty and tasty. I'm planning to make:
dark chocolate mint encased in white chocolate then rolled in crushed peppermint
semisweet chocolate orange encased in dark chocolate then rolled in coco powder
semi sweet chocolate almond encased in white chocolate then rolled in crushed almonds
The mild chocolate seems to be a lot easier to work with than dark. We'll see how it goes. So far I've mixed the centers for the 1st two. I need to dip them and roll them. If I get them all done, I'll start on the almond truffles.
Any left over chocolate used for the shell of the truffles, I'm planning to pour into candy molds so nothing gets wasted.
I hope they turn out well.
I want to find some jasmine extract. I think jasmine chocolate would taste amazing!
I'm also thinking about mixing up some bath salts. I love them, but I'm not sure how much other people like them.
I'm planning to make ornaments for the young kids in the family, too. Lance said kids don't want ornaments, but I'm not sure about that. I still have a box of ornaments from childhood that I really love. When I was little, I loved having my own ornaments to put on the tree. So I'm making them anyway.
On other fronts, the old house is almost ready. We have a handyman who shows up and does great work. It should be ready for a detailed cleaning next weekend. Now we just need to get a renter in there or sell it.
So far the work on-call rotation is working. I'm dreaming of a vacation in early spring, provided we have renter or the house has sold. Otherwise, I may take a stay-cation to get break from work. I don't think I've taken any days off for fun in over 2 years. I have almost 4 weeks to use and I could really use some R&R.
dark chocolate mint encased in white chocolate then rolled in crushed peppermint
semisweet chocolate orange encased in dark chocolate then rolled in coco powder
semi sweet chocolate almond encased in white chocolate then rolled in crushed almonds
The mild chocolate seems to be a lot easier to work with than dark. We'll see how it goes. So far I've mixed the centers for the 1st two. I need to dip them and roll them. If I get them all done, I'll start on the almond truffles.
Any left over chocolate used for the shell of the truffles, I'm planning to pour into candy molds so nothing gets wasted.
I hope they turn out well.
I want to find some jasmine extract. I think jasmine chocolate would taste amazing!
I'm also thinking about mixing up some bath salts. I love them, but I'm not sure how much other people like them.
I'm planning to make ornaments for the young kids in the family, too. Lance said kids don't want ornaments, but I'm not sure about that. I still have a box of ornaments from childhood that I really love. When I was little, I loved having my own ornaments to put on the tree. So I'm making them anyway.
On other fronts, the old house is almost ready. We have a handyman who shows up and does great work. It should be ready for a detailed cleaning next weekend. Now we just need to get a renter in there or sell it.
So far the work on-call rotation is working. I'm dreaming of a vacation in early spring, provided we have renter or the house has sold. Otherwise, I may take a stay-cation to get break from work. I don't think I've taken any days off for fun in over 2 years. I have almost 4 weeks to use and I could really use some R&R.