Happy Hallowe'en!



Blogger as Pumpkin
Is That Chocolate
In Her Left Hand?!

When I was a child growing up in a rural community back in the 1960’s, we would put together a homemade costume for Hallowe'en. As you can see in the photo to the left, some rural mothers in the 1960's made their children wear a sweater or coat over their costume (not to mention plastic bread bags as rain hats, but that's another story;) even as a three year old, I knew that most self-respecting pumpkins don't wear sweaters, sigh.

A parent would have to drive us around the neighbourhood because the distance between farms was too great to walk. According to rural etiquette, we had to come into each house, sit down on a chair and visit for at least fifteen minutes with the people living there before receiving our treat.  

Fifteen minute visits meant we'd only get to three or four houses in an hour or about eight houses in an evening. As a child, I envied my fellow classmates from town who could “hit” many more houses in a night and therefore, fill their huge bags with “loot;" as an adult, I recognize the real value of our rural Hallowe'en experience: it was an expression of community. We knew our neighbours and they knew us.
 


Sometimes, the treats were homemade: candy apples; caramel popcorn; fudge. Our neighbour Louise made the best brown sugar fudge. Although she has passed on, her fudge lives on in my memory. To pay homage to this wonderful neighbour and our Hallowe'en visits to her house, I thought I would include recipes for it here. Enjoy! 

Brown Sugar Fudge 

Blogger as Sad Clown

2 cups of brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar (some recipes omit this)

1 tablespoon of butter

2/3 cup of whole milk or light cream

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of chopped nuts (optional) 

Mix sugar, milk and cream of tartar in a pan. When thoroughly blended, put on the stove and bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly. When mixture comes to a soft ball when dropped into cold water (236 F on a candy thermometer), remove from stove and drop the butter on the mixture and let cool to lukewarm (110F on candy thermometer.) DO NOT STIR IN THE BUTTER YET. When the mixture is lukewarm, add vanilla and nuts and beat until the glossy appearance goes away. Drop a little from a spoon and if it forms, your fudge is ready to pour into a greased 8 inch square pan. Cool and cut into squares. 

Blogger As Witch.
Note the Small Bags!

Chocolate Fudge

2 tablespoons of butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 ½ cups white sugar

¼ teaspoon of salt

2 cups of mini-marshmallows

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla 

Combine butter, evaporated milk, sugar and salt in a medium-sized saucepan with a heavy bottom. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir for about one minute until the marshmallows and chips are melted. Pour into a foil-lined 8 inch square baking pan. Chill until firm.