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| Don't you just love Sissy's big white hair ribbon? Dad looks so smart with his slicked-back hair! |
This is the first year that none of my kids are going out trick-or-treating (I let my teens go out last year. My mother would've never let us trick-or-treat when we were in high school! Times have changed.)
I'm actually relieved to not be doing the trick-or-treat thing this year. I trick-or-treated for 21 years! That's a lot of freezing myself silly. Hallowe'en is quite chilly here in the Pacific
Northwest. I'd bundle my kids up in parkas and we'd all wear gloves. Some years we dodged the raindrops, too. So, yes, I'm glad we're done with the trick-or-treating.
Northwest. I'd bundle my kids up in parkas and we'd all wear gloves. Some years we dodged the raindrops, too. So, yes, I'm glad we're done with the trick-or-treating.
This also means we don't have to squeeze all of our little traditions into those couple of hours between getting the kids home from school and going out trick-or-treating (around 7:30PM here). Making and eating dinner, making our popcorn balls, getting the treats all set out and ready (okay, not a huge job) and helping everyone into their costumes -- all these things take time. Now, we can enjoy each moment.
I think one of my favorite traditions is making the popcorn balls. I use a recipe from a holiday celebration cookbook that my mom had. We all stand around the stove and singe the tiny hairs off our fingers while forming the sticky balls. Then we eat a bunch of them, until our tummies can't hold any more. I think popcorn balls taste a lot like snickers bars without the chocolate. Imagine how yummy they'd be coated in chocolate.
So here's the recipe we use.
Popcorn Balls
5 quarts popped corn
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional -- candies for decorating the balls
Keep the popcorn warm, in a large pan (I use my turkey roaster), in a 200 degree F oven.
Butter the sides of a medium saucepan. (If you popped your con in oil, in a large saucepan, you can make your syrup in that pan, and skip the "buttering pan" step.)
In the saucepan, stir together sugar, water, salt, corn syrup, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook to 250 degrees F (hard-ball). Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Bringing the syrup to 250 degrees F takes about 10-15 minutes.
Removed popcorn from the oven. Pour a thin stream of syrup all over the popped corn. Working quickly, use a large spoon or spatula to combine, as best as possible. Butter hands and scoop coated popcorn. Press firmly into balls.
Optional -- decorate with candies as desired.
Does your family have any Hallowe'en traditions? Any special, kid-friendly dinners? Ours was always grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
So here's the recipe we use.
Popcorn Balls
5 quarts popped corn
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional -- candies for decorating the balls
Keep the popcorn warm, in a large pan (I use my turkey roaster), in a 200 degree F oven.
Butter the sides of a medium saucepan. (If you popped your con in oil, in a large saucepan, you can make your syrup in that pan, and skip the "buttering pan" step.)
In the saucepan, stir together sugar, water, salt, corn syrup, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook to 250 degrees F (hard-ball). Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Bringing the syrup to 250 degrees F takes about 10-15 minutes.
Removed popcorn from the oven. Pour a thin stream of syrup all over the popped corn. Working quickly, use a large spoon or spatula to combine, as best as possible. Butter hands and scoop coated popcorn. Press firmly into balls.
Optional -- decorate with candies as desired.
Does your family have any Hallowe'en traditions? Any special, kid-friendly dinners? Ours was always grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
