Peru... Five years ago

I had this blog post in my head.  All about valentines day, and making sushi with my husband.  It was a fun day but tonight when I was on the phone with my mom I got another idea... SOOO guess what, you're not going to hear about Sushi, yet. :)  

Five years ago, this month,  my family and I went on an adventure to Peru.  WE had very close friends down there, and we decided that it would be a good experience for us.  I went with mixed emotions, I was extremely excited to be traveling to a new country and yet, I was leaving behind my boyfriend and missing his first birthday, as a couple and, more importantly, our first valentines day.  However looking back I don't regret a single moment of that month spent with my family.  We made some awesome memories and traveling outside of my comfort zone opened my eyes to a whole new world.  

 WE arrived in Lima Peru and somehow managed to get to the bus station and in the right area, without knowing any Spanish.  (this was before I had taken ANY spanish at all so we were CLUELESS)  We were meeting our friends in Arequipa but up until that point we were on our own.   My dad was great at playing the language barrier game and we were all relieved when we we were on the bus and on our way




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Arequipa was a busy city and we enjoyed exploring it for a few days, however the real adventure was just around the corner.  We got on another bus ride, which deserves a whole blog post to itself, and made our way back to a quant little town, in the mountains, called Velille.  

 This is where we spent a couple weeks and I was amazed at the culture and the food!  In the market they had these venders that sold cheese,  From what I can remember the cheese was the highlight of this town, it was what they were known for.  They also had alpaca on a stick that you could walk to the market and buy on Sundays and some other days of the week.  All these foods were amazing, and though my father thought my sister and I were crazy for eating it, I would eat all the food again  in a heartbeat!  

 The thing that took my mind back to that village, tonight however, was their yogurt.  Emily, Jenny, Julie and I would walk through the streets and into the market building to where the ladies would sit, selling their yogurt.  The would put it in little plastic bags for us and we'd rip open the one corner and start drinking away!  It was so natural tasting and nothing like I had ever had before. Here in the states most of the yogurt we buy is thick, however this yogurt was not thick at all.  It was the consistency of thick milk, but not solid, it was runny

So tonight I 'll drink my fresh homemade yogurt from a bag, and remember all the great experiences of Peru!  

Buying Milk from the local lady

Where are some places you've traveled, with food you have never experienced before?  

Taffy Time!!!

Most people think of the county or state fairs when they think taffy. Those big machines they have inside the booths pulling various colors of taffy. Sweet scents drift out over the crowd and are mixed with the smell of frying food and popcorn. However, when I think of pulling taffy I think of those wonderful moments when my neighbor taught us how to pull our own taffy.



For DAYS afterwards we’d get our Laura Ingles Wilder books out and find where she fed the pigs taffy and read, laugh and talk about how much fun pulling taffy was.




There were a few things that stood out clearly to me from the instructions Sarah Ann gave us. She would always tell us we’re holding too much taffy in our hands and not letting it slip through our fingers. I also distinctly remember the joy of discovering the “z” formation the taffy made as you pulled it with your taffy

I loved getting my hands in food, even back then ;)

Around the first of the year we were down in NYC visiting my in-laws and we decided that we’d try pulling taffy. It was my sister’s and my first experience branching out and making the taffy on our own. We called Sarah Ann and got the recipe from her and then we set to work making our mixture.


We watched as it boiled and boiled. WE smelled it making sure it had that interesting smell that we still remembered, even after all the years. Taffy is very sensitive, you need to get it at the right temperature and then send it outside to cool.
If you cook it a slight degree hotter for too long it could be disastrous. We tested it in the water and we also had a candy thermometer and it seemed fine… but it needed a little longerWELL somehow in the process of a “little longer” we cooked it a little hotter than we expected. I was not worried though, I thought we had everything under control. ;)





There were almost 20 people there that were going to want a turn at pulling taffy so we decided to make another batch. No one wanted to miss out on the pulling part and so after the first batch had cooled and they started pulling I got started on the second batch. Some people were asking me if I had left the other taffy outside too long because it was VERY solid and inflexibleI assured them it was fine, and that they just needed to get pulling it. Let’s just say, I was wrong, it wasn't ok. Some of the girls pulling the taffy were dragging each other across the floor because it was so tough.  I was glad that I had started the second batch.




I decided that the problem with the first batch was, #1 we had boiled it WAY too long and #2 I had left it outside a tad too long. The biggest issue was that it was boiled to such a high temperature that we were actually make hard candy instead of soft taffy.

Surprisingly everyone liked the harder batch better, they thought it had more flavor!


The second batch was much more successful. I made sure that I was boiling it at a little lower temperature than the first batch. WE set it outside and watched it continually. Everyone buttered their hands; we divided the taffy into half and got pulling.



Everyone caught on really well and I found that I was saying the same things my teacher, Sarah Ann, had. “Don’t let the taffy clump at your fingers; you have to let it flow through them.” “You don’t need a lot of butter; the taffy will stick to itself.” Everything went really well and we even moved outside to pull the last bit because it was colder and better for finishing the taffy off.

Emily and I pulled for a while after everyone else was done.

(sorry about the blurry pic it's the only one I have of me pulling the taffyI have always enjoyed pulling taffy however I’m a little more patient about waiting for my turn than I use to be:

Our second batch had a bit of failure towards the end. My husband went out to finish forming the strands and he put too much butter on his hands. Our perfect taffy went to strings and they had to keep pulling it some more. However, it changed the consistency of the taffy. Even though we had some problems the most important part to me is getting together with a group of people and trying something new! WE enjoyed teaching them how to pull taffy and it will definitely be an experience we try again, not only because it is fun but also because of all the memories it holds.



Taffy Recipe:
2 lbs. of sugar
1 pint cream
1 pint Karo
a little parafin (optional, I didn't use this)


Boil together till nearly 240 degrees, or between soft and hard ball,
then add 1 T. unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water. Make sure you do this RIGHT before you are ready to use... otherwise it thickens before you pour it into the mixture.
Continue boiling and check temp.once the temperature is between 240 and 242 degrees place it on WELL greased cookie sheets and place in a cold place to cool. After taffy is cool enough to hand you can start pulling the taffy with moderately buttered hands. (my father in law has a video that I will upload ... someday) Make sure you don't let the taffy cool too long. after the taffy has turn to a white color and is no longer sticky you can form it into the right shape and wrap.

I really am just trying something new out AND also giving you a sneak preview of a fun post still to come!Erin

I'm seriously considering opening a new blog.... Maybe using wordpress....

Christmas Trees

There's one thing about Christmas that will always remind me of my Grandparents. Getting the tree. For years while I was growing up they had a Christmas tree farm and when Christmas would come around they would sell Christmas trees to everyone in the towns surrounding ours. People would come from miles away, bundle up and take a wagon ride to the top of the hill to find that perfect tree that would bring cheer to their homes for the holiday. The wagon ride was what everyone looked forward to. Once they would climb into the wagon they'd take their pick on a hay bale and hang on for the journey. Through the snow drifted field, over the bubbling creek, up the slick hill to the top where my Grandpa would drop them off. You all know the next part, the search for the PERFECT tree :) Once they found it they'd cut it down, with the saws provided from my Gramps, and then they'd drag it down the hill, over the walking bridge, through the field back to the house. With rosy cheeks and sparkles in their eyes they would greet and pay my Grandma or the guys working the lot.

As my sister and I got older we'd help out on the lot: greeting people, showing them the trees on the lot, taking their money, and baling their trees. I remember being down at Grams during tree season, she'd have her boots and gloves by the wood stove and as soon as someone would come along she'd be there helping them out.

Sadly however, there aren't many more trees on the hill after all these years. My Grandparents head to Florida now in early November and so we brave the field, creek and hill with our Subaru and search for the perfect tree. I know that when people drive by the hill they remember the good days of finding that perfect tree and the memories that my Grandparents helped them create.

I hold the days with my Grandma close to my heart... not only watching and helping them sell trees, but all the time she's put into teaching me how to quilt, crochet pot holders, and helping me make rugs.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for all the great memories that you have given us and so many others! <3

The Special Dinner

I've been working on this blog for a while. Tonight (2:18 am) Asa's trying to help someone who slid off the road and so I decided to make good use of my time and finish the blog while I'm waiting to go back to bed. WE woke up to a car just spinning out over and over again so He took our ashes down there to help him out.

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Ok so I never got around to telling everyone about our exciting adventure in NYC the last time. Asa had done work for this man who had a restaurant in NYC a while ago. While Asa was working for him he put together a lantern and the man paid him for his time. Asa ended up giving him the money back and asked if he could take his wife to Roberto's restaurant.http://www.roberto089.com/index_r.html Roberto thought it was a great idea so we looked forward to the time when we could try out his place.

A couple weeks ago when we went to the city we left here around 5 pm and headed straight for the Bronx. I was totally unprepared for the amazing cuisine that awaited us. We walked into a cozy restaurant, dim lighting, and people chatting. There was only one table that was empty in the entire place and we were ushered to the table. We sat there drinking our water and Asa explained to the waiter that Roberto knew we were coming and that we'd like to say hi. They quickly went and got Roberto. He came out and chatted with Asa, Emily and I for a while. It was pretty funny when he informed Asa that he doesn't look like an "upstater" any more. :) He asked us if there was anything we didn't eat and the proceeded to order our meal . Emily and I just stared in amazing when he just slightly lifted a finger and the waiters were at our side!

I'm not going to remember all the names for the dishes... if Emily would be writing this blog this would know. Somehow she was able to catch all the names, for some reason it was a little harder for me to catch what they were saying at times! The would bring out a dish and then serve each one of us and before leaving our table they would tell us to "enjoy!" :) As soon as we'd finish eating one dish they'd take our plates away, bring out clean plates and comeback with more food. I seriously have NEVER experienced something so amazing! :) Emily and I kept looking at each other giggling and saying, "It's just like in the movies!" I'm not going to lie, I actually felt like royalty! Asa enjoyed seeing us get such a huge kick out of the entire experience!

This was our first appetizer. It was actually pretty funny because before he ordered he asked if there was any food we didn't eat, my mind instantly went to seafood. I try to be open to the stuff but for some reason it's the one food I don't enjoy eating. However this stuff was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH delicious! It was Shrimp and Scallops with a while creamy sauce.

The next appetizer was smoked mozzarella with olives, roasted red peppers and spinach. I had never had smoked mozzarella before and it was very flavorful.

This was probably my most favorite dish out of everything that we ate while we were there. It's a in the restaurant made pasta, with a fresh made sauce! The flavor burst the second it hit your taste-buds! The pasta was also swirled so the juices would get trapped down inside! mmmm I could go for a bowl right now!

This next dish was had a very different and interesting texture. It was risotto with figs and prosciutto. You know when you bite into a fig newton, there's that grainy texture? This dish had that same texture but as a sauce. The most interesting part was that it almost crackled in your mouth, similar to pop rocks. (I know I sound crazy)

Then the main course we each got a plate with veal, tomato and cheese.

The mood lighting was great!!!

And our desserts! I'll let the picture do the talking:

WE all decided to pick different desserts so that we could taste a few different ones. However after asa got his I was wishing the whole time I would have ordered what he had!

Us with Roberto before we left:

Hey! I just wanted to post some pics of my projects today. I woke up pretty inspired to get things checked off my to-do list! I got two cupboards organized, a pie made,

and bread baked.

The kitchen cleaned... and the only thing left that I really want to do isread my Bible and go to bed! BUT before I do that I want to post a teaser of the wedding we shot this weekend.

Emily took most of the pictures but I got to be with the guys when the were tying their ties and getting ready. IT was fun... they kept me laughing!