Cute Attack of the Day!

Since about the beginning of summer my older sister and I have either been fostering kittens or, because of her work, baby wildlife (Sissy is a wildlife rehabilitator). So I thought that anyone who sees this may want to get a look into the lives of some "foster mums". Please enjoy!

***** If you ever find a wild or orphaned animal bring it to the appropriate location where it can be properly looked after. DO NOT try to raise a wild or orphaned animal without proper training! My sister and I have both received training to foster kittens and she has also received her wildlife rehabilitation license. It is ILLEGAL for anyone who is not licensed to have possession of a wild animal. Thank you*****

Let's start off with the first kitten we ever fostered: Gus! His poor little paw would not straighten out at the start but after a very short time he was good to go!

Oh Goodness! The Beginning of Food Porn!!

Sometime around September 2010 my little ocean town acquired a second organic grocery store. Years ago my mother introduced me to the most delicious thing ever (other than sushi and mint chocolate chip ice cream): Sesame seed candy! It was wonderful. A hard crunch that slowly turned into a stick to your teeth chew, and the underlying toasted tones that almost resembled peanuts. Just yum! There they were again at the front counter. We bought several and I realized I needed to make my own so recently I've been trying to recreate this delicious treat and I believe that I may have got it.

 First off, the ingredients:

• 6 tbs honey
• 6 tbs brown sugar
• 1 cup sesame seeds (or toasted if you want to cut out some work)
• a pinch of salt

Equipment:

• a small saucepan
• a large saute pan for toasting the seeds
• 2 stirring spoons
• a bowl scrapper
• large bowl
• oven pan to let candy cool on
• rolling pin
• parchment paper
• candy thermometer
• cookie sheet perferably with no edges
• a large knife

Steps:

1. Combine salt, honey, and brown sugar in the saucepan.
2. Put saucepan on low heat with candy thermometer. You'll have to wait till it says 302 degrees F to be done. (Make sure you picked a sauce pan that will give the honey/brown sugar mixture room to bubble, cause it does!)
3. Place seeds in saute pan on medium low heat. Continue to rotate and stir the seeds till they begin to slightly brown (tan) and begin to give off a lightly toasted scent. Remove from heat and place in large bowl.
4. Place a piece of parchment paper inside your cookie sheet.
5. Once the candy thermometer reaches 302 degrees F, remove the honey/brown sugar mixture from the burner and turn off heat. Immediately mix into the bowl that contains the seeds. Mix quickly then pour onto lined pan. (anything used so far place in sink and let soak, this stuff is sticky!)
6. Place another piece of parchment paper over the candy mixture.
7. Take the rolling pin and roll out candy to the desired thickness.
8. After rolling let cool slightly so that it's not too hot to the touch, but it still gives. At this point cut the candy into the desired size and shape.
9. Let cool to room temperature then place in refrigerator.
10. After an hour or so it is now time to enjoy!

Thank you and I hope everything goes well!

Well here goes nothing

As you may have guessed this little blog is my way of jumping into the cold water of the bloggy-blog world. I never truly expected myself to ever create a blog, yet here I am. I can recall on a few occasions thinking aloud how nice it would be to share some of my cooking, crafting, and such. But I simply never got to it, till now.

Well I guess I should start off with some basic information. I was born with the common English name of Elizabeth, nothing too exciting, but I find a tad odd due to the mixture of meaning and my families values. Anyways currently I'm completing my high school degree while I manage to balance college expectations as well as a business. "A business?" you may ask, yes it is true. August 2010 I started my own Etsy store front called Tails&Snouts. I honestly can't remember how it all started or, for that matter, how I stuck with it, but here I am. I guess what it really came down to was some spare time, the television and I simply found myself crafting. From a very young age I've created in one form or another. Not till I was about 11 did I actually begin doing a craft that would the diving board for my business; knitting.

In my novice years I simply knit row after row to make a scarf. I've abandoned that streamlined existence for something far more satisfying, and cute as well. Little knit toys/hand held animals. All adorable and definitely cuddly! I've recently expanded my business into sewing. And thus "The Wild Thing Theory" was developed. Even as I type this introduction I've already created plans for my newest experiment/creation.

To round this introduction, off if you plan on sticking with this blog you'll encounter new releases from my Etsy store Tails&Snouts (of course), get to hear the first word on my new experiments (maybe even get to try a freebie), get some tasty recipes and how-to's, and on occasion some silly stories from my childhood (which my mother is so kind in revealing due to the wonderful thing I call my personal past amnesia).