I had a most delightful evening two nights ago. My sister, Roxie, very graciously offered to give me a peanut brittle making tutorial. Not only did she have to guide me through practical matters but she had to coach me through my anxiety. One might wonder why I would be anxious about making peanut brittle. Well, the anxiety stems from my previous experience with making peanut brittle during the holiday season of 1984. My little sister, Christie, and I decided to prepare this treat as a surprise for our mother who was at work. Presumably we proceeded through the first steps of candy making (the karo, sugar, water and peanuts steps) in a satisfactory fashion. Then, with disastrous results, we added the final ingredients - salt, baking soda, and vinegar. To our surprise the peanut brittle bubbled up and over the edge of the pot, across the stove and into the burners. Yes, think science project volcano with insanely sticky lava. After the disaster I have refused to make peanut brittle. Roxie encouraged me to face that fear and I DID! This experience was very different then the last. It was rather uneventful and even anticlimactic. This time I added the baking soda and vinegar and there was no volcano, I would characterize the reaction as more of a fizzle. I have no idea what I did wrong all those years ago - did I mismeasure the baking soda and vinegar? Was my pan too small? Uncertain. I just don't know. But the fear is gone and I now I have witnessed the later stages of peanut brittle making that I had never seen before. And, most importantly, I had a great time with Roxie and my boys. Roxie, thanks for the sweet time and for the adventure of facing my fears! More adventures on the way. Herb and I will attend our first military ball this evening. We will celebrate St. Nicholas Day tomorrow. The larger family will gather at Sarah's house for Christmas festivities on Sunday and Maceo's theatre troupe will have a holiday party on Monday. Looking forward to all the fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment