Fire Baked Apples

         Camping season is right around the corner and thanks to a good friend for navigating the world of government campsites- our first trip of the season is booked- lock stock and barrel- well almost we still have to book our spots on the ferry. At any rate we are all looking forward to those nights spent outside around the campfire with good friends by our sides and lots of yummy treats- because that is what camping is all about right? The food!

       While at my parents I thought I would try out a tasty looking treat I had seen earlier in the week over on Heather Cameron's blog A Day In The Country for fire baked apples. Lets just say we were not disappointed! This treat is like a twist on your classic apple crisp- but cooked over a camp fire makes it a bit more novel and fun!

What To Do:

- Peel and core out an apple
- Place it in the middle of a square of parchment paper and TWO pieces of foil wrap
- Stuff the hollow left by the core with a tablespoon of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and I added nutmeg- naturally!
- Wrap everything up into a little package to be set directly into the low coals- anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on your fire
- We served ours with ice cream but yogurt or whipped cream would be equally good

        I love sitting around the camp fire- the meditative qualities of staring into the flames, the cold beer in my hand, warm face cold back- this is what summer is to me. At my "one day" home there will be a fire pit with big cozy chairs surrounding it and we will have a fire every summer night it does rain! Of course we will have Fire Roasted Apples and S'mores as well- naturally!

p.s.- I would also like to mention that Heather Cameron's blog was the first blog I started following- making me want to live in the country and indulging in my love of vintage eye candy! Not that she needs the publicity but have a gander at her blog- like the apples you will not be disappointed!

It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter

      Well we certainly had a marshmallow world last week at my parents house- it snowed every single day we were there- which is heaven for folks like us from the coast. As is evidence from all of my post last week we had so much fun and spent as much time as we could outdoors- including several bon fires in my parents back yard.

   We always like a good smore or two at a time like this however at a certain point the adults started reminiscing about marshmallows from the past. Does anyone else think marshmallows have changed? We did- and we were not happy with what we were toasting over the fire- the real kicker for this project was when my dad accidentally dropped a perfectly toasted marshmallow into the fire and it didn't explode into flames and burn up- merely  just turned into a charred shell- this we thought was gross.

     Thank goodness for Martha Stewart! I had been wanting to try this recipe for a while now- inspired by a friend who had posted pictures a few days back I thought I would give it a go. I have to say I was completely surprised- it was magic- well it was science anyways- which still amazes me!

The Goods:

vegetable oil for brushing
4 envelopes unflavoured gelatin
3 cups granulated sugar
1 14 cups golden corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

* you will also need a candy thermometer

The Deal:

1. brush a 9 x13 glass dish with oil- line it with parchment- allowing some to stick out on either side- brush parchment with oil and set aside- do not skip this step!!!

2. place sugar, corn syrup, salt and 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan- bring to a boil over high heat- stirring to dissolve sugar- cook with out stirring until syrup reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer.

3. put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle in gelatin- let soften 5 min.

4. with the whisk attachment on the mixer beat in syrup on low speed - gradually increase speed on the mixture to high- beat until mixture is very stiff and has basically tripled in amount- it will also look white and fluffy- about 12-15 minutes- beat in vanilla

5. pour into prepared dish and smooth with offset spatula- I'm not gonna lie- I used my clean hands dipped in icing sugar- a tad messy but it was less frustrating than the spatula.

6. sift confectioners sugar onto work surface- unmold marshmallows and remove parchment- lightly brush a sharp knife with oil and cut into 2 inch squares- you can also spray a cookie cutter with oil and do the same although there is a fair bit of waste involved.

7. sift 1/2 cup of sugar into small bowl and roll each marshmallow to lightly coat- can be stored up to 3 days in a sealed container

     Obviously these treats got the thumbs up from our Littles who declared them the best s'mores ever- high praise indeed from such s'more aficionados! I will most definitely make these again- I think I am also going to attempt to make graham crackers for our next bon fire- cause those are just not the same these days either!

p.s. this recipe make a lot- like maybe 30 marshmallows so if it is a small party I would try cutting the recipe in half

p.s.s -yes that is a mini Reese Peanut Butter cup in that s'more above- we also discovered that Ferrero Rocher chocolates are amazing in a s'more!