1. Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn! Supplies corn kernels 2 tsp oil 1 1/2 cup white sugar (beet sugar) or light brown sugar 3 tbsp earth balance (vegan butter) 1 tsp vanilla extract coarse sea salt Instructions Cover the bottom of a medium pot with the corn kernels, then coat in the oil. Shaking every minute or so, heat the pot until all the corn is popped. (Wait until there’s a couple of seconds between pops.) Transfer the popped corn into a big bowl. Wipe out the pot and pour in the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Let it all heat, and do NOT touch it, don’t even stir it, until everything has combined and liquefied. If you stir it too often, sugar crystals will form and you’ll be left with a grainy sugar mixture. When it’s ready, it’ll be consistently liquid and light amber in color. The longer you leave it on the heat, the harder the caramel will be. NOTE: Don’t lick or touch the mixture, even if it’s “cooled” on the spoon - the sugar is dangerously hot. Pour the caramel over the popcorn, folding it in as you go. Quickly sprinkle a couple of heaping pinches of sea salt over top and fold it in. The caramel will harden pretty quickly, so make sure to evenly coat the popcorn before it does! Be careful to not touch the caramel right after it comes out of the pan - it’s still really hot! To give as a gift, break it into small chunks and package in a small paper bag, taped over with festive washi tape.
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    Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn!

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    December 18, 2012
  2. All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together! As always, check labels (or company websites) to make sure the ingredients you use are vegan. Bark Supplies a 24 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 tsp mint extract 4-5 candy canes parchment or wax paperBark Instructions Line a rimmed flat baking sheet with the parchment/wax paper. In a double boiler (or, if you’re unequipped like me, a small pot inside a large pot filled 1/4 with water) melt your bag of chocolate chips with the mint extract, until it’s consistently smooth and creamy. Be careful to stir slowly - if you do it too fast the chocolate will seize up and become hard. (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything….) Meanwhile, crush the candy canes with a hammer or in a food processor/blender. When the chocolate’s melted, pour it into the baking sheet. Spread it out carefully until the whole pan is filled. Sprinkle the top with the crushed candy cane. If you want to keep the top very flat, lay another piece of parchment/wax paper on top and roll it with a rolling pin. Freeze for a few hours, at least one hour. How I packaged these bark pieces: Break the bark into small pieces. Wrap in tissue paper, then tie it up with twine. Get some small gift boxes - I got mine from a craft store in the baking aisle. Before assembling, write your message on the box - I carved “to” and “from” stamps myself, but you could just as easily draw/write it out. Put the bark in the box, then tape it shut with some washi or decorative tape. Make sure to keep the bark in the freezer until you plan to give it away. Hope you like this little project, and find it easy enough to make! :)
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    All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together!

    Read More

    December 17, 2012