English Toffee Recipe - EASY

English Toffee, ready to serve

Okay, I'd like a show of hands here: How many of you have been keeping this a secret from me these oh-so-many years?? If I'd known then what I know now, I would never have bought a Heath Bar, a Skor bar, or a piece of English Toffee.  Ever. This is SIMPLE.

And how do I know this? Because I Googled (of course) English Toffee Recipe after eating a delicious piece of toffee Kevin bought in Evergreen, CO. It was SO good, and I thought that perhaps I could attempt making toffee myself. After all, I'm sure I need another 2,000 calories a day and something else to keep my blood sugar high! (sarcasm here, folks)

When I did the Google Search, the entry that caught my eye was 'Cooking for Engineers.' What??! So of course I clicked on that one. What I found next, as I scrolled down past all the usual wordy, imagey stuff, was this CHART which showed at a glance exactly what I needed, what I needed to do, and when I needed to do it. LOVE THIS. Just the facts, Ma'am. Just the facts.

(You'll need to click on the link above for the easy recipe.)

Toffee, after chocolate chips and crushed almonds are applied

This rectangular Tupperware box was almost half full.

Just look what 2 sticks of butter and a cup of sugar can make!

A few things you will want to know:

1.  I set my burner between LOW and MED and toward the end, only lowered it. Be patient.

2.  It does take about 15 minutes of steady, seriously fast stirring as you're waiting for the toffee to reach 300 degrees. (It helps a lot to have a candy thermometer!)

3. Do not make a commitment to lose 10 pounds until this stuff is out of the house! Don't say you weren't warned.

This post is linked to: Making the World Cuter Mondays and Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and Making Monday Marvelous and Made from Scratch Tuesday and Delectable Tuesday and Anything Related Tuesday and Take a Look Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday  and Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Two Maids a Baking and  Wandering Wednesday and What's Cookin' Wednesday and We Did it Wednesday and Cast Party Wednesday and Thrilling Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Lisa's Gluten-Free Blog and Favorite Things Friday and I'm Lovin' it Friday and It's a Hodgepodge Friday  and Creative Bloggers and Home and Family Friday and  Fat Camp Friday and Fun With Food Friday

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Happy Reformation Sunday!!

Martin Luther at 6 years old

Looking forward to Wittenberg

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.' - Romans 1:17

Bridges of London (a few)

Somewhere I read that these are the pilings from the old London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway bridge near Blackfriars.  Please correct me if that's wrong, for I have no idea. But I thought they were pretty. :-)

 Blackfriar's Bridge, London

Blackfriars is where the GHOST from London Walks took my daughters and me (by car - I think he felt sorry for us lost-looking Americans) so we could catch the Tube after the most fun walk ever! Check it out at London Walks.  Even if you never take a London Walk, David Tucker's narrative is a blast! Oh, and by the way, David Tucker is originally from Wisconsin! He went to Oxford for his Ph.D. and ended up buying London Walks.

 Westminster Bridge, taken from the EYE

obviously

 There are three bridges that I can see in this photo.

The nearest is Westminster Bridge

The second nearest is Lambeth Bridge

The farthest is Vauxhall Bridge

I think

The Westminster by Gaslight walk (also from walks.com) took us from the Westminster Tube Station, east across Westminster Bridge, then south along the River Thames, west across Lambeth Bridge, and north along the west side of the Palace of Westminster (Parliament) til we were back where we started.

Right. This isn't a bridge. 

But it is the view we had as we were walking south along the east bank of the Thames and looking across the river. It's a beautiful sight.

 Crossing Tower Bridge

 I had thought this was in east London, but then realized that it's either a sunrise or a sunset. I don't think we would have been on the river at sunrise, so it must be sunset, which means we're looking west. So I guess it's the 'mystery bridge.' Is it possible that it's the Cannon Street Railway Bridge? for I think I see St. Paul's off to the right, upriver.

If anyone knows, Please let me know.

 Tower Bridge again

Millennium Bridge

the other side of which can be found a vendor selling ♪Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire♪ But I'm warning you now: don't bother to sing the song. It was totally lost on him. ;-)

I know. My daughter says, 'Mom, you're such a tourist!!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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My Favorite Ear Worm

This is a new (at least new to me) version of Amazing Grace which we have recently begun singing at our church. I hope you'll listen to the entire song, for although much of it may be familiar to you, there is a change in lyrics from the version I knew growing up.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures


My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. -Romans 8:2, NASB

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! - Romans 5:6-10, NIV

As a daughter of Adam, who entered the world as a sinner, this is wonderful news to me! There's nothing like knowing that your sins are forgiven and that the Lord of the Universe loves you!


Amazing Grace!

Mandarin Orange Spice Soap

Mandarin Orange Spice Handcrafted Soap

What can I say? This soap, made with all natural and quality base oils, as well as essential oils and the wee-est bit of a secret fragrance oil, has the freshest, most amazing scent ever!  You don't want to miss this one. It reminds me of the children's book, The Sweet Smell of Christmas. Definitely a soap you want to have around during the upcoming holidays. You and your guests will love this soap!

As always, my handcrafted soaps are gentle and natural. Even the natural colorant and botanicals contain no harsh ingredients to make your skin unhappy.

I cut my soaps by hand, which means they're not all going to be exactly the same, but are approximately 4 ounces in weight, usually more.

To check out my scrumptious Mandarin Orange Spice as well as all my other handcrafted soaps, just click on the Soap'n'Such button below my name.

One more thing: Don't forget, it's always Buy Five - Get One Free.

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This post is linked to: Making the World Cuter Mondays and Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and Making Monday Marvelous and Made from Scratch Tuesday and Delectable Tuesday and Anything Related Tuesday and Take a Look Tuesday and  We Did it Wednesday and Cast Party Wednesday and Thrilling Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and  Favorite Things Friday and I'm Lovin' it Friday and It's a Hodgepodge Friday 

GF Applesauce Cake with Apple Cider Frosting

Remember those hundred pints of applesauce I canned this fall? Some of it went into a delicious gluten-free cake pictured above.

A friend gave me a copy of The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free. What a fun book! Start with a gluten-free cake mix and end up with a scrumptious dessert!

Applesauce Cake with Apple Cider Glaze Recipe:

Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pan
1 T. cinnamon sugar (mix cinnamon and sugar together and place in a shaker)
1  15oz. pkg. yellow gluten-free cake mix
1/4 c. lightly packed light brown sugar
1 cup chunky applesauce
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 t. ground cinnamon, or more to taste
Dash of ground nutmeg.

Mix the ingredients and bake the cake in a Bundt pan. (I'm not sure why I capitalized that. Is there a country of Bundt that I don't know about? or maybe it's the inventor's name?) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back when you touch it.

Remove baked cake from oven and set on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting it.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: 1 c. confectioners' sugar combined with 2 T. apple cider. Mix til smooth.

It's that easy, and boy is it a moist cake!

In my first attempt, I got a little carried away with the glaze, but it really doesn't need as much glaze as all that.

 First cake

Too much glaze

Second cake

Glaze too thin

I haven't baked the third cake yet, but you can see that the thickness of the glaze needs to be somewhere between the first and second cakes. I think the lesson I learned here is:  It's okay to throw away the extra glaze. It doesn't all have to be used on the cake!

Try it. You'll love this cake!!

This post is linked to: Making the World Cuter Mondays and Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and Making Monday Marvelous and Made from Scratch Tuesday and Delectable Tuesday and Anything Related Tuesday and Take a Look Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday  and Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Two Maids a Baking and  Wandering Wednesday and What's Cookin' Wednesday and We Did it Wednesday and Cast Party Wednesday and Thrilling Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Lisa's Gluten-Free Blog and Favorite Things Friday and I'm Lovin' it Friday and It's a Hodgepodge Friday  and Fat Camp Friday and Fun With Food Friday

Back From Denver

Looking Toward Rocky Mountain National Park

It's an 18 hour drive from our house to Denver. 1036 miles, to be exact. Each way, in case you missed that. As you can see, we took a trip into the beautiful Rocky Mountains, although I think they call this the foothills. Looked like mountains to me. How beautiful!

I think this is Lake Evergreen. 

I was so happy that there was no snow on those mountain roads. 

 Evergreen, A little very-Western town in the mountains

I kept expecting Roy Rogers to come galloping around the corner

We had a lovely time with my brother's family, (How I wish they lived closer) and then it was time to head back home. Another 18 hours in the car. I shouldn't complain; they've made that trip from Colorado to Wisconsin many times!

I'm leaving you with photos of eastern Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and southern Minnesota.

Notice a theme here?? They don't call the Great Plains 'America's Breadbasket' for nothing. As we were traveling those many hours in the car, I couldn't help thinking about those pioneering families in the mid-1800s who courageously left their homes in the East and traveled by wagon out onto the vast prairie, with the promise of land and a bright future in the West.

And then I think of Donner Pass.

Bridges of England

Bridge of Sighs, Cambridge
Cambridgeshire 

Kevin and I are traveling to Denver for a week to see my brother and his family, but I should be back checking your blogs by the 24th. We are so blessed that a young family is going to be staying in our home while we're gone, taking care of Bridger, Misty, Lionel, and Tuppence. We could not leave if they were not doing this for us. I'm really hoping they don't regret this. On our part, it puts our minds at ease, knowing that our home and animals will be cared for while we're gone. 

So, I decided to leave you with a few photos of bridges of England. The bridges are much more beautiful than the photos I took, but I do especially like the one taken from the punt (with the umbrella overhead) in Cambridge.

Bridge over the River Cam, Cambridge
Cambridgeshire

Bridge at Bolton Abbey
North Yorkshire

Bridge at Bourton-on-the-Water
Gloucestershire

Bridge at Dorstone
Herefordshire

Bridge at Fountains Abbey

over the River Skell (I think)
North Yorkshire

Bridge over the moat at Helmsley Castle
North Yorkshire

Ironbridge over the River Severn
Shropshire

Bridge near Rievaulx Abbey
North Yorkshire

Bridge over the River Wye 

Herefordshire

I'm saving 'Bridges of London' for another time, and I'll plan to see you all on the 24th, if not before.

AND, for a few really gorgeous photos, take a look at Midwest to Midlands' post this week. She's got a beautiful bridge photo. I need to have a poster of her last photo with that sheep standing amidst the heather on the hill. My favorite!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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