Brandy Snaps

I had this gorgeous dessert at a restaurant in New Zealand and simply had to try to remake it back home. I found quite a few recipes online and got the general idea, then created my own. I served it to my family at Easter filled with light whipped cream and drizzled with homemade raspberry puree. It was a hit! Trust me - these are a bit of work to do, but they are ever so delicious! They are the best dessert because you get the richness of a wonderful treat, but you don't have a heavy feeling of having eaten a big piece of cake or pie.

Brandy Snaps

1 stick (125gm) unsalted butter
1/2 cup fine baker's sugar
4 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 tbsp brandy
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp ground ginger (to taste)
1 cup flour

Note: I used ground up crystallized ginger. You can make this by putting cubes of ginger and just a tiny bit of fine white sugar into a grinder. Make sure to put the bit of sugar in there before grinding; it soaks up the moisture and gives you a nice powder. Otherwise you get ginger mush, which doesn't mix in very well.
Also Note: If you choose to use the ground ginger you buy in a can at the store, use only about 2-3 teaspoons, rather than 2-3 tablespoons.

Directions
Heat the butter, sugars, syrup, lemon juice, salt, brandy and some of the ginger in a saucepan over low flame. Stir gently until the butter melts and sugar is dissolved. At this point, you should taste it to make sure that it has the right amount of ginger for your taste. Add a bit more if you would like a bit more of that ginger "bite".

Remove the pan from the heat and pour into a mixing bowl with the flour. Mix well and allow to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 325º F (160º C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and place 4-6 teaspoons of the batter well-spaced apart on each sheet. Warning: These will spread a LOT, so start out with 4 if you only have a small baking sheet, otherwise they will run together. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Note: It's easiest if you rotate your pans and just do one at a time. While one is baking, you can form the others.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it cool for just a minute or two. Once they can be handled without falling apart, but are not set yet, roll them around a wooden spoon handle, a small dowel, or shape with your fingers into a roll. They will be very hot and slightly greasy at this point, so be careful of burning your fingers. You will have just enough time to shape 4-6 of these before they cool too much and can't be formed. If they do end up too firm to shape, pop them back in the oven for a minute and then try again. Once they're firmly shaped, pull them off the spoon handle or whatever you were using, and place on a rack to cool.

Once cooled, fill with a lightly sweetened cream and drizzle with chocolate or fruit puree. Enjoy with a nice strong cup of coffee!

I have planted my garden!

Yes, I know it's only March and planting season is officially a long way off. I just couldn't wait any longer. I reasoned that since we have such a short growing season here, it only makes sense to start my little crop 6-8 weeks early so that they're ready to go mid- to late-May when the frost has finally stopped for the year. I think that makes pretty good sense.

Originally I was only going to have a wee little garden, with maybe 4 or 6 different vegetables and herbs. Joseph is going to build me some raised garden boxes so that I can plant all my stuff without tilling up the yard. That way if we move, the grass will still be relatively all right looking. I will plant a few flowerbeds, and some of the vegetables that like to spread out a lot (like pumpkins) I'll just plant near the house. They'll look like regular greenery until the very end anyway. Anything I don't have space for, I will plant over at my mom & dad's house.

We found these neat little peat pods that are great for starting seeds without all the fuss of dirt in the house. They come in little flat discs and then after adding water, they swell up to about 1 1/2" thick. They have a little hole in the center all ready for seeds. You just poke in your seeds, cover them up, put the plastic lid on top and your garden is on its way!

Of course once I discovered how easy this was going to be, I got completely carried away with how much I planted. At this rate, we'll need a field to hold all of our plants this summer. However, since I don't have a lot of faith in my gardening abilities, planting 12 of each item doesn't seem so bad; probably only half will actually grow. Sigh.

So here's our garden for this year.

On the left there are Garlic Chives, Sweet Basil, Parsley, New Zealand Spinach, Garden Beans, and Sugar/Pie Pumpkins. On the right there are Sugar Baby Watermelons and lots of Lobelia and Alyssum (flowers). The bottom picture is White Onion, Sugar Snap Peas, Sage, Corn, Tomato and Oregano.

Did I go a little overboard? Oh yes.