Saturday, February 6, 2010

C is for...

This fortnight we've been lost in cookies, chocolate, coffee and cake. Sad, but tasty. Trenton got a big box of baking mixes to help coax him into the kitchen, so nearly everyday he bakes something delectable.

An aside, this totally worked. My kitchen-o-phobe now makes pancakes, grilled cheese, soup and food from mixes. That's amazing for a kid who couldn't toast a bagel. I wonder where we got him in a house of kids who can cook stroganoff and curries... must take after his Dad.

The boys rediscovered chess. It's nice to see them renew one of their great loves.

As for recipes, I've been pretty laid flat, but I have made syrup a few times.

Our faves:

Cinnamon syrup (seriously, I'll never go back to regular):

Cinnamon Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Mix sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon.
Add water and bring to a boil.
Boil until thickened.
Stir in butter.
Serve over pancakes, waffles, or french toast.

This is AMAZING on pumpkin pancakes. Wow.

We also made Buttermilk Syrup which we are counting as a "C" as we call it "Caramel Syrup".

You can find the recipe at Our Best Bites, my new favorite blog.

Tips:

When it looks like this:


Don't taste it. To quote my 80's self - Grody to the max!

You're nearly there when it looks like this:


They say to cook it nine minutes, but if you live on the top of a mountain with a flaky stove it might take up to twelve or thirteen.

Here's a terrible shot of the finished product:


Do not use this on something strong flavored like pumpkin pancakes. It is better, scratch that, AWESOME on waffles or ice cream. Use it to top something mild flavored so the caramel flavor can really shine.

You really should whip up some of that cinnamon syrup. It's liquid heaven.

5 comments:

Maggi said...

Well crap, I just bought syrup yesterday! Boo! lol I'll have to try this recipe!

Heather Baird said...

Will definitely try this!

Unknown said...

Crispix. That was our ceareal of the fortnight. Mine still have chess fever - chess team has a couple more weeks. We've been working on organizing their Collections, which has them playing with toys I thought we could pass on - like Thomas Trains. But, they're having fun! We played lots of card games and made cards - nothing like yours, but wicked cute to family members! Is the ning back up? Must check...

joyce rodli said...

I wonder what it would taste like in tea or coffee? Happy happies.

MaryEllen said...

Our family loves this stuff so much that I've resorted to making insta-packs (premeasured dry ingredients in ziplocks) so I can just dump one in a saucepan with 2/3 cup water, and add the butter at the end. (No fun trying to measure multiple mornings with toddlers seeking mischief behind me each time!) Thanks for another great recipe, Nicole! Love ya.