Welcome Fall!!!!

Today is officially the first day of fall! You would think that being a summer person I would not be happy. However, I feel like  I have to have all the other seasons to enjoy summer as much as I do and lets face it being allergic to the sun life will be a bit easier in Autumn!

I will miss the summer but I am so looking forward to fall because I love the smell after the first rain! I love the smell of Halloween! I love Halloween! I love Thanksgiving. I love watching all the leaves turn. I love that I can bundle up in all my warm layers and not be looked at like I'm crazy. (cause I still bundle up in summer a lot) I love that I get to watch my Ducks splash around in puddles and my crazy Lab chase after them. I love that the cats stay indoors and snuggle more. I love that I can drink herbal tea without getting overly warm! I just love the fall!

One of the best things about living in Oregon is we have everything. We have very defined seasons. It gets pretty hot in the summer and fairly cold in the winter (although our winters are mild enough where I live that people are still horrible at driving in it because they rarely have to) I love that in Oregon we have mountains, beaches, forests, and deserts. It's just sort of awesome here! I'm sure by about November I will be missing sunshine again but for right now I'm enjoying the rain and overcast days! I like having an excuse to stay inside and read cause I'm lame like that! Happy first day of fall!

Tea hard candy.

I recently decided to try my hand at making hard candies. I looked up several recipes and decided to make my own recipe based off one I found. The main variation is the flavor I chose was my favorite tea flavor. Tazo's Refresh tea is by far my favorite tea. I am caffiene intolerent and the combination of mints and tarragon is amazing. So I made my first batch this flavor tomorrow however my husband will get his favorite blackberry and black tea! The wonderful thing is that you can make this candy any flavor. Don't like tea swap out juice or water with your favorite extract in it. Give it a try!

Here's what you'll need.

A large pot
A cookied sheet lined with parchment papaer
3 3/4 c sugar 
1 1/4 c light corn syrup 
1 c strongly brewed tea (I put 2 tea bags in with a cup and a half of water to allow for evaporation and boiled for about 3 min.)
powdered sugar

Directions

Sprinkle cookie sheet with powdered sugar and set aside. Combine sugar syrup and tea in a saucepan and continuously stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 290 degrees. (Between 34 and 45 minutes) Pour mixture onto prepared cookie sheet and allow to cool completely. Once completely cooled lay a clean towel over top of sheet and break candy into pieces by taping with a hammer. Sprinkle candy again with powdered sugar. This candy is addictive and delicious. My hubby and I like it because we can make any flavor! You can also add food coloring before pouring onto the cookie sheet if you choose! Good luck and happy candy making!