Day Three Hundred Twenty-Six

I'm sure we're not alone in this, but we've hit the COVID Stay Home wall over here. Despite lots and lots of trips to Phipps and a bajillion or so hikes through the wilderness, the girls are cagey. It's gotten to the point that Alexis begs me to go buy Starbucks just so she can ride along, even though she doesn't want a drink herself. The weather, of course, is compounding this problem because we can't really go enjoy a hike at this point. I'm all good with cold and snow, but this little stretch of legit winter is pushing it.

So I concocted a plan. After much contemplation and an insane amount of research, I decided we would go to a museum or two. The Carnegie Museums, to be exact. They're open and operating at 15% capacity, which is about as scaled back as you can get. They also require masks and blah, blah, blah. They're following the rules. And if we got there and it was too crowded? No big deal. We're collectively addicted to Boba Tea from Fuku anyway, so we would just order fancy drinks on the app and walk down to pick them up.

We walked through the museums AND got our Boba tea. It was a good day.

Because I know other people are struggling with this exact scenario - a need to go SOMEWHERE but also wanting to not contribute to the spread of COVID-19, my general assessment of the Natural History and Art Museum is that they're trying, but they're not on the same level as Phipps. At Phipps, it's genuinely possible to make it all the way through without encountering a single human. That's not true at Carnegie. The difference is that Phipps is able to set up one-way routing all the way through. The Natural History side of the museum has tried, but not really succeeded at the same thing. We skipped most of the Hall of Geology and the entire collection of dead birds because both areas were just too crowded. There was someone outside of the Egypt area controlling capacity, which was good, but generally there were a few too many places where people had congregated and nobody trying to reign things in.

I think because it has a more open floor plan, the Art History side was much better.

Obviously.

Someone should probably explain to Mila that the painting behind her is kind of a big deal and maybe she should take advantage of there not being a single other person nearby as she enjoys it. Or she can just sprawl across the bench and complain that she would rather be looking at dinosaur bones. WHATEVER.

(We went on a Saturday. I have no doubt that it would be better on a weekday. It still gets a thumbs up from me, just a thumbs up with a caveat that it's important to be flexible with the path you take through the place.)

Day Three Hundred Twenty-Five

Reposting this from a few years ago because I feel that you should be reminded often that this is a thing that exists. And it is AMAZING.

(A special nod to the fact that the first time I made this, it was for Alexis to take to school for class treats. She was in kindergarten. I'm not sure which of those is more amazing - that I've been making this for ten years or that she used to take homemade food to school to share.)

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So, internet, how do you feel about these little guys?

Whether you call them Red Hots or Cinnamon Imperials or Those Little Red Things, I probably don't have to tell you that I'm a fan. I heart them, n'at.

I heart them even more when they're on popcorn.

OH. YES. I. DID.

It's Caramel Corn, but with a twist. A big twist because there is no caramel involved. Red Hot Popcorn is the perfect blend of hot and sweet. I made it this weekend to send with Alexis to school for her Valentines Party, but then I had to make it again because we kind-of-sort-of-maybe ate it all before I could put it in treat bags. WHOOPS.

Fortunately, it's really very easy to make. You start by melting one cup of butter in a pan.

And you add 1/2 cup of corn syrup. (I didn't say this was a "healthy" recipe. Ahem.) (Although, now that I do the math, the finished product comes in around 150 calories per cup. Not terrible.)

Pour in a bag of cinnamon imperials.

And I do mean the WHOLE bag. Go big or go home!

You're going to let that simmer over medium heat for a few minutes. Every once in a while, stir the good stuff up.

It's going to seem like the candy is never fully going to melt, but hang in there.

Because after about 8-10 minutes of simmering, you're going to have some cinnamon-flavored liquid gold in your pot.

Once it's melted, you get to pour the tasty stuff over some popcorn.

And then mix it all up.

It will be a little sticky at this point, but that's OK. Spread it out in the biggest oven-safe pan you can find and toss it in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour.

Every once in a while, stir the good stuff up. You'll soon be rewarded with not sticky Red Hot Popcorn that is just the right amount of crispy and OMG SOOOOO GOOD.

It freezes well, so you don't have to worry about making too much. Just split it up between a few freezer bags and you'll have a fantastic snack ready whenever you need it.

Red Hot Popcorn

8 quarts popped popcorn (it doesn't matter how you make it--microwave, stove top, whatever)
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 bag (14 oz) Cinnamon Imperials

1. Start by making your popcorn. Place it in a large bowl(s) and set aside. (I had to use 3 bowls because I didn't have one that was big enough to hold it all.)

2. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, and cinnamon imperials. Simmer over medium heat until completely melted (8-10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

3. Pour the melted candy over the popcorn. Toss to coat evenly.

4. Place the Red Hot Popcorn in a large oven-safe pan and bake at 200 degrees for one hour. Be sure to stir every 15 minutes or so, breaking up any large clumps.

5. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.

It's some seriously good stuff. You should probably be jealous of the kindergarteners who are each getting a bag of their own.

Especially since they're getting it mixed with some of the most perfect Caramel Corn ever. (You'll just have to wait for that recipe.)

Day Three Hundred Twenty-Four