Grandma's Divinity

My grandma, my dad's mom, was a great cook. She loved cooking for people. So when Christmas came around she started early. Once all of her kids were grown and had children of their own, she would still decorate, make Christmas candies, popcorn balls, rice krispie treats, and even baked and decorated her own gingerbread house from scratch using a hand cut paper pattern. I have one of her gingerbread house designs. It was so much fun to the look at her Gingerbread house and pine for all the candies that were all over it.

She would prepare all year for candy making time, so that when December arrived she could focus for weeks on getting all her candy made. Grandma made a huge variety of candy and she would portion them onto little trays and once cooled would wrap them in plastic wrap and then start on the next candy.  In the end she had a well-stocked candy store with trays of each type of candy for us to take home after the Christmas celebration.

Her boys, (my dad and uncles) were all very vocal about their favorites. Come to think of it, I really don't know what my Aunt's favorite was, but the boys always made their candy choices apparent.

In celebration of my Grandma, and her incredible talent for candy making, I'm going to post some of her candy recipes with pictures of my poor attempt to replicate them.

Today's candy recipe is DIVINITY. This is a difficult candy to master and it is one best made with a Kitchenaid Mixer and candy thermometer at the ready! Divinity is super fussy and the weather can affect the out come as well as not cooking the syrup properly. I put a candy cooking guide at the end of this post for those who do it the old fashioned way.

I wish everyone good luck who tries this. It will come out, but takes some practice and glorious weather.

Grandma's Divinity
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup Light Karo Syrup
2/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (or any nut)

In a heavy pan, mix sugar, Karo and water. Cook on med-high heat and boil until it reaches a semi-hard thread in cold water.Remove from heat. In mixer, on high, whip two egg whites to stiff peaks. With mixer on, slowly pour the hot syrup mixture over the stiffly beaten egg whites. I did this in the same bowl on the mixer. Beat until thick. Add vanilla and walnuts.          

Grandma's Note: Rainy or Foggy days the syrup should test with a brittle thread. Sunny days the thread should be easily pliable. Beat until thick enough to spread into a pan.

 Boil stirring contantly

 Check threads. I'd rather cook too long than not long enough.

Set aside to beat egg whites.

 Stiff peaks are when peaks form and stay.

 Slowly pour in syrup while mixer continues. Completely incorporate the syrup into the egg whites.

 Keep beating and cooling until it thickens enough to spread in out.

 I spread it on parchment paper on a cooking pan to cool and set.

 It should come out really light and fluffy. I can't describe it because it is kind of like a homemade marshmallow but isn't anywhere near as sticky. It isn't dense like a fudge. It's just super light, super fluffy, super sweet and has almost no taste. LOL! But it sure is a nostalgic candy. 

I hope you give it a try.

Candy Temperature Chart

Thread	begins at 230 F	The syrup will make a 2" thread when dropped from a spoon.
Soft Ball	begins at 234 F	A small amount of syrup dropped into chilled water forms a ball but flattens when picked up with fingers
Firm Ball	begins at 244 F	The ball will hold its shape and flatten only when pressed.
Hard Ball	begins at 250 F	The ball is more rigid but still pliable.
Soft Crack	begins at 270 F	A small amount of syrup is dropped into chilled water, it will separate into threads that will bend when picked up.
Hard Crack	begins at 300 F	The syrup separates into threads that are hard and brittle.
Caramelized Sugar	310 F to 338 F	Between these temperatures the sugar will turn dark golden but will turn black at 350 F.

Grandma's Crazy Cake

This one is an OLD family favorite.
My grandmother was a "cafeteria lady" back when the cafeteria ladies used to actually cook every day. She was in charge of the kitchen at my elementary school and man could she ever cook! She and the ladies often found excellent recipes and then they more than doubled or quadrupled them....they....thirtied or fortied....no.....they.....altered them to feed 300 people.

My mom came across one of Gram's old folders several years ago and in it there are quite a few of those recipes in her hand writing. I'll share them with you sometime, but the one recipe we had been looking for for years wasn't there. No one, it seemed, had Grandma's crazy cake recipe. I asked aunts, uncles and cousins, but to no avail. I called her old coworkers once when I was back home visiting mom, but still, no luck. One day, Mom ran into one of the ladies I had missed calling, and she told mom she had the original cake recipe from the Parade magazine they'd cut it out of. She generously passed it on, yellowed and creased and oh so fragile. I found it interesting that it was so yellowed it is gold, and getting this recipe is like striking gold to me.
This cake is so moist and delicious, I know are just going to love it! Be sure and just use a simple white frosting, as that's all it needs. Although, if you ask my dad, he'll tell you it's best right out of the pan with no frosting at all!

Grandma's Long Lost Crazy Cake Recipe
(or "Real Crazy" Cake by Beth Merriman, Parade Food Editor)

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons breakfast cocoa (although I recommend Special Dark Hersey Baking Cocoa)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 tablespoons salad oil
1 cup water

Sift first five ingredients into a greased 8" square cake pan. Make three depressions in dry ingredients. Pour vinegar into one, vanilla into another, salad oil into the third. Pour water over all. Mix well, until smooth. Bake in moderate over (350 degrees F) 35 minutes. When cool, frost or serve with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Makes nine servings. (Or three if you're my dad!)

Chai

I lived in Kenya, East Africa, for a year and that is when I was first introduced to Chai. Chai actually just means tea, so often when you are asked if you want chai, you just get black tea with milk and sugar, other times you get the spicy, milky, sweetened tea. Chai, as we are discussing here, was actually brought to East Africa by the many emigrants from India. I had it served to me two ways while living there, sweetened and unsweetened. Usually the chai that was already sweetened was on the very sweet side. The unsweetened gave you the opportunity to stir in your own sugar after it was served. I observed it being made on many occasions (I'll spare you some the the less than sanitary conditions within which we often found ourselves...no health departments! :eek: ) and it was always made in a pot over a fire or on a stove. I never saw a tea bag used, only loose tea and chai masala.

Since chai was always prepared from scratch, I think it tastes the best that way. I have yet to find a "Chai" here that measures up. When I make chai, I usually get some chai masala from an Asian/Indian store and have some sort of loose black tea on hand (Ceylon or English Breakfast are fine, but I think Darjeeling is too light, and you don't want to use a flavored tea like an Earl or Lady Gray). I try to choose a masala that isn't instant and that has no black pepper in it. I don't like the way it tastes with the black pepper in it! I make this as I make my hot cocoa, not a real recipe, just put it all in a sauce pan, heat and keep adding until it tastes just right! I made it for a friend who grew up in Kenya and she couldn't stop raving about how much it tasted like home. Here are a few you can try, but remember, I think the key is to keep tasting until you get it just right.

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Chai
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This is the plain kind with no spice.

Heat together in a 3 to 4 quart saucepan:
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp tea leaves (or 1 tea bag)
Boil 10 minutes. Add:
1 cup milk
Heating near boiling. Add to taste:
2 to 4 teaspoons sugar

Serves 2.

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Chai
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6 cups water
1/2 cup sugar (or more if you would like)
6 tsps. loose black tea leaves
2 tsps. Masala spices
2 cups milk (whole milk)

Add water, sugar and masala in a pan. Bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes. Add milk, and tea . Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Strain tea into a teapot or six cups.

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Chai
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3 cups water
1-2 cinnamon sticks
8-10 cardamom pods
8-10 whole cloves
3 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
6 tsp loose black tea

Put water in saucepan. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer again. Throw in the tea leaves, cover and turn off heat. After two minutes, strain into a tea pot or into tea cups. Serve immediately.

Be sure to serve your Chai with Maandazis, East African doughnuts, that go perfectly with the spiciness of the tea!

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Maandazi
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1 1/4 cups flour
2 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cardamon
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
oil for frying

Mix together dry ingredients and mix in egg and milk until well mixed. Roll out to about 3/4 " thick. Cut using a round cutter or drinking glass turned upside down. Fry in hot (365 degrees F) oil until golden brown. Makes 1 dozen.


Or if you want something along the more savory lines, try making a few Chapatis (Indian flat bread) with your chai.

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Chapatis
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2 cups flour
3/4-1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
melted butter

Mix the first three ingredients together; divide into fourths. Roll each one into a circle; spread it thinly with melted butter. Roll the circle into a small jelly type roll, then roll it up from one end
making it into a coil. Roll this flat again. Fry in a heavy gauge skillet until brown on both sides.

*Note: none of the photos used in this post are mine.

Tea Time Traditions

Many people have special tea time traditions that they carry on with their family or friends. When we were little, my sister and I would often be at grandma's house and she had a tiny little tea set that we adored. We loved to have "tea" (which was really milk) and then we would add the sugar, and "cream" (more milk) and eat little snacks, like her mini tarts, off the tiny plate with even tinier forks and knives. You've never seen two little girls take longer to eat slices of bananas than we did when we were "having tea." We spent a great deal of time at Grandma's house, but tea time is to this day one of our fondest memories.

For a couple of years, my husband and I had a tradition of having tea each afternoon when he would comes home from work. Sometimes it was just a pot of tea, and other times I would add some cookies, fruit or crackers and cheese. We would sit down, pray for someone special, and then just talk about our day for a few minutes. It gave us time to stop, slow down, focus on others in prayer, and then focus on each other as we would share and listen. It was a nice tradition and one we hope to be able to return to when our work schedules allow.

Another tea time tradition we enjoyed for several years was Tax Day Tea. We decided that each February, we were going to take a day off together, go to breakfast, then to the accountants,
then take afternoon tea at a favorite tea house, and spend the rest of the afternoon at a garden, park or museum. It was a really fun tradition that helped to take the sting out of the bad news at the accountant's office. Again, work schedules have encroached on this fun tradition, but it is certainly one we hope to return to.

Tax Day Tea 2005

The last one has been much easier to maintain. That is a nice pot of tea every Sunday afternoon after church. It is the perfect thing for a relaxing afternoon at home.

I want to encourage you to start a tea time tradition of your own, even if it is as simple as having a pot of tea with your husband, children or a friend each day, or week, or month. It is always nice to have a quiet, relaxing tea time to look forward to, especially in this harried world we live in. But even more, it is important to take time, for a few moments, to set aside the demands of life and focus on those who are precious to us, savoring the time we have together.

These are a few tea time traditions that I really enjoyed reading. I hope you do too!

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Tea Parties of My Life
by Mary Emma Allen
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Here is an article about tea time tradition memories:
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/tea.html

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Tea Time with Emma Barr
by Donna Godfrey
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This is one of my favorite tea time traditions ever. I suppose I like it so much because it is true, and also because it shows the importance of caring for others by taking the time to prepare something special, and then to sit and listen. We get so busy with things and I just love to hear Donna share her memories, because they always involve her family and friends taking time to focus on others. This is a beautiful tradition started by her grandmother that she has passed on to her children and grandchildren. I hope you are as encouraged and challenged by it as I was.
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/donna1.html

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Sun-Dried Tomato and Red Pepper Sandwiches*
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1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup roasted red peppers (rinsed and drained)
5 slices of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

In a food processor or blender, process cream cheese, tomatoes and peppers, until smooth. Spread on a slices of thin bread, top with a second. Cut off crusts and cut into four squares with a serrated bread knife.

* We had these at the Four Season's Tea Room in Sierra Madre, California. They were a nice, zesty change to normal tea sandwiches.

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Cambric Tea
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"Cambric tea was hot water & milk, with only a taste of tea in it,
but little girls felt grown-up when their mothers let them drink cambric tea. "
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter

A favorite tea time drink of children in the late 1800's, this drink is made up of milk, water, sugar and the tiniest touch of tea. It is an American drink that is named after a white, thin fabric called "cambric." This is a perfect drink to serve if you are starting a tea time tradition with children.

Warm 2/3 of a cup of whole milk and 1/3 cup water for each child. Add some sugar and pour in a touch of brewed tea. Pour into a tea pot and serve in tiny tea cups.

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Vanilla Nursery Tea
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2 c. Milk
2 tsp. Vanilla extract or one Vanilla Bean
2 tsp. English Breakfast Tea
2 cups Boiling water.

Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the vanilla, and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Remove the pan from the heat and let the milk cool. Brew the tea with the boiling water. Steep 3 minutes. Strain the tea into the milk. Pour into the teacups and add sugar as desired. Makes 4-5 servings.