Minty Marshmallows - not my normal post

In September, I wrote a post about bales of hay wrapped in green that looked like mint flavored marshmallow.  Since then, my whole family has wondered why no one makes them.   Then this week, while searching for a recipe for Christmas cookies, my cookbook fell open to a recipe for marshmallows.
That was it, since I had mint flavoring on hand, I had to make them.

Once cut into 4 they made perfect Hot Chocolate toppers

Here's the recipe for those who want to try it.

Marshmallows

2 tbsp gelatine
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup water
pinch salt
1 tsp mint extract

Soak gelatine in 1/2 cup cold water. Heat sugar in 3/4 cup water until dissolved, boil for 1 minute.
Add gelatine to syrup and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat, let stand until partially cool.
Add salt and flavoring.

Beat with rotary beater or electric mixer until stiff.
Dust pan with icing sugar and pour in 1/2 inch deep.

When set, cut into squares with a knife dipped in cold water.

Roll in icing sugar.

They are very soft the first day so I let them dry for a day and they had a crust that everyone preferred.

Hope all of you are finding time for some peaceful moments with a cup of something warm.

Hungry Birds, Bad Photos & Frustration

Hungry Birds

We recently went through a cold, snowy spell where the birds were hungrier and more tolerant of my camera.  As I've mentioned before, I gave up using bird feeders, since the neighborhood cats were catching too many birds and instead I've been throwing the seed on the ground in a wide open area with no hiding spots.

 
This means I only get ground feeders and most of them are sparrows and brown, but that's okay, they're cheerful.  The other daily visitor is a family of Magpies.

bad photo of sparrows taken through frosty window.

 

I have watched this Magpie family over the last 3 years and noticed that most have remained in the area and still seem to spend time within their family.
They came down to feed in groups of three or less at one time, but there is 6 or 8 of them, in the family.
Each morning they stop by and if there is no food, they will sit on my roof and chatter.

Because it was so cold out I felt sorry for them and gave them dog food and a few pumpkin, sunflower and oatmeal muffins.

 

As you can see the photos are bad, first they were taken through a frosty window and second I could only get some of them to upload properly.

 I had to put them on Picasa Web Albums in order for blogger to take them, then they would only take two out of the whole album.

Has anyone else had problems uploading photos to blogger?

Magpie, Dated, Photo Ornament to Customize by countrymousestudio

Christmas Magpie Card to customize with your own greeting or name by countrymousestudio