Friday, October 31, 2008

Snack Mom


Thanks so much for your ideas and recipes these past couple of days and also for your advice - to relax, enjoy and not get stressed out over being chosen freakin' SNACK MOM. You guys are wise birds and your thoughtful comments really helped me be less neurotic.

And Anal. Obsessive-compulsive. Messed up. Everything.

So, what did I choose to do? Well, many of your great ideas came too late. I just didn't give you guys enough time to write in before I had to make an executive decision. So, this was my approach:


Lucy and I made popcorn balls - home-made, wrapped in Saran and then Pumpkin-colored tissue paper, tied with a bow. Making something from scratch (although these are ridiculously easy to make and probably do not qualify as scratch) made it feel special, like we made an effort and it gave the whole thing "event-like" status. Lucy begged me to go to school every hour until we finally left. She was over the moon about these little guys.

Fortunately, Lucy's vegan classmate was absent yesterday, so I didn't have to explain to his mom (who is lovely) that I didn't use vegan butter. Whatever that is.


I emphasized the non-edible Halloween treats, which I purchased cheaply and figured even if the kids didn't like my snack, at least they would be tricked into a grateful stupor over pumpkin straws, pumpkin napkins, little plastic ghost containers housing pretzels and boxes of Halloween tattoos.


It was a plastic extravaganza. I'm sure NYC moms all over the West side were happy to have one more plastic skeleton head in their possession. But having lots of pieces, also helped give lots of kids jobs to do, so maybe this justifies cluttering the ecological landscape.

Children were made happy. Be damned the environment.

I also brought fruit, lovely plump raspberries and red grapes, for weird kids who hate raspberries. I chased it with low-sugar apple juice, which was like exotic nectar when drunk through a pumpkin straw.

Okay, so this wasn't the healthiest snack, but someone was princess for a day...


Lucy really loved having been so involved in the preparation and the ritual passing out of the snack. And she was the only one wearing a Halloween costume, which did not bother her in the slightest, and served only to heighten her princess status and to make her feel even more princess-like.

Like this is possible.

Oh! and the shoes...


The girls in her class got down on the floor and actually ogled her sparkling Cinderella princess shoes. With lights. They got down on the floor. Really. I don't think I've ever seen my kid so ecstatic as when her peers are bowed down before her examining her feet. Amazing.

Anyway, the popcorn balls were a hit and the remainder went to the staff. The best popcorn balls are made with corn syrup, I think, but because I thought I might be taken to task for using "the poison", I went with marshmallows, which also probably make lab rats break out into cancerous lesions, but Lucy and I had a hoot raiding the bag of mini-marshmallows as we cooked.

Here's the recipe for popcorn balls. And thanks again for the recipes and snack ideas - watch for them - I am now slated to do the snack before Thanksgiving and for Lucy's birthday in February, I'll need to use them. I'm trying them all.

You guys are the best!

xo YM
___________________________________________________________________________________

Popcorn Balls
Adapted from Cooking Light



This recipe makes 20 or so balls.

Ingredients

* 8 cups popped popcorn
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 (10-ounce) bag marshmallows
* Cooking spray (or a little water works just fine)

Preparation

Put popcorn in a large bowl.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and (10-ounce) bag marshmallows. Reduce heat to low; stir frequently to prevent burning. Cook for 7 minutes or until the marshmallows melt and the mixture is smooth.

Pour marshmallow mixture over popcorn. Spray hands with cooking spray or get them wet and get in the bowl with your hands and coat the popcorn well. Shape popcorn mixture into 20 (2-inch) balls.

Let harden and cool. Then, wrap with cellophane or Saran Wrap and tissue paper and ribbon to make little parcels.

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Facebook


8 comments:

MommyLisa said...

I am sorry - but I must come raid your home for those shoes.

I.LOVE.THOSE.SHOES.

Plus, what an awesome idea with the popcorn balls. I will remember that for when I am the snack mom!

Anonymous said...

If somebody asks you if it was High Fructose Corn Syrup the response is 'No, it is Karo Light'.

Anonymous said...

shhhh... nobody tell Kim that that bag of marshmallows has the HFCS poison...

But then again, the HFCS commercials on TV say its healthy!!!!!! Don't get me started.

Anonymous said...

Kim - you were always like the pied piper when it comes to children. Do you remember the first time we met Lucy? You were visiting your mom. Mary,Susan, Jake and I came over to see you and the new baby. Jake, who was only about 5 at the time balked at the idea of going with us thinking he'd be bored stiff. Instead, you made such a big fuss over him letting him hold the baby, asking him questions and finding special snacks for him because he has Type I diabetes that he felt like King for a day!! When it was time for us to leave he didn't want to go.

Lucy looks absolutely beautiful in her princess attire and I'm glad the snacks were such a big hit. Great job!!

Anonymous said...

Damn it!! The above comment was from me, Rita, but I'm sure you've already figured that out.
I'm just trying again. More often than not, my comments come through as anon. A computer genius I'm not.

Izzy's Mama said...

Those popcorn balls do look enticing..love the orange wrapping and all. Might even steal the idea for next year's Halloween treats.. But wait..isn't popcorn a choking hazard for the four and under set?? Had did you get away with that??

RecipeGirl said...

Thanks for the blog visit :)

I'll bet the kids loved all of those treats! I've thought about making those exact same popcorn balls for a couple of years now. Haven't gotten to that one yet! Good to see they work out.

Anonymous said...

I know. I know. I know the marshmallows are bad, but I just couldn't find it in my schedule to make the home-made ones this time, although the home-made ones do have corn syrup in them...oh, no not corny syrup..."Karo Light". Thanks for the tip, NTSC!