Treats and Driver's Seats

I found this "recipe" for crock pot dolche de leche shortly before the holidays and decided to give it a try. Simply pouring sweetened condensed milk in some jars and putting them in the crock pot for a few hours with water seemed way too easy. BUT... I figured it didn't require too much effort on my part, so it was worth a try. Good news! It wasn't too good to be true and it made great holiday gifts (2 batches worth) and I made another batch last week. This is what you do:

Dolche Recipe

Yup, simple. I used 3 cans of sweetened condensed milk for 4 half-pints and this leaves just a wee bit leftover (perfect for coffee or tea). After filling the jars, into the crock pot they go, cover them with water and set on low for 8-10 hours (adjust the time depending on how dark you like your dolche de leche). Tip: add a splash of vinegar to the water bath to avoid sediment adhering to the jars and crock pot. 

Dolce done

That's all there is to it and it's absolutely delicious! I've been enjoying in on apples and I can't wait to try it on some ice cream!

On a healthier front...

Carrot

I decided it was time to use up some of the last of our CSA carrots for this Carrot Butter recipe. I used cashews instead of macadamia nuts and, of course, I used some of our precious homemade maple syrup I blogged about back in April.

Carrot Butter

After trying to patiently wait for the carrot butter to cool, we finally enjoyed it with a baguette and a healthy handful of chopped parsley. We still have quite a bit left from our late season CSA deliveries and I'm already planning something with squash for this weekend - a soup, perhaps?

And... much to the pleasure of my feet during the Wisconsin winter, I finished these socks:

socks

They fit great and I love the longer cuff! I also made some progress on hubby's worsted weight socks that I mentioned last time. He tried on the cuff and it fits perfectly so I'm confident it will be a great fit for him (and a quick knit for me). Onto the heel!

I'll leave you with this, and hopefully my guy makes you smile:

driver

Logan is quite the car companion and he's recently discovered that he can manage to fit his 112 lbs into his new favorite place - the driver's seat. 

Cheers!