810-Lence«ter Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1996 \ A Try your hands at popcorn sculpting. The Christmas tree, wreath, and snowman can be displayed or eaten for holiday Popcorn Sculpting Popcorn is a universal snack. Everyone loves it, and why not! It’s good for you, inexpensive, and easy to make. In between snacking on popped com, try your hand at popcorn sculpting. The Christmas tree, wreath, and snowman are proven pieasers. They’re fun to make, and the finished sulptures can be eaten or displayed for holiday entertainment Or, string popcorn for the trees outside your bouse. It gives your yard a decorative flair and the birds and squirrels will like it too. Here are some directions. BASIC SCULPTING RECIPE (For Wreaths and Snowmen) 2 quarts popped com No-stick cooking spray 54 cup sugar 54 cup light com syrup /< teaspoon salt 'A teaspoon green food color (for wreath only) Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. In sauce pan, over medium heat, combine sugar, com syrup, salt, and food color. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and mixture com es to a full boil. Immediately pour over popcorn. Working carefully and quickly, loss popcorn with wooded spoon until well coated. Use greased hands when shaping into sculptures. To Decorate Wreaths Basic Sculpting Recipe Red Licorice Fruit by the Foot (optional) Red hots Divide basic sculpting mixture in half. Shape each half into a wreath. Wrap licorice around wreath about every 2 to 3 inches. Decorate wreath with Red Hots. Form licorice or Fruit by the Foot into a ribbon and press into wreath. ids ~, To Decorate Snowmen Basic Sculpting Recipe 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Water Thin wafter cookies OR thin mint cookies Ho JIo Gumdrops, cut in fourths Candy Com Frail by the Foot M&M’s Shape basic sculpting mixture into balls to create snpwmen (fin ished size approximately 7 inches high). Mix powdered sugar with enough water to form a thick paste. Use paste to attach candies and cookie to snowmen. Place choco late cookie on top of snowman’s head as brim of hat Cut one end of Ho Ho to the desired height of top hat; attach to center of chocolate cookie. Cut gumdrops into fourths; attach as eyes. Paste candy com on as a nose. Cut Fruit by the Foot in half lengthwise to desired length for scarf. Use kitchen shears to fringe the ends of the scarf. Attach M&M’s to body of snowman as buttons. Cut Fruit by the Foot into a small band to be used around the top hat Secure with paste mixture. O POPCORN TREE 8 quarts popped com No-stick cooking spray 2 cups sugar 2 cups light com syrup 1 teaspoon salt I teaspoon green food color 1 empty paper towel roll Assorted gumballs or small jar breakers 1 package tiny, candy-coated, multi-colored gum 12-piece box fruit flavored, candy-coated, multi-colored gum 4.25-ounce tube white decorat ing icing Silver dragees (round silver candies) Star (purchased at a craft store) Measure 8 quarts popped com and divide into two large bowls; set aside. Spray a large baking Remember The First Christmas . . X . , - , Children try to get an upclose view of what the first Christmas might have been like when Jesus was bom in a stable. If you have the opportunity, attend a reenactment of the Christmas stor \hr- 'ir > * * * % f;' This friendly camel accompanied by a “wise man” delighted the audience at the ree nactment of the Christmas story held In the barn of the Fred Heller farm in Lltltz. Grow Holiday Gifts COLUMBUS. Ohio Young and thrifty alike don’t have to look any further than the kitchen for thoughtful, living holiday gifts. Leftovers - including food and trash - are easy to make into attractive houseplants, said Mar ianne Riofrio, an Ohio State Uni versity horticulturist Children can experience the thrill of watching tagai Ba«anMt«anMoemßat«w sheet with cooking spray; set aside. In saucepan, over medium heat combine sugar, com syrup, salt and food color. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and mixture comes to full boil. Imme diately pour equal amounts of syr up over popcorn in each bowl. Working carefully and quickly; toss popcorn with wooden spoon until well coated. With greased hands, press all popcorn firmly around an empty paper towel roll making a tree shape. Once the desired shape is achieved, decorate tree with gum and candies, firmly pressing into tree. Squeeze icing onto tree to simulate snow and press silver dragees into snow. Place star on top of tree. Makes one 10-inch tree. or*ier** something grow, then sharing it as a gift, while adults who are in a money crunch can also appreciate the low costs. Plants grown from foods usual ly don’t bear fruit indoors. How ever, they do have unusual foliage. The following tips should help you get started on some of the easier plants. • Avocados. Remove the seed, rinse off skin in warm water, and insert three toothpicks at equal distance around the midsection. Suspend the seed with the pointed end up over a glass or jar of water. Make sure water covers the seed’s bottom third. If a slimy coating appears on the seed or in the water, just rinse it off and replace the water. Place the container in bright, indirect sunlight until the seed splits and roots, and one or more shoots appear. When a shoot reaches 3 inches, transplant the seed to a 6-inch pot filled with potting soil, leaving half or more of the seed exposed. Keep the plant in bright light, feed it with a balanced, water-soluble house plant fertilizer, and pinch it to keep it bushy and attractive. \s • Sweet potatoes. Choose a plump sweet potato without deep scars. Insert three toothpicks around the sweet potato and place it with the pointed end down in a jar or glass of water so the bottom half stays wet. Place in a sunny location. When shoots reach 8 inches, transplant the sweet potato into a pot at least SO percent deep er than the tuber’s length. Bury the entire sweet potato in well-drained potting soil. Provide the plant with bright light and water it frequently for a beautiful vine of heart shaped foliage. • Terrariums. These encased gardens are ideal planters for small areas such as offices. They can be a little more costly than avocados or sweet potatoes, only because you have to supply the plants. Use your imagination to find a container. Consider mason jars, mayonnaise jars, recycled clear plastic liter bottles or salad . trays. If a container lacks a cover, use a piece of glass or plastic wrap. Leaves or snippets of house plants that grow well in terrariums (Turn to Page BIS) |BMd
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers