So, the boys are off having all kinds of fun while I had all kinds of meeting. Booooo. I don’t even have good back-up post material, so I was forced to re-create one of the more pleasant aspects of last week’s days off: roasting marshmallows.
I have always loved roasting marshmallows, but I have never loved eating them. When I was a kid we used to go camping all the time, but I actually can’t remember the marshmallows. We made s’mores, of course, but I just wanted to eat that solid slab of chocolate – never mind the crackers and goo. I vaguely remember the actual roasting turned into a kind of competition for ‘most perfect’, as is fitting for the Hofman clan. (Any siblings reading this, please help my terrible memory.)
That being said, we’re wicked good at it.
That’s right – I sound pretty braggy, but let me remind you that this might be the only thing that I am confidently good at. All other skills I have are pretty dicey.
So, without further ado: Lauren’s tips for Tasty Toasting. (Well, tasty for you – I hate marshmallows.)
1. Start with the correct heat source. Not high flames that will burn without cooking, and not your flat-top stove, which came with specific cleaning instructions that include Don’t ever spill sugar on the hot surface or you might as well just throw this thing out. It was a poor choice, but this is a re-enactment, remember.
You want some hot embers. Too hot and you’ll burn before maximum puffing, too cool and you’ll get too much puff with no brown. The later will result in your marshmallow falling off the stick.
2. Side heat. Don’t point your marshmallow straight at the fire or you’ll just get top brown. Or maybe you like that sort of thing. I don’t judge. Wait – yes I do.
3. Constant rotation. Rotate, rotate, rotate – and I don’t mean you, you ninny. The stick. Keep that thing on the move. Monitor for uneven browning and adjust accordingly.
Now, there’s something that Brad thinks is important, but it’s not. He strongly feels that you don’t poke the stick all the way through the marshmallow, I feel differently. (Though I see by my photos I followed his theory. What is he, some kind of mind wizard?)
Here endeth the lesson, and also the post.