Kool Kollege Katering

I have been busy with one of my new jobs - college catering.  Our oldest son's friend's mother (follow that?) owns Mountain Kettle Korn Katering.  They started off popping kettle corn for weekend Farmer's Markets, which Winter Park, Florida's market has become their staple.  The business grew from that to a variety of other things that makes Miss Denise some good money.  She is a single mom in a nice house with a booming business and a host of employees, of which I am one.  College Student Governments pay for our services, for which their ever grateful students line up for freebies.
Here are some of the other things we do:

• Multi-Grain Rice Cakes -  popped before your eyes!  These things are addictive!!  Farmer's Market mostly.
• Deco-ware - college students line up to glue gems and sparkles onto wine glasses, water bottles, and little glass piggies.  Oh, NOT wine glasses - - - water goblets!  Get real, they're wine glasses.
• Moose Mix - college students line up to fill their pan with kettle and caramel popcorn, swirls of melted chocolate and a variety of candy toppings.  Gummy bears fly off the table!
• Chocolate Fountain - a monster sized stainless steel fountain circulating 26 pounds of premium chocolate for college students to dip a variety of cookies, fruits, and cakes.
• Make Your Own Caramel Apples and pretzel sticks -  college students line up to receive a dipped apples or pretzels that they roll in a dozen or more toppings.  Chocolate sprinkles, mini marshmallows, and crushed candy bars are the favorites.
• Flash Frozen Ice Cream - more college students in line.
• Cotton Candy - big machine, fluff flying in the breeze, coating all the workers with sugary sweetness.
• Make Your Own Soap in a Loofa Slice - college students, microwave, drippy messy fun.

So? What have I been up to??  Lots of trips to the many colleges in Tampa Bay, Gainesville, and all around Orlando.  Most recently, I flew to Baltimore, rented a car, drove 2 hours to Frostburg, MD where I hosted about 300 students at the deco-ware table.  Stayed overnight, drove back to airport and went home.  I love traveling, so this was a ball to me.  Also, I work for another company that makes funnel cakes and  fried oreos (I plate them and sprinkle with powdered sugar, then hand out to hungry college students).  They also make photo mugs and ornaments, which I will learn how to do next week in Miami.

Sew, What's New?

I had the material for a couple of years and decided it was time to get stitching on a quilt I meant to make myself ages ago. Once I totaled all the different fabrics, I noted that I was a yard and a half (!) short on the base/white material. It is the prettiest white on white print, and for those of you that aren't sewers, fabric changes like the weather! To find additional of the same print two+ years later is a shot in the dark, but I did it! Ebay is my friend!! I paid $17 for 1-1/2 yards, similar to the original price. For those of you that aren't sewers, fabric is also expensive! I first checked Craigslist, and lo and behold, what popped up when I put in sewing fabric, but a bunch of 1960's sewing machines.

 I have more than one (blush) sewing machine. I have a little $100 plastic table top portable that I picked up at Walmart for emergency sewing jobs and keep this in the closet of our North Carolina home.  I made some drapes for the downstairs bathroom and quilted a few little projects on it.  

First and foremost, I have a tiny portable 1950 Singer Featherweight 221 and the original case. Momma bought it for $5 at our neighbor, Mrs. Scott's yard sale when I was a little girl.  It sews forward and backward.  I made my first quilts on this machine.  Here's one that looks just like mine:

I bought a Brother CS-80 at Costco for $199 with all the bells and whistles after I made a couple of quilts on the little Singer.  I was excited to have 85 stitch options, but in reality, I really use forward, backward and zigzag, plus it can sew buttons on and has a built in buttonhole maker.  The coolest thing?  It threads itself!  I bought a cabinet, but it is the type that you sit the sewing machine on the table top, not a flip down and hide it in the cabinet type.  I wish it were, as it tends to bounce a bit when it's running at full speed.  It's plastic and lightweight.  The bobbin re-winder broke after a year and after researching online, learned this is a major flaw in this machine.  Rather than spend $100 for repairs, I bought a $25 portable bobbin re-winder at JoAnn Fabrics, which works just fine.  I have made the bulk of my quilts on this machine.

Because I was a bit disappointed in the sewing machine cabinet, I kinda/sorta had my eye peeled for a cabinet that the machine is attached to and flip down when it's not used, flip up when you need it.  I spied one in the window of Goodwill, and went in for closer inspection.  $25 for a pretty ugly cabinet, but hey, I can refinish it!  On closer inspection, whoa...A sewing machine was inside!  A 1973 Singer Stylist model 734 looks alot like the one pictured below, but it doesn't have the drop down plate (model 744).  I had it cleaned and the man said to never ever ever get rid of this machine, as it is one of the best ones out there.  It is as heavy as a boulder, has eight utility stitches, a built in buttonholer and is one heck of a machine.  It hums like a sewing machine is supposed to and sews smooth and perfect.  Wow!

So I guess you can see that I have a little collection.  I don't want to get rid of the Brother...what if I ever need one of those fancy stitches?  And never the Singer 734!  And never ever the Featherweight!!  So what did I come across on Craigslist?  Another antique Singer sold at Habitat for Humanity for $30 including another beat up 1960's cabinet.  What is it with cabinets being so abused??  Here is is:

The design on it is called Tiffany or Gingerbread.  It is a 1910 Singer Model 15 (an early 15, according to an online site)  It looks exactly like the old treadle machine, but it has a little motor on the back and is run by a rubber belt. It appears that the silver light on the backside was an add on. It is clean inside and runs like a top, but the belt is old and needs to be replaced.  On closer examination, so do the electric cords.  Not a problem, I have a man that specializes in old Singers and he'll have it cleaned up and ready to roll in a jiffy.  I couldn't not buy it at $30 and may sell this one for a profit.  Isn't it pretty?

Popcorn Lessons

I sometimes work at the Winter Park Farmer's Market selling MultiGrain Rice Cakes. (check out CoCo B2B for video on the machine).  Free samples!  Delicious MultiGrain Rice Cakes - freshly made! All natural, no fat, no sugar, no cholesterol, less than one Weight Watchers point and only 15 to 20 calories each!  Free Samples!   I feel like a carnival barker:  Heya heya heya!  Step right up!!

This and the Kettle Korn booth are both owned by a lady that I work part time for, and so our booths are side by side.  Yesterday I sold a record number of bags of rice cakes and in all my free time while I watched the machine for logjams and as I hawked my product, I watched the guy next to me cook pot after pot of kettle korn in a huge copper cauldron.  My booth can be run solo (two is better when the machine is running), but the kettle corn is a four person job, and they move about like worker ants wearing long sleeves and sunglasses and cowboy hats.  The giddyup get up isn't a fashion statement, but for safety, as an errant kernel of sizzling sugar coated corn can put a hurt on a person.  Every now and again, one would come my way, but those few extra feet of air travel cooled it just enough to sting for a second but not burn.  

This is how it's done:
First a ladle or two of oil, then a giant cup of corn, give it a swirl, add sugar, stir stir stir as it pops, dump into pan, add salt.

I usually bring home a bag, but it was such a busy day, they ran out of product and I was left empty handed. Sigh.  Today as Mark and I watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the Saints, I took a kitchen break and whipped up my own version of kettle korn.  Here is my recipe:

You will need-
mid-sized pot with lid
popcorn oil
popcorn
sugar
popcorn salt
big bowl
large spoon

Instructions-

• In a mid sized pot with lid over high heat, swirl enough butter flavored popcorn oil to mostly coat the bottom of the pot.
• Add 4 kernels of corn and cover.  Wait to hear four pops.
• Add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, cover and swirl just a few seconds to moisten the corn.
• Immediately add 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Cover and shake pan over high heat until popping stops.
• Dump into big bowl and give a few shakes of fine popcorn salt (to taste).  Stir well with a large spoon.

I have a glass top stove and it worked fine.  In fact, I think shimmy-shaking the pan was much easier on the smooth surface.  David came in and liked it so much, I taught him how to make his own batch.