Cooks young and old have been whipping, beating, slicing, dicing, browning, and boiling these past few weeks. New cooks have experimented, and seasoned cooks have prepared the perfect dish. After all, isn’t that what family holiday gatherings are all about?

Speaking of new cooks, our new daughter-in-law, Jess, shared one of her cooking experiences with me, unknowingly and all the while writing this column. Now, she isn’t a “new” cook, as she cooks all the time, but she was texting me as she was going through the steps of cooking hard candy for the first time. If this reads somewhat strange, remember it is a series of text messages. It is quite comical!

Text No. 1: Lessons learned while cooking hard candy:

• Peppermint oil burns the hands when spilled on them

• Green food coloring doesn’t wash off the skin easily, and too much tastes gross, and turns candy brown (making it throw-away).

• Yes, green food coloring does stain, but with enough Peppermint Oil spilled on it, it burns off (lol).

• Don’t overcook syrup, it smells terrible. (i.e. don’t leave it boiling while you address Christmas cards – BAD.)

• Kick all 80-pound dogs out of the kitchen: You will trip and die. Probably burn yourself too.

• Hello – use a smaller saucepan that’s easy to handle when hot.

• Hard candy doesn’t wash out of big pots or utensils without a lot of hot water (as in “burns the skin” hot.)

• Purchasing candy versus baking it. Really? Why do I do this to myself when I can’t even enjoy it until after Jan. 1st anyways? (note: She was fasting the entire month of December, of all sweets, junk foods, etc.).

Text No. 2: Oh, and scoring it? Really? NO, it was either hard too quick, or just melted back. So it’s being broken into pieces. Actually easy when you are banging the pan against the counter while calling it names – lol!

Text No. 3: ALSO don’t sample any until you get the nonstick spray off the bottom. Yuck. I sprayed those pans good! However, the powdered sugar can be eaten off your fingers easily. Lol – Merry Christmas everyone!

Text No. 4: Two more small things: Always sweep up the floor after breaking your candy up because sharps pieces that can poke or cut you are flying everywhere :) BTW, I did not cut myself, or have the dog nearby to lick the floor. Spearmint is my personal favorite except that I used the larger cookie sheet. Don’t do this because it causes too much spreading of candy and made it really thin and sharp. But all in all, I now have 2 batches and I’m out of sugar so I must go get more because, YES I’m doing this process again!

Text No. 5: I should have kept the first batch and given it to Bobby, David and Don, telling them it was Root Beer flavored! Lol, also it would explain the brown color!

Well, that was Jess’s experience in cooking hard candy. However, she made four flavors and she must be a quick learner, because she brought them over for the Christmas Dinner and they are all good. Don and I are having a hard time staying out of them! So, Jess, your candy is great, despite the obstacles you experienced while making it. Thank you for your hard work!

Sweet Green Bean Bundles

3 (14.5 ounce) cans sliced

green beans, drained

1 pound bacon, slices cut in half

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Wrap 6 or 7 green beans with bacon and place in prepared dish. Repeat, using all the green beans and bacon. Combine butter with brown sugar. Pour over green bean bundles and sprinkle with garlic salt. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.