Gimme Some More!

According to http://www.oshel.com/, today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day!  Makes me want to have a bonfire and bring out the bag of marshies.

Actually, I find it amusing to watch someone else roast a marshmallow.  The individual techniques vary from poking the marshmallow right smack dab into the flames to blacken it, to keeping the marshmallow away from the flame and patiently allowing the marshmallow to slowly turn golden brown.  This latter way melts the gooey inside, so when it's taken off the stick, the white soft goo turns into a messy perfection.

It's the marshmallow that "pops" the smore and the rice krispie treat and the cup of hot chocolate.  I remember how my mother used to split open a date, fill the center with marshmallow cream, and add a pecan on top.  She usually made those for Christmas.  Yummy, yet nutritious.

We are picnic people.  What in life is more fun that having a picnic by the lake, by the river, or anywhere. We could have a blast having a picnic in a parking lot.  So often we'll pack up a couple of sandwiches, a couple bottles of water and head out the door.  We'll find a peaceful niche in nature, breathe in the fresh air, and ingest the simplest of foods.  Maybe find a wild apple tree with tart apples for dessert.  The outdoors is Our Creator's dining room, you know.  

Roasting hot dogs is another of our favorites.  My hubby was a Boy Scout, so he's adept at gathering sticks and getting a fire started in no time.  (I always tell him that if we were in a survival contest, I'd want him to be my partner.)  A person can have an absolute blast with a pack of 88 cent wieners, a couple buns, and ketchup.  Chili dogs are another over-the-top treat we enjoy.  Plus, we pile on the freshly diced onions, and that really kicks the explosive powers to heights unknown.  But, heck, it's worth it!

Marshmallows originated in ancient Egypt from the Marsh-Mallow Plant, which grew in marshy areas.  What we think of as the modern marshmallow wasn't developed until the 1800s, and it was mallow root sap mixed with sugar, whipped to a light consistency, and then molded.  Today the manufacturing of marshmallows no longer uses mallow root sap.  It's been replaced with gelatin with added corn syrup, starch, sugar and water.  The fluffy mixture is piped through long tubes and then cut into equal sized pieces.  To create shaped marshmallows like Easter Peeps, a special nozzle moves back and forth to cut the marshmallow into the individual shapes.

The weekend of September 4-6, 2010, the town of Ligioner, Indiana, is celebrating its 59th Marshmallow Festival after Kidd and Company which once manufactured marshmallows in Ligonier.  The festival activities revolve around the marshmallow theme.  One of their events is a Marshmallow Roast.  Now, wouldn't that be something fun to go see.  Wonder how big the bonfire will be.

Trivia

The largest s'more ever made weighed 1,600 lbs. and used 20,000 toasted marshmallows and 7,000 chocolate bars.  The record was set on May 23, 2003.