A Recipe for Caramel Corn and Fall Talk with Your Foster-Adoptive Family

Fall is quickly approaching. I’m anxious to make one of my favorite sweet treats “Microwave Caramel Corn.” This is an especially fun activity to share with my grandchildren and one that you can use to share some great quality time with your foster-adoptive children or grandchildren.

Microwave Caramel Corn

Ingredients:

• Popcorn
• Butter or Oleo
• Brown Sugar
• White Syrup
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Vanilla

Procedure:

1. First of all we need to pop 3 to 4 quarts of popcorn and place in a very large microwave-safe bowl.
2. In a separate bowl combine:
   • 1 stick butter or oleo
   • 1 cup brown sugar
   • ¼ cup white syrup
   • ½ teaspoon salt
3. Bring to a boil in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes on high.
4. Then add:
   • ½ teaspoon baking soda
   • ½ teaspoon vanilla
5. Stir and pour this mixture over the popcorn.
6. Then cook in the microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes. Remove, stir and cook for another 1 ½ minutes.
7. Spread on wax paper to cool.

Talking About Fall With The Grandkids

Now comes the best part, of course. Eating it and sharing memories of bygone days with my grandchildren!

Fall brings memories for me of going to the woods and picking up hickory nuts with my Mother or collecting leaves and insects with my siblings for school projects.

And then there are Halloween stories. One of my favorite Halloween memories is the party we went to when my two children were small. The kids and I dressed as ghosts and their Dad dressed as the “Ghostbuster” complete with the boom box playing the theme from that movie.

Another older memory is from my childhood. Growing up in the country my siblings and I didn’t often go “trick or treating.” But one Halloween my sister and I decided our little brother needed to have that experience even if we couldn’t take him to town. We sneaked him to another room with our father watching TV in the living room and being unaware of what we were up to. We dressed our brother as a witch, walked him out the back door and around to the front door. We instructed him to wait a few minutes while we made our way back to the living room and then to knock on the door. Living in the country our front door was rarely used. Anyone who knew us used the back door. When our father heard that knock he naturally assumed it was someone who didn’t come to our home frequently. He opened the door and greeted my brother in the “most cordial” manner and made sure we had a sweet treat to give him. It wasn’t until our brother removed his mask that our father realized we had “pulled one over on him.” We all had a good chuckle over this and a lasting memory that I can now share with my grandchildren.

Now It’s Your Turn:

Use these questions to spark conversation. The important thing is to share your stories and memories with your child or grandchild and learn more about their likes, dislikes and history.

1. Have you ever had caramel corn before? Do you like this better than regular popcorn?
2. What is your favorite fall treat or Halloween candy? Have you ever gone Trick or Treating?
3. What has been your favorite costume? What do you think would be the perfect costume?
4. What is your favorite color of leaf in the Autumn? Have you ever made a craft with colorful leaves?
5. Parent: Tell you child something about Trick or Treating when you were a kid.

*Transfiguring Adoption and its bloggers do not claim ownership or to have created the recipe contained in this blog. Caramel corn recipe was obtained from an acquaintance on a recipe card over twenty years ago.*