DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   This diy comes from www.mykitchenaddiction.com .  If you're a baker, you will probably use alot of  royal icing to decorate your cookies, cupcakes and misc. other sweet treats.  Nothing is worse than not having the right consistency of your icing while in the middle of decorating a couple dozen cookies (let alone ruin a tasty cookie with a subpar icing).  Good luck! Stress Free Royal Icing Last week, as I was decorating cookies for Halloween, I was reminded of the fact that I’ve been meaning to share my tips for making royal icing with no stress. After all, everyone wants to decorate beautiful cookies during the holiday season, but no one wants to fight with the royal icing. Between shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and lots of friends and family dropping in, there’s enough stress already! This is one of those blog posts that has been writing itself in the back of my mind for quite a while. Almost every time I post about cookies that I have decorated, I get a f

   You wouldn't wear the same food costume every Halloween — so why trick-or-treat with the same candy? This year, try something new. If you're already well-versed in the categories of movie treats and nostalgic candies, then consider serving various candies from around the world. Need a bit of an education in global candy culture? Then test your knowledge of the world's candies and check out some of our favorites here. Bounty, United Kingdom    Mounds lovers will appreciate Bounty, a coconut-filled bar enrobed with milk chocolate. Botan Rice Candy, Japan    Even if you've never been to Japan, you may have come across Botan Rice Candy in Asian supermarkets. Botan, which means "peony," is a prominent brand in Japan and makes a sticky rice candy with a slightly citrusy flavor. ToffeeCrisp, United Kingdom    Nestlé makes a number of chocolate bars in Europe that aren't readily available in the United States. One of them is ToffeeCrisp,

   Carnival in Cologne is almost as old as the history of the city itself. But the organized carnival celebrated today only dates back 178 years.     The Greeks and Romans celebrated cheerful spring festivals in honor of Dionysos and Saturn with wine, women and song. The ancient Germans celebrated the winter solstice as a homage to the Gods and expulsion of the evil winter demons. Later the Christians adopted the heathen customs. The period of fasting (Lent) prior to Easter was heralded in by " Fastnacht" or "Karnival"...carne vale = Farewell to meat!     In the Middle Ages, the celebration of Carnival, the masquerade, often took on drastic forms, very much to the displeasure of the city council and the church. Bans and ordinances did little to help, the celebration was wild and spirited.     The boisterous street carnival was extended in the 18th century to include the so called "Redouten", elegant masked and fancy dress balls in V