My three sons. They're all that, and a bag of chips!

Part One:
The Toffee Bars

At the end of a long, 12 hour day, Saturday, my last day of the work-week,  Justin, 17, still in his pajamas, picks me up from the train station at 6:15 PM.  We get home, and before I can even take off my coat, Bailey, age 14, who has seven dollars in his hand, is scrounging around for enough money for the entrance and ice skate-rental fees for “Free Skate”.   We head out the door and stop at the ATM where I get twenty dollars for him.

Always appreciative, Bailey says, “Thank you SO much, Mom.  You are the best mom EVER!”  (Well worth the twenty dollars, I'd say.)

After dropping off Bailey at the ice arena, I arrive back home and begin to forage for food, rustling up some grub that I had the foresight to freeze earlier in the week – burgers with cheddar cheese and bacon.  Jeremy examines the state of the bread on top of the refrigerator and decides to go to our local pharmacy – slash – grocery store, the only store nearby - for buns.  As he’s leaving, I ask him to please pick up a gallon of milk and some eggs so that I can make waffles for Sunday morning.  He agrees and no money is exchanged.

Meanwhile, Justin crawls out of his hole with his ever-present “i” device in hand, excited about the burgers. 

Jeremy arrives home from the store with the food. Justin takes the perfectly shaped burger, and leaves the pathetic-looking ones for Jeremy who had purchased the buns. 

Justin is now back in his hole, and Jeremy and I chat while I’m working in the kitchen.  Jeremy shakes his head and says, “When is that Justin EVER going to get a job!?”  We talk about how different the three siblings are, the concept of nature versus nurture, and how Jeremy was “born older”; how he was independent and industrious from the start; how, in pre-school he was wearing boots in the summer and shorts in the winter; and, at age 5, selling pencils and stickers to the neighbors.  Now, at 19, he works full-time as a hydraulic mechanic and has had laborious jobs since the age of 14.  Justin is a boyscout, good student, and our resident geek, who comes in very handy when the internet doesn’t work, the TV is messed up, and we can’t get the printer to print. 

I mention to Jeremy that my assistant, Kim, just gave me a recipe for toffee bars that are different from the ones that I made at Christmas. 

He tells me that I should make them.

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Easy Saltine Toffee Bars

1 1/4 cups butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup dark brown sugar

~50 saltines

2 cups (1 pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Melt the 1/4 cup of butter and spread it over the foil.  Line foil with saltines, breaking some to fit edges if necessary.

Into a medium saucepan, add 1 cup butter and the brown sugar.  Heat on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until mixture bubbles.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and add condensed milk, stirring until well-mixed.  Pour mixture over saltines and spread evenly.

Bake about 10 minutes or until edges are slightly browned and toffee is bubbling.

Let toffee cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.  Let the chips sit for about 2-5 minutes and then spread chocolate.  Press pecans into the chocolate.

Refrigerate until chocolate sets.  Flip pan upside down onto cutting board, remove pan and peel away foil.  Flip toffee chocolate side up, and cut into bars.

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I tell Jeremy that I used all the chips in the mandel bread and I don’t have enough saltines.  Jeremy tells Justin to go to the store since he, Jeremy, already went.  We decide that we really need 2 bags of chocolate chips because I really should make some more mandel bread, too. Justin asks if he will be using my debit card, and Jeremy convinces Justin that he should pay for it.  “Alright,” Justin says begrudgingly.  “I hardly have any money because I spent it all on movie tickets that I bought for a girl who didn’t show up.”

Off goes Justin, changing out of his pajamas for the first time, at 8:00 PM.

Twenty-five minutes later, we begin to worry why Justin is not back.  Just then, we see him coming home.  “I couldn’t find the chocolate chips!  They were hiding behind the condensed milk!  And they cost $3.50 a bag!”

That WAS pretty steep, I have to admit.

The toffee now underway, and Justin back in his pajamas and his hole, Jeremy and I discuss the cost of food, and how, lately, he ends up spending about $100 a week on food, between lunches, coffee, pizza, etc! 

Stirring up the melted butter & brown sugar with the condensed milk

The toffee mixture bubbling in the oven

Spreading the melted chocolate chips

About 9:30 PM, Bailey, who arrives home thanks to his friend's mom, comes bouncing into the house.  “Skating was AWESOME!”

Seeing that I’m cleaning up the kitchen, Bailey asks, “What did you make?” I show him the toffee bars attempting to harden in the refrigerator, and we both put our fingers in the wet chocolate, licking them off. I decide to put the tray into the freezer so that the bars will harden faster.

Once hardened, these toffee bars slice up like a dream.
No nuts, because that's the way they like them.

Justin is back upstairs now, sitting on the comfy chair, with the “i” device still in his hand, while Bailey describes “The best day EVER!”: the close-encounter with the Zamboni, skating while scooping up ice shavings with a sweeping hand, and the girls who asked him his name. He tells Justin to come with him the next time, it’s so much fun, that instead of chatting with girls online, he could actually meet some at the skating rink!  Shy Justin smiles and says no, while the idea seems to be ruminating scarily in his head. Bailey and I encourage him.

Bailey says to me, “Oh, here’s ten dollars back.  I didn’t get anything to eat.”  I thank Bailey, and hand the ten dollars to Justin for buying the saltines and chips. 

Justin is happy, the toffee bars are ready, and my three sons and I enjoy the evening's treat.


Next up: Mandel Bread.