Sweet crafts and easy potato pancakes
Sweet Candy Crafting
Tap your inner crafter (and inner child) and invite kids to help make polar bears from marshmallows with Jodi Levine's new book, "Candy Aisle Crafts" (Potter Craft, $16.99). Even if you're a whiz at fudge and truffles, the whimsical book might nudge you to look at supermarket sweets (hard candy, gummy candy, marshmallows, cookies, cereal) in a fresh way. Gumdrops and Necco wafers become Frog on Lily Pads and candy cane curves become heart pendants — both thanks to Levine, who has Martha Stewart credentials. Directions are precise (seconds matter with candy), so are tips. At bookstores nationwide.
Potato Pancakes in a Snap
Mom's potato pancakes can't be beat. We get that. We also know grating potatoes can be a pain. Which is why we liked the crisp, flavorful pancakes we made using the Potato Pancake Mix from King Arthur Flour (kingarthurflour.com). The box says: "Just add water." We did and got a thin mixture. After a required 20-minute rest, the mix thickened and pancakes fried up easily. It's $9.95 for a 10-ounce box (18-20 pancakes). For a store locator or to buy: crateandbarrel.com.
