It’s January 3rd! You know what that means – busy season is finally over and done with, winter has kicked into full gear, and I’m back to having some free time with freezing cold weather keeping me locked up indoors and… blogging. It’s been quite the hiatus. I’ve tried to post a few things here and there over the past couple of months, but it wasn’t very successful. I had a week off over the holiday season which was spent mostly with some family, and the rest of my evenings in the past week or so have been spent obsessing over the Tiny House Movement.
If you haven’t heard of this already – you should google it. Better yet: You Tube it. I’ve become really inspired by the idea of living in a super small space with limited belongings, just the basics, and find the eco-friendly, reclaimed materials, off-grid-capable tiny houses of particular awesomeness. There are some truly exciting designs out there. The movement has gained some traction as a response to the past few years of recession in North America, and a lot of people both young and old, with kids’n’pets and without – are taking the leap to simpler, more practical and affordable living. Recycled materials, composting toilets, solar and gas powered household equipment, and some even on wheels… transportable. There’s clearly a lot to learn before making the decision to live tiny, but the sheer amount of information available on the subject right now is a recipe for late night You Tube marathoning! One of the most well known promoters of living with less Kirsten Dirksen, has tons of video footage of tiny and alternative living spaces, everything from the Texan dessert to converted sheds in rural Spain, you can check out her videos here. I’m a big fan of her two documentaries We the Tiny House People, A Spaghetti Western on Lean Urbanism, and Summer of (Family) Love: Tiny Home VW-Road Trip. In order to get the most raw understanding of what our needs really are and where real happiness comes from, Kirsten embarks on multiple road trips with her family of five (three little kids!) across America, in a Westfalia camper van and a pup-tent at most. What she aims to share with her viewers is a different perspective on our relationship to nature, material belongings, true needs, and each other.
Other like-minds spreading the word and inspiration:
Tiny House Giant Journey – Jenna and Guillaume
RelaxShacksDOTcom – Deek Diedricksen
Exploring Alternatives – Mat and Danielle
Honeycomb Sponge Toffee: yields 1 small household baking sheet
110 g honey or corn syrup
1 TB water
210 g granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
-Place the honey or corn syrup, water, and sugar in a medium sauce pot and turn to medium high heat. Stir the ingredients to dissolve together, and then allow them to cook over low heat, bubbling away at a slow soap- looking simmer.
-Measure your baking soda and sift to remove little lumps.
-Allow your sugar mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes, and if using white corn syrup: cook until the mixture begins to show caramel color around the edges. If you’re using honey or golden corn syrup: cook until you get a medium caramel color like this, or a smidge darker:
-Remove the caramel from the heat, sprinkle the baking soda over it, and stir with a spatula carefully.
-The honeycomb will froth and foam so stir slowly so you don’t splash any on your skin. Be sure to drag the spatula across the bottom of the pot. You’ll see that as you stir the honeycomb will change color rapidly and become more caramelized. Stir until you get a uniform color, just a few seconds, and pour out immediately onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
-Allow to cool 15-20 mins and then smash and enjoy! Tastes best when dipped in chocolate.
I am totally going to look up the tiny houses! One of my dreams is for our little family to travel around Australia for a year. I can understand your obsession with the idea. What is it that appeals to you the most?
Your honeycomb looks delicious!
Hi Ruth! It’s very fascinating. I think the reason it appeals to me so much is that I despise the idea (and reality) of us all being tied to our 40+ hours a week day jobs. The idea of being able to do what I want, when I want, without having crazy overhead costs and debt is highly attractive to me. I also really like small cozy spaces, and feel anxious around too much clutter and mess. I think the tiny house movement is good for the environment, possible your psyche (though there are many opinions on that!), and your pocket book – which would allow you to work less, travel more, and live a more stress free life.
How about you?
All great things to work towards. I like that it limits your intake of stuff and also forces you to do more of life outdoors. I have always been happiest when I have less so I am trying to get rid of stuff! It’s tricky breaking old habits.
I want my kids to grow up not always wanting stuff. But instead looking to people and places for joy.
Looks delicious sounds very naughty!
Phenomenal, and yet simple! But in the tiny house, where would you have all your kitchen stuff?
Hi Linnet! I’ve seen some really great custom designs where they’ve got proper functioning kitchens – but for the most part a lot of things you learn to live without. You’d sacrifice space for a desk or something else to make room for more kitchen! Here’s a link for one tiny house built for a family who cooks a lot – http://www.lifeedited.com/a-tiny-house-you-might-want-to-live-in/
That kitchen is amazing! Bigger than a lot of NYC apartments have 🙂
Agreed! More counterspace and upgrades than mine, that’s for sure!
…and I might add – the tiny houses on wheels are much tougher to fit full sized items, but there are lots of other tiny houses within the 200-400 square feet, not on wheels, but still tiny and fully functional! Very cool.
I have a question about the food. I don’t own a food scale (yet). How much of the honey and sugar should I use?
Hi Camila, for this particular recipe you really need to use a scale to get the ratio of ingredients right. If you don’t want to purchase a scale you can do a google search for ‘honeycomb recipe’ or ‘sponge toffee recipe’ and give a quick look. I’m sure there are some recipes out there in volume measurements instead!
Looks delicious and fun to make I’ll try to make one soon