Orange you happy? - By Brooke, May 09

I considered many beloved family recipes for this month's challenge. Because it was called "family favorites," though, I had to go with the one that is an inter-generational favorite: The candy cane orange, aka "Orange you happy?" It's a simple and tasty summer snack.

It takes 4 steps and you'll need just 4 things:
A big, juicy-looking orange
A bag of old-fashioned pure sugar peppermint sticks
A permanent marker
A small, sharp knife

Getting the right kind of peppermint sticks is absolutely essential, but they can be hard to find. Neither our local Kroger nor Marsh carries them. I went to the candy store in Bloomington's mall, and the teenage employee blinked many times before replying, "I don't think we have those, whatever they are." I finally found them at Cracker Barrel, a bag of 10 for 99 cents.

Step 1: Roll the orange on a tabletop very firmly. You're trying to break up the innards, releasing the juice. When you're done rolling, the orange should seem softened all around.

Lee did the rolling and Emma did the watching.

Step 2: Draw a happy face on the orange with the permanent marker. It needs to be a really cute, happy face too. Happy enough to cheer you up big time, like even if you're feeling very cranky or petulant.











Step 3: Take a small paring knife and cut around the top of the orange in a circle creating a small hole- about 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

Pull out the plug of orange rind (it may have some innards attached... ewwww) and peek inside at the juice.

Step 4: Get out a peppermint stick and put it into the orange like a straw. But don't keep it for yourself... give it to a nearby kid, because they will surely be pestering you for it!


Emma said "It's good. It's sticky."