Fudging it.

Last night I ruined a batch of fudge. Or so I thought...!
I am very behind on one Christmas present for a relative I've not seen for ages, and last night I decided that I needed to get on and make some fudge for them (as they love it!).  Not a problem- done this lots of times before. Except that this time I was trying to serve up dinner and keep a hungry toddler in check at the same time.

Before I knew it (according to my sugar thermometer) I had allowed the mixture to get 10 degrees too hot, and the whole thing went grainy and just crumbled.

Particularly given that this New Year we are trying to be thrifty, (and also because the idea of eating about a pound of fudge crystals didn't desperately appeal!) I was not very happy, and happened to post on Facebook about my dilemma (after having a cursory glance at a few rather unhelpful websites).
This morning I woke up to two useful comments which gave me advice on how to salvage my fudge.

In the end I piled the whole load back into the (laboriously scrubbed, soaked, scrubbed and scrubbed again) preserving pan and then added milk, tiny quantities at a time, and gradually the mixture started to become liquid(ish) again.  After a little more TLC I pressed it back into the pan after giving it a little beat, and, lo and behold, it worked! A little darker than before, but still delicious, I had managed to salvage the Christmas present after all! Thanks for the help my two commenters!

In other news, I have finished sleeve one without any further mishaps, and am well on my way with sleeve two now!

I made a lovely loaf of fresh bread (which I have just had as a lovely mid-evening snack with butter and honey!)...

And I am still enjoying how much my little boy is loving his colouring now.  There's nothing quite like sitting with a cup of tea or getting on with the cooking with this cheeky face sitting in his highchair colouring away...

I'm off to do a bit more sleeve, hoping my Cat gives up trying to pounce on the knitting needles!
Have a lovely evening/day.