National FUDGE DAY!!!

I love fudge. There really is no two ways about it. I realized that fudge has a lot of history with me. I always associate fudge with my mom. She & I would go to PA and go see Bushkill falls, or New Hope, or Lancaster & I would ALWAYS get fudge as my "souvenir". I usually got rocky road... that was my favorite. If my mother would let me splurge & get a trio or flavors I'd branch out and get a maple fudge or something else... but, the rocky road was pretty standard. It almost always came in this little box, individually wrapped in parchment paper with a plastic knife. I would hold on to that fudge FOREVER. My theory as a kid was that I loved it so much I didn't want it to go away-- so I would literally eat it, a crumb at a time... I would save eating it in large qualities on days I really wanted to indulge, but usually it was my standard crumb. The fudge would last forever, it seemed. It would start to get hard by the end & I would generally make the decision to just finish it off instead of letting it turn to stone. I have to admit that every time I pass by someone or some store selling fudge I get this overwhelming excitement like "I gotta get fudge, gotta get fudge" but truth be told, I haven't bought any in years. I know that I can make it myself (well, first I need to buy a candy thermometer) but I could make it... I think this one goes under the heading of Too Chicken Poop To Try.... One day I will make it... I went to this festival this past weekend & of course someone was selling fudge.. They had blueberry cheesecake fudge & I thought, you know, that would probably be really good!!! I'm always fascinated with how many different flavors are available with fudge... the combinations are almost endless-- like ice cream...
I hope that one day, all these things that I cook and make at home for my kids-- they grow up having fond memories of things their mother made for them... all these yummy things... homemade pizza, homemade pasta, homemade ice cream... and who knows, maybe homemade fudge...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/dummy-fudge-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-time-chocolate-fudge-recipe/index.html

http://cookiesandcups.com/key-lime-fudge/