Edible spider webs

So, last week we came home from the store and I flipped on the faucet to wash my hands. Nothing. Not a drip. Not a dribble, nor a drop. For a second, all was quiet. Then it hit me, and I went screaming out of the house, knocking kids and dog aside, flew off the porch, sped around the corner, and flung open the crawl space door.

And there were no drips nor drops there. Instead, there was a torrent.

The pipe connecting the water pressure unit to the rest of the house was shorn off, and water was blasting out. After shutting off the pump and unsuccessfully bribing each of the kids (thanks a lot, by the way), I took a deep breath and crept into the crawl space to examine the damage. Here’s the thing. I’m not afraid of the millions of spiders under there. I’m not. But I am claustrophobic, and the idea of being under there with millions of spiders…<shudder>. Ugh.

You wondering where I’m heading with this, right? You’re wondering why I don’t hire an editor to cut uneccessary details like this, right? Well, no need to get huffy. I’ll get to my point: This got me thinking about spiders. They’re actually very cool critters, and I don’t harbor any ill will toward them. Any creature who can create those webs and use them to catch their food is just amazing. So let’s forget all about the water woes and focus on the spiders, ‘kay?

My point today: You should really make some spider webs with your kids. And not just some artsy-fartsy ones, either. EDIBLE ones. Yes? Okay:

EDIBLE SPIDER WEBS. Gather thin pretzel sticks, a bag of vanilla chips, some shortening, and some raisins (or chocolate chips). Put a piece of waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Lay your pretzel sticks into little spoke-like circles (imagine the lines of a web radiating from the center). Melt together about a cup of vanilla chips and a tablespoon of shortening. The easiest way to do this is in a plastic baggie — set the bag in really hot water for a couple minutes to start it melting, then knead it together until it’s smooth. Snip off a corner of the bag, and pipe the melted vanilla over the pretzels in a web-ish design. Be sure to put a blob in the very center, where the pretzels come together. That’ll keep them together nicely. On this blob, gently press a chocolate chip or raisin for your spider. Refrigerate until firm, then gently remove from the paper.