They’re Green!

Rice Krispies. An American staple and classic treat, it is unfathomable that there are people in this world who have not had the joy of experiencing their sticky goodness. Therefore, I am on a mission: To Bring Rice Krispy Treats to the World!

Beginning this endeavor in 2005 when I discovered that my South African friends I was visiting with had no knowledge of the goodness, I have nominated myself as the Unofficial Rice Krispy Embassador to the World! (Seriously, at some point Kellogs should sign up to sponsor me because I am going places!)

With only 3 ingredients and a fairly forgiving reciepe, Rice Krispy treats are versatile, delicious and a Snap to create! Locating the ingredients in the store is generally entertaining since the words for cereal, butter and marshmellows vary from place to place. Finding the proper tools can also be a bit daunting especially since nearly everything abroad is measured by the metric system. This is when it becomes key to simply “Make it work!”  

Here in Morocco, a trip to Marjane (A wal-mart type establishment), was all it took to gather the necessary ingredients. Cooking the krispies on a camping stove was another matter all together. With only two settings, Hot and Hotter, my friendly little green stove is less than ideal for melting mellows, but undaunted I proceeded. I was going to make Rice Krispies, failure was not an option!  

Starting out was a bit rough. On the first attempt the pan heated too quickly sizzling the butter into a light brown color. Cleaning out the pot and beginning again I switched to the smallest burner on the lowest setting and carefully placed the butter in. Watching intently I poured in the unmeasured bags of multi-colored mellows and began stirring. Delighted to be progressing so smoothly, I got a bit ahead of myself in taking pictures and measuring krispies until I smelled the essence of flame. Taking on a slight campfire-esque aroma, I rationalized that the marshmellows were still palatable. Removing the pan from the heat and dumping in the krispies I quickly discovered how ineffective bendable spoons are for stirring sticky jumbles. Switching last minute to a large metal spoon I fought against the solidification process, trying to add in krispies to find the proper sticky to krispy ratio. Never quite achieving the right proportions I finally settled with a near miss and then set about looking for an adequate container to house the goodness. Finding nothing, I reasoned that the best option was simply to leave them in the semi non-stick pot. The result was a 3 inch tall rice krispy round that due to the heat never fully hardened. The unusual collection of marshmellow colors also melded together to form an intriguing glistening pastel green.  

Unusual in color, but familiar in taste, the entire batch was quickly devoured. Another country down, just a hundred or so to go!