A Very Happy Halloween to You...

     Our Halloween party was this weekend.  It was a whirlwind of ladybugs, robots, spiders, and werewolves all wrapped up in a tidy 1950's-era package.  It was also pouring down rain and pitch dark so I don't have a lot of pictures of our scavenger hunt in progress, I'm afraid.  I have lots of shots like this:

Yeah...

So I'll tell you what we did and show you pictures of what it looked like sans kids...  We held a 1950's style Halloween party including some reproduction decorations.

We carried the theme into the menu by trying to replicate a TV dinner in a more desirable way.  We served homemade meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed peas and carrots mixed with mint.  There was also a jell-o salad style dish because 50's and a 7-Up Cake.  Our starter for the kids was Vienna Sausage size organic hot dog chunks.  We also had meatballs, gluten-free cookies, and the vegetarian main was beans and franks.  We washed it all down with punch and martinis!

This was an agar agar Jell-o salad stand in.  It was interesting.  I especially liked the salad dressing.

Minted Peas and Carrots
1 lb bag carrots, peeled and sliced
1 bag frozen peas
2 Tbs mint
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the carrots until almost done.  Add the peas and continue steaming until warmed through.  Toss with salt, pepper, and mint.  Serve immediately.

Punch
1 Bottle Sparkling Apple cider
1/2 Gallon orange juice
1/2 Gallon Earthwise Wild Berry Guava Lemonade
12 scoops Raspberry Sorbet

Add all drinks to a large punch bowl and top with sorbet.  It doesn't look like much, but it tastes great and there are no HFCS or artificial flavors!  It also happens to taste great with vodka, so if you happen to make your martini a little too strong, dollop a little punch in there and you'll be a happy haunter!

One of our lovely hostesses, Danika.

 Our cowboy, David, who handed out the scavenger hunt sheets, sock hopping it up with a robot and a ladybug.  You just don't see that kind of thing every day.  For music, I found several, mostly 50's era songs including: Wooly Bully, Lil' Red Riding Hood, The Twilight Zone theme song, Bo Meets the Monster, Halloween Spooks (featuring Lambert, Hendricks and Ross), I Put a Spell on You, Witch Doctor, Punky Punkin, Morgus the Magnificent, The Purple People Eater, and of course, Monster Mash all downloadable on Amazon from about $.90 to $1.50.  Some of these songs are crazy weird.  Just sayin'.

 Our homage to 1950's cowboy flicks, the kids had to break out of jail by sliding down the slide.  The sheriff gave them a handy map to the rest of the scavenger hunt.  Apparently he was in on the whole thing...

First stop, Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

 Next up, apples on strings.  At every station, the kids got stickers to prove they completed the mission.

 

 Because it was raining and I was busy appleing out in it, I don't have one picture of our witch, Lauren, who many kids said was their very favorite part of the hunt, and was also one of our hosts.  She had a bubbling cauldron full of dry ice and a bowl full of "eyeballs" for the kids to scrounge through to help her find her jewels (skull rings which the kids got to keep).  So here's a picture of her hut, which you may remember as the troll house from our fairy party a few years ago.

 Can't really have a 1950's party without a hula hoop, can you?  No.  No you can't.

 

A classic game with a 1950's twist.  Tossing mini Frisbees into the pumpkin's mouth turns a bean bag toss into game using an iconic vintage toy.

Note to self: Yellow Frisbees are hard to find in a leaf pile...

Spooky ghosts in the rain...

 Fortunately revealed in the daylight to be balloons with flashing lights inside zip-tied to dowels.

 Our fortune teller (and co-host), Tori, before she braved the weather to read our guest's fortunes.

  It was wet business...

 EEK!  A GHOST!  Matt was the scariest ghost in a sheet the world has ever seen.  Three-year-olds the world over were terrified.  The kids were rewarded with Trader Joe's candies when they returned with their scavenger hunt sheets filled out.

 Twin housewives, Bekah and myself.  At the end of the party.  With fallen hair and rubbed-off make-up.  Drinking.  I also discovered something about my costume.  All it takes is a hair change to turn perky, perfect wife-lady into:

The Lunch Lady.

Hoagies and grinders, baby.

A Post About the Super Bowl. Yes, that Super Bowl...

     There are a lot of folks out there who love football.  I am a folk who enjoys listening to football on the radio.  The commentary is more interesting and the commercials are less flashy.  We may make an exception this Sunday since the Seahawks have made it to the Super Bowl.  The excitement is a raging contagion here.  People talk to each other in line at the grocery store or standing at their cars pumping gas.  Even my boys, one of whom thinks it's called the "Super Goal," are pumped up, counting down the days till the Hawks battle the Broncos over a small brown ball and bragging rights.

     If you are one of those folks who loves a good game, I've got a little menu here I think you might enjoy.  If you're not, I've got a little menu here I think you might enjoy.  A burrito bar is a great way to feed vegetarian and carnivores simultaneously without too much fuss.  This one has a few different options.  My favorite combo is the sweet potatoes with rice, kale, beans and avocado.  My boys prefer just bean and cheese.  Lettuce, chips, rice and beans with a little salsa makes a great salad.

Everything on the bar can be prepped ahead except the meat, avocado, and the sauteed veggies. 

Pico De Gallo

8 oz tomato, chopped
2 oz garlic, minced
4 oz green pepper, diced
4 oz onion, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon or lime juice (optional)
1/4 C chopped cilantro (optional)

Mix all ingredients and serve immediately or up to a day later.  Stir in a minced avocado and you've got a top notch guacamole.

     For a family friendly celebration, a Mockarita may be the way to go.  My boys had mixed reactions, but I liked it a little less sweet.

 

Mockarita

6 limes
2 navel oranges
1/2 ruby red grapefruit
3/4 C sugar
2 C ice
2 more C ice (optional)
1/2 C sugar (optional)

I peeled the skin off the limes, oranges and grapefruit with a knife, checked for seeds, and threw the fruit into a blender.  I buzzed it up, then strained the pulp out.  I returned the juice back to the blender and added the sugar and ice.  A few more seconds and they were ready to pour!  You could jazz these up with some tequila but the virgin version is just as exciting in my opinion.

     We followed up our feast with some Tres Leches Cupcakes.  The recipe I used came from a cookbook, but you can use any recipe you want.  I wanted to make sure with all the extra liquid that these would hold up.  I tried some in nut cups and some in these fluted cake cups.  They both held up extremely well, though the cakes in the nut cups pulled away from the sides.  These fluted ones were definitely much prettier.  I cut the baking time down to 20 minutes from the 30-35 which was recommended for a full cake.  The recipe I used also suggested a sweet whipped cream frosting.  I just chose whipping cream and vanilla for mine and relied on the sweetness in the cake and milk glaze. 

Have a nice Superbowl Sunday!

12 Days of Christmas Treats Day 7: Russian Tea

     Russia has a very rich tea culture.  According to Wikipedia, nearly 82% of Russians drink tea daily.  They drink tea from fancy teapots, they have intricate brewing methods, they use really cool special tea cups.  But they don't drink Russian Tea.  Just like fortune cookies, garlic bread, and tortilla chips, Russian tea is an American invention.  A delicious one.  A lot of the recipes you'll find online include Tang and lemonade mix.  Uh.  Gross much?  Growing up we made it with black tea and orange juice.  We drank it at Christmastime.  I liked it so much, I made a cookie out of it a couple of years ago.  There are a lot of recipes online that make party size portions, but I often like to make one for myself in the morning, so here is an individual serving portion.

Russian Tea
Serves One

1 C brewed black tea
3 Tbs orange juice
2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Brew a cup of tea, add juice, sugar, cloves and cinnamon.  Stir and enjoy warm or cold.

Review:
My boys aren't big fans.  They prefer their tea to include milk and chocolate and exclude tea, but I love this and I expect other sweet tea fans will, too.

12 Days of Christmas Treats Day 3: Mulled Orange Juice

     When my brother and I were growing up, we didn't have much in the way of family nearby.  Our Grandparents lived 300 miles away.   Our closest Uncle was nearly 600.  We had a few third cousins around but they were usually busy with their own Uncles and Grandparents during the holidays.  This meant my Mom was free to set up any darn traditions she wanted.  And she was good at it.  To add humidity to the air and make the house smell lovely in the weeks preceding Christmas, Mom would simmer oranges, cinnamon, and cloves on the stove. We also made pomanders on occasion.  Yesterday, I mentioned our yearly Christmas Eve ritual. 

      I have also told the story of sitting with my Mom on Christmas Day waiting for the rest of the family to wake up, savoring the last predawn moments watching the tree, listening to Christmas music, and drinking a warm drink. Mom used to heat up a bunch of different juices. We had warm cranberry juice, warm grape juice, hot apple juice (of course), but her favorite to make around Christmas time was mulled orange juice.

     Mulled Orange Juice uses the same spices as her simmer fragrance and smells just like Christmas to me. Mom made hers with ground spices in the microwave using “a little of this, a little of that” but the ground spices always ended up sinking leaving a spice sludge at the bottom. This way, you get the flavor without the ick.

Christmas Mulled Orange Juice

Serves 4 (scales easily, can be made individually in the microwave also)

5 C orange juice

1 tsp whole cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Boil orange juice, cloves, and cinnamon for about 5 minutes until it takes on the flavor of the spices. Fish the cloves and cinnamon out with a slotted spoon or pour though a strainer. Portion into serving mugs and top with a smidge of nutmeg.

Note:
I have discovered that using high pulp orange juice clogs the strainer; a low or no pulp juice is really the way to go with this.

Shapow!! Bonus Craft!

Pomanders

1. Tie ribbon around orange like wrapping a package
2. Use a toothpick to make a pilot hole
3. Poke a clove into it
4. Repeat 3 and 4 until you have the pattern you like
5. Allow to air dry, checking for mold

These will keep for a long time if properly dried. Buy cloves in bulk if you can find them, they can get pricy paying baking isle prices!  This is a great craft for little guys.  Mine had fun making patterns and faces and since we used tangerines, we got some coverage before their attention span wore out.

Spine-Chilling Soda...

 

     My kids love soda as much as any other kids, though they hardly ever get "real" soda like cola or root beer because the chemical sludge in them is too scary for even the most Halloween-hardened humanoid.  Recently, a friend and I attended an interview with Mollie Katzen, author of the Moosewood Cookbook and many others, as part of an innovative series of lectures and demonstrations about food the library system in my area is sponsoring this year.  She has such an engaging and relaxed personality, I ended up buying her new book and my friend bought two of her cookbooks for kids.  As October Unprocessed rolled around, I took a look at the "natural" sodas I had been buying for my kids that were sweetened with fruit juice and had no hfcs.  I noticed that in spite of all their positive ingredients, they were also loaded with "natural flavorings."  (There are very few things that annoy me more than food labeling buzz words.  "Natural," "Cage-Free," "No Sugar Added" none of these things mean what you think they mean.)  I was so disappointed because my kids love to get "soda" once in a while and I had felt great because I wasn't filling them with junk.  Except, of course, I was.  

 

     My friend mentioned that Mollie Katzen had a homemade soda recipe in one of her kid's books and sent it to me.  I was sad to see it used frozen juice concentrate since I rarely use concentrates and I figured it wouldn't fit into the whole October Unprocessed thing.  (Carbonated water is also on the iffy side, but I figured I had to draw a line somewhere...) So I just kinda messed around and figured out my own recipe based on hers.  And it just so happened to be the right color for a certain holiday that's quickly approaching.  You can definitely make a ghoul or two happy with this simple concoction.  In fact, you may have a mad scientist under your roof who'd like to help you whip this up!

Spine-Chilling Soda
Yield: 1 serving

1 C orange juice
3/4 C carbonated water

Combine juice and water and stick a straw in it!  You can make any size portion using a similar ratio juice to water.  I have found a tablespoon or two of cream added to each glass gives it a nice Creamsicle flavor, but the boys aren't crazy about it.  You can use any juice you want, but you may have to fiddle with the ratios. 

Review:
My kids actually like this better than their favorite store-bought "natural" soda!  To be sure this is still a "sometimes food" but it's definitely a healthier alternative.

If you need a few ideas for your Halloween party this year, have a look at some of my previous Halloween Party posts! 

 Halloween Carnival from 2011

 Fairy Masquerade in 2012

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for details of our party this year!

A Quick Tropical Brunch...

     Just like last year, I came home from Hawai'i all inspired to make some of the same foods I tried at our hotel.  We had brunch daily and it was obvious to all that this is the height of papaya season.  They were so sweet and soft they almost tasted like honeysuckle.  So fragrant!  Last year, I devoted myself to enjoying them with a twist of lime, but this year we were provided with mint.  I'm not sure if two things could possibly be more perfect for each other.  Such a beautiful marriage!  

     Twice, the hotel provided a bagel bar with lox, cream cheese, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, and capers.  Being vegetarian and all, I tried one with everything except the salmon.  Friends, that is some serious yumminess.  

     And finally, we rounded up more than a few brunches with a fruit smoothie.  My favorite was the mango, though I had a pineapple mint one that made me weak in the knees one sultry morning.

     And so I came home determined to replicate this deliciousness in my own kitchen.  I love how quick this is to throw together since when I usually make brunch, it's served at 11 because I've been cooking it since 8.  I tend to be rather elaborate is what I'm sayin'.

Quick Brunch Menu

Vegetarian Super Bagel
2 bagels
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs no chemical cream cheese (some lovely goat cheese would be a great substitute)
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
 2 tsp capers, drained

Slice the bagels and spread 1 Tbs of cream cheese on each.  Divide the hard boiled egg between the two, add tomato, and sprinkle with capers.

Mango Smoothie
1 mango, peeled and sliced
1 C plain yogurt
2 C crushed ice

Add ingredients to a blender and blend at high speed until smooth.

Notes:
My boys liked strawberry and banana in theirs as well.

Papaya with Mint
1 ripe papaya
2 sprigs, mint, washed (use a mild mint variety such as peppermint)

Slice the papaya in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Slice each half into four.  Serve slices with mint leaves.

Notes:
Because papaya is a rather tropical fruit that many "mainlanders" have never tried, some may not know how to pick a good one.  Check that your papaya doesn't have any large bruises, wrinkled skin, or signs of mold.  A good papaya will yield slightly to pressure and you should be able to slide your fingernail through the skin without much force.  (I wouldn't suggest the fingernail test until you actually own the fruit...)  One of our friends once asked me if you eat the skin.  You can, though I don't find it particularly appetizing.  Mostly, I use the skin to hold it and eat it like watermelon, but of course you can peel it off if you like.  You can eat the seeds, too.  They're kind of peppery with a final taste similar to horseradish.  Might even be good on a bagel... Hmmm...

 

Review:
My boys didn't go for the "green balls" but they loved everything else!  It's a nice little treat to break it up a bit during the week.

Poor Ol' Wormy...

There are many things as a parent I never thought I'd say, including, but not limited to:

• “Don't use your pant leg to clean up the pee on the floor!”
• "Did you really just barf in your boot?!"
• “Eek! There's a rat in my laundry!” (It was a toy the boys put in there as a “surprise” for Mommy...)
• “AUGH! What th--?! Don't pee on the toilet lid!!” (OK, so that was my husband, but I think it's fair to say he never planned on needing to say that either.)
• “Thank you so much for making me breakfast in bed, honey but I'm just not quite ready to eat peanut butter filled pretzels at 5 am, m'kay?”

     But yesterday I had a discussion with my son I can pretty fairly say very few other families have had. Yesterday, we buried a friend. He was a good friend. If you were to ask my son about him right now, he would probably forlornly tell you his sad tale and maybe shed a tear. And he would mean it. He is mourning his loss as you would a beloved pet. The difference being, of course, that Wormy is a balloon. That we had for 24 hours. He was steadfast until the end. He started out as a sword named “Sword”, became a hamster (apparently, if you looked at him just right) named “Hamsty”, and then, finally, tragically, he became a worm named “Wormy”. That's right. My son lost his balloon sword. We buried him in the yard. There were tears. And then, my son asked me something I never thought I'd have to explain about a former balloon sword. “Mom, will Wormy go to heaven?”

     Now, my son's grief is real. This is not a kid who is crying because he's angry his balloon popped. He sobbed because he lost a friend. For nearly a day, he cried. Granted, he probably could have used a nap in there somewhere, but the sadness is real. I cannot tell him it's silly to be so sad over “just a balloon” it's Wormy. It's “the best balloon [he's] ever had.” His friend gave it to him and now it's gone forever. On the other hand, how can I tell him that balloons go to heaven? I don't believe in lying. Even in comfort. I can't even say I handled it with some magical all-encompassing answer that will follow him throughout his life and be Pinterested and Facebooked for eternity by virtue of its profundity. Mostly, I said maybe God has lots of balloons in heaven to which he assured me that none of the balloons in heaven would be as good as Wormy. Talk about deflated!

     I can say though, that I held my boy when he cried. And I didn't laugh. We buried him because he couldn't bare the thought of his wilty orange carcass going into the trash. And we will have, for a while at least, a small chunk of concrete in the back yard marking the place where ol' Wormy was laid to rest. Kids have real feelings whether we feel like they “should” or not. It's important to recognize and respond to them appropriately. Even if we don't always use the right words. Sometimes a hug is the best response.  Unless they are wiping pee off the floor with clothing.

    And maybe a tiny bit of comfort food never hurt, either. This also happened to be convenience food for Mama since I had fruit spoiling. Also, I put cream in it. I know what you're thinking. He was in mourning, people.

Goodbye, Wormy Shake

Yields: 3-4 Servings

4 C fresh pineapple chunks

2 tangerines

8 oz cream (or coconut milk)

1 tsp Agave nectar (opt)

(optional ingredients: banana, dates, coconut flakes)

Put all the ingredients into a blender and combine until the cream is frothy and the fruit has disintegrated.

Notes:

If you are adding the banana or dates, you could omit the agave. Or if your pineapple is super sweet. Ours wasn't really.

  This was served with a side of sorrow* and a splash of salty tears*, but those are entirely optional ingredients. In fact, I suggest you try it when you're at your happiest moment and see if it doesn't taste even better.



(*Not really, he was totally fine by the time we drank these, but it sounded poetic didn't it?)

My Soupy Senses are Tingling...

     We had our first "feels like Fall" day here in the Pacific Northwest this weekend and my thoughts turned toward the warm and comforting soups ahead but before Summer slips away entirely, I wanted to set the next Souperhero loose upon the masses!

     This one is another fruit soup.  There was a bit of controversy about Wonder Woman and whether watermelon soup was really "soup" or not.   Watermelon soup is a real thing.  Google it if you don't believe me.  Go ahead.  I'll wait...

     See?  Tol'ja.  And strawberry soup is a thing, too.  But as far as I can tell, this, my friends, is the world's first Spider-Man Strawberry Soup!

Spider-Man Strawberry Soup
Yields: 2-4 Servings
2-4 pints Strawberries
1 pint Blueberries
1/4-1/2 C Vanilla Yogurt

Blend strawberries in blender and fill bowls.  Clean blender and blend blueberries until skin is completely disintegrated (or as close as you can get it), set aside.

You don't need to be bitten by a radioactive spider to make the web on Spidey's face.  This is all you need:

Well, Spider-Man thought it was cool anyway...

I found the best way to draw the face was first to draw a small circle either dead center or slightly below center.  Then the eyes in yogurt.  Then outline the eyes with blueberries and draw the straight lines.  Finally, connect with curved lines and do any touch ups to the eyes as needed.  If you want to be quicker about it, you could try the old "drag a toothpick through a spiral" trick used in cookie making, but I haven't done it.  I don't see why it wouldn't work though and then you could put the eyes on after...?

Notes:

• Never knew this before making Spidey, but pulverized blueberries congeal!  They get pretty hard (almost as thick as Jell-o!), so you need to work rather quickly.  I liked them once the gelling process had just begun.  Once they set up they were hard to squeeze out of the bottle.  Within an hour or so the liquid separated completely and become a little gross.
• I used homemade yogurt sweetened with agave and added vanilla so it was pretty thin.  You may need to thin store-bought with a little milk so it fills in without lumps.

Review:
     I probably don't really need to review this, do I?  They loved it. =)  Whether your kids eat this with a spoon or a straw, you'll have happy little spider-fans!