Snake Surprise

I know I’ve said it before, but Halloween without little kids is much mellower. I’m totally fine not attending the yearly Halloween costume parade at the elementary school, not fighting to get the kids to eat something healthy before the candy binge, and the trick or treating and subsequent sorting through all the candy to make sure my two youngest kids don’t die. And having Malia send me links to Amazon for all her costume pieces is so much faster than sewing all the Halloween costumes. (I always enjoyed creating those costumes though, so there’s a hint of bittersweet associated with purchasing costumes. But Malia and her friends had a whole Harry Potter thing going on, so she really needed some Gryffindor gear. And with how limited my sewing time is of late due to the headaches, purchasing was probably the smarter option anyway.) Honestly, I feel like I’ve paid my Halloween dues and deserve a calmer day! 

Having said that, there are some things that stay the same. Around here, that means the fun food continues even though we are past the years when the kids were so excited that I had to basically bribe them to eat healthy food by making it super fun. I still love hanging out in the kitchen all day playing with my food, so despite the lack of littlies, my frightening foods are still on the menu!

This year’s ode to Halloween was a reptilian double feature with a side of brains. I had to give my family a stromboli vs. calzone lesson when they were all confused by what the actual meal was, but everyone agreed that the stromboli was delicious. I modeled the filling after the garlic chicken bacon pizza that I love instead of the traditional pepperoni and Italian flavors because I’m the boss of the fun food at my house and can do whatever I want! And honestly, no one complains because one of my rules about edible art is that it still has to taste good.😉 

After the fun food was consumed, Malia spent the evening roaming the neighborhood. They called it trick or treating (yes, we broke our rule about not trick or treating once you hit middle school), but honestly, I think it was an excuse to hang out on Halloween. Malia came home with very little sugary fare but had a fun evening. Matthew drove down to Mapleton for a Halloween party that Aliese was throwing. I love that he enjoys spending time with his cousins! And with Kevin home to answer the door for the few trick or treaters we got (one of the side effects of an aging neighborhood is fewer little kids begging for candy), I was able to have a slow evening watching some favorite Halloween T.V. episodes. Yup, definitely calmer with teenagers!

Moving back to the subject of fun food, the next generation has inherited some of my love affair with whimsical foods. Nathan spent this evening making pumpkin cookies that actually look like pumpkins. I’m so proud! 😁

Now I move on to pies…and start planning next October’s fun food extravaganza! (Seriously, some of this year’s recipes have been on the menu since last October. I ran out of days before I ran out of ideas. 🤣)

Heads Up!

When I was young, my mom taught me how to make shriveled apple head dolls. We carved and dried the apples, created a body out of a wire coat hanger and some batting, added a dress and some hair, and voilà! Pioneer style playthings! I remember being very pleased with the end result.

This evening’s spooky snack brought those old memories back to mind. Last year I saw a picture of some apple dumplings carved to look like shrunken heads. It made me laugh and I knew that they needed to be on the menu this year! Malia was on hand to help carve the apples, which was good, because let’s face it. Artistically, she is far more skilled than I am. I didn’t do too badly, but Malia carved three faces in the time it took me to do one. 😂 So while she was putting on the finishing touches, I switched gears and focused on the pastry.

I haven’t made apple dumplings in years, so it was a nice change from our typical cookies and cakes. We did learn a few lessons though. First, if you use gigantic apples, they will take forever to bake. Second, you should use a bigger pan that will allow the sauce to be shallower, so the pie crust doesn’t fall off when you try to get them out of the pan. Especially since the pastry on the carved heads does not get wrapped up all snug on the top. Third, this old-fashioned dessert is a classic for a reason: they are so delicious! Especially when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But only if carving up and devouring a face doesn’t bother you. 😜

Cooking for Cousins

I know I’ve mentioned that Nathan likes to cook. And I know I’ve mentioned that he is so very glad that Jacob is living in Logan now. Nathan invited Jacob over for dinner again this evening and this time Ella drove up to enjoy the food and games in person. These cousins are friends, and I love it! And like I told Nathan, I’m glad Ella was able to join them in person this time because virtual homemade mac and cheese is just not as good as the real thing. 😂

Are You My Mummy?

After so many years of making themed pancakes, sometimes it can be a bit difficult to come up with something new. But after scouring Pinterest for something I haven’t done yet and not finding anything that piqued my interest, I had a spark of creativity and came up with my very own idea. Two weeks in Hawaii was not enough to fulfil my craving for tropical flavors, so coconut pancakes and some food coloring combined with homemade coconut syrup thickened enough to be pipeable created this year’s gruesome griddle cakes. (And they weren’t actually all that gruesome, but I love alliteration as much as I love pancakes!

They were some of the tastiest mummies I’ve ever eaten. And yes, I’ve eaten mummies before. On several occasions. All of them being on or around Halloween, of course. 🎃

Finger Food

When we hear the term finger food, most of us likely think of things like pigs in a blanket, carrot sticks or chips and dip. These are the kinds of morsels we find at parties, the bite sized offerings that can be eaten as we mingle. But today I served up a finger food that was completely different. 

The moniker for this particular creations depends on the source of the recipe. Some people call them witch fingers. Others name them zombie fingers. But whatever you want to call them, these shortbread fingers are a tasty and gruesome treat. Especially when dipped in a little raspberry jam.

And technically, these fingers are still traditional finger food as well since no silverware is required...

Painting Paves a Path…Hopefully

Malia is still not sure about the new ward. And I can’t say that I blame her. Not only is it still really new, but it is far larger than our previous ward. And obviously, our previous ward was quite small and the only ward she has ever known. So, she is nervous and uncertain and ill at ease. I went with her to her midweek young women last week and it turned out ok, but I don’t think she would have even gone without me. She did find one girl that she met at girls’ camp this summer, one that she clicked with very quickly, and that helped a ton. So, she was more willing to go to the activity this week. Especially since the activity this week was painting pumpkins, and the word “paint” is like the call of the wild for Malia. 

She chose a simple, yet effective, design for her pumpkin and I think it turned out great. And she came home wearing a smile, which is fantastic! So hopefully she is on her way to finding her place in this ward.

A Need to Knead

Nathan has had a hankering for homemade bread. But since he no longer lives at home and therefore can’t enjoy the breads of my labors, he decided to make his own. He has been talking about it for weeks now, asking questions in advance like he does when he is planning to try something new on his own. I knew today was his breadmaking day, so I was ready for any questions that came up.

Nathan Facetimed me to make sure he was mixing and kneading it right (which he was) and had to borrow bread pans from his neighbors, but those were really the only signs that he was a first-time solo bread maker. He was mostly pleased with his results, only having a sliver of dissatisfaction in the fact that his loaves cracked, but it provided an opportunity for him to up his bread making game next time when I taught him that loaves crack in the oven when they are not given enough rising time before baking. I always rise by the bread and not by the clock, something he will be more attentive to next time. However, those cracks in no way diminished the wonderful aroma that permeated his apartment and the lovely taste that he has been craving.

I hope his roommates and neighbors, with whom he generally shares the results of his cooking and baking endeavors, realize how lucky they are. 

It’s That Time of Year Again

It’s October and everyone around here knows what that means-Halloween themed treats! I have already missed out on one FHE treat opportunity this month due to the fact that I was in Hawaii. Since Kevin will be leaving for Boston on Saturday, we have family dinner at my folks’ house on Sunday, and Matthew has marching band on Monday, I decided to make a treat on an abnormal day so that I can still get in three Halloweeny sweets this month.

We kind of have a thing about eyeballs around here, so it should come as no surprise that I have chosen to inaugurate this season’s spooky eating with some edible eyeballs. I coated a lovely raspberry sunbutter filling with white chocolate and then used some gummy Skittles to lend a bit of color and black icing finished them off. I tried the whole bloodshot eye thing with some tinted seedless raspberry jam, but it came out looking like ketchup, so I opted to leave the bulk of the eyeballs intact. I know red decorating gel would have given a more convincing visual, but the gel just doesn’t taste that good. And despite the joy I find in creating these fun foods, tasting fantastic still trumps aesthetics.

So welcome to October! And maybe by the end of the month the weather will stop acting like July…