Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween!
I’ve been spending my morning hanging out with the kitties and reading about haunted houses.
I was just going to post a quick teaser of our Halloween costumes, but some of the photos are just too much fun, so I had to share more.
This year I was a prairie girl and Shawn was an astronaut. I didn’t have time to make a costume, so I bought this amazing dress from an awesome shop on Etsy. I love the dress so much, I might have to wear it all the time.
It’s true, we love Halloween.
We went to a party with some crazy dancing ghillie suit creatures. Watch out for this guy. His moves will blow away even you’re sweetest dance routine.
Even Cleopatra was there; cutting a rug on the dance floor.
There were cupcakes. They were devoured.
I’m so glad my friends love Halloween as much as I do.
We’re planning some more Halloween adventures for this afternoon. Can’t wait.
What are you doing for Halloween?
Spider web cake
Halloween is nearly upon us and I feel like I haven’t yet gotten my yearly fill of creepy decorations and festivities. Granted, we’ve been to a haunted corn maze, had our 3rd annual Halloween movie marathon, I even baked a pumpkin. Not to mention, we’ve watched over 40 horror movies this month (so far).
It’s still not enough though. So tonight, just to satisfy my Halloween cravings, I made this spiderweb cake. I think it’s creepy but still has a bit of elegance. No one wants to eat a cake that looks gross, even if it’s supposed to evoke grossness.
I had a little extra fondant (and a leftover cupcake) and this little ghost came haunting around.
Before this weekend arrives, I still hope we’ll get to carve pumpkins. I’ve got my costume all together and can’t wait for all Halloween festivities.
Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Here are some more Halloween desserts from years past.
Halloween Treat roundup
Halloween is just around the corner and I thought we all could use a little dessert inspiration.
I’m thinking of making a fancy Halloween cake this year, just have to find the time. I really like the idea of painting on a cake or using some stencils.
Here are a few of my favorites I’ve made over the years.
Cutest, easiest ghost sugar cookies. If you can frost a cookie you can make these.
Chocolate zombie cake. Gotta show the zombie love.
And zombies need some brains to eat.
Dandies Marshmallow ghost cake. I love anything that’s creepy and cute at the same time.
Or you can get really crazy with pumpkins, spiderwebs, bats and more.
Personally I always want to make chic-o-stick cupcakes around Halloween, but can’t ever find them.
What are your favorite Halloween treats?
Halloween Spirit
This weekend we had our 3rd Annual Halloween Movie Marathon. It wasn’t as crazy as last year, where we went for two weekends in a row, but we still watched movies from Saturday night all the way through to Sunday night.
I made some pb cups & peppermint patties, because you have to have some Halloween candy. Some roasted pumpkin seeds for something salty. And of course, some pumpkin spice & espresso cupcakes, well, because I’m good at it. I didn’t, on the other hand, take photos. Mainly because of our spooky Halloween lighting.
Shawn also made tofurky dogs for everyone to fuel us through the night. And lots of coffee. LOTS of coffee and popcorn.
Anyway…this is just a preface to say that my post today is neither cute nor delicious. In fact, it’s creepy. Shawn and I have spent a good deal of time at the Natural History Museum lately. We are trying to take full advantage of our membership there. Not to mention they have amazingly cool stuff.
I thought this might be the only time of year when I could get away with sharing some of the awesome photos I’ve been able to get there at the museum and at special events. Get ready for a bunch of bones, insects and dead things. So if you’re squeamish, you’ve been warned.
Antlers in storage.
A walrus skull. Massive.
Shawn and a blue whale skull at the museum’s marine mammal warehouse. This whale was recovered after it was hit and killed by a commercial freight ship about 30 years ago.
The Natural History Museum is part of the network that collects dead animals that have been washed ashore for research. They have the second largest collection of sea mammals, right after the Smithsonian.
Hippo skull. I’m pretty sure this is Bubbles, but now I’m not positive.
We ended our pre-Halloween weekend by going to the museum’s haunted cave party. It was really a family thing, but it was lots of fun wandering around after hours in costumes. I’m totally obsessed with all the taxidermy they have. I am really just obsessed with everything in the museum.
Oh and in case you were wondering what we watched this weekend…here is the playlist…
Pumpkin curry
It’s pumpkin season. Hooray!
This is the year I had to actually roast one, not just get the puree from a can. I wanted to make something different than the usual pumpkin bread or the like.
I would like to introduce you to my version of pumpkin curry…also lovingly known as the orangest of orange curries.
So it started innocently with this little pumpkin. It was sliced in half, all it’s guts removed and then placed face down on a baking sheet.
Baked in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes until it was tender and left it to cool.
Then the fun part…peeling the skin off. Well, I thought it was fun.
Then this pumpkin got chopped up and ready to meet it’s other orange friends…
Two sweet potatoes. (Also appropriately chopped for the occasion.)
Even an orange cauliflower showed up for the party.
Where was I going with this?
Sorry I was hypnotized by the swirl of coconut milk and curry paste.
There’s all the orange veggies having a party in a pot. Making curry love. Ok, that’s creepy.
Some carrots were supposed to come to this party too but they may have been eaten on the way there.
Oh dear. I think it’s past my bedtime. I’m writing about vegetable parties.
Here comes the recipe!
Orangest of Orange Pumpkin Curry
1 roasted pumpkin innards
2 sweet potatoes chopped
1 head of orange cauliflower
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 gloves of garlic, minced
2 cans of coconut milk
1/3 cup curry paste, or more if you like
1 cup vegetable broth
Heat oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic and curry paste and stir to combine for about a minute. Carefully add the coconut milk and then the vegetable broth and stir together. Add in the pumpkin. I decided to smoosh it in, but you could leave it as chunks if you preferred. Add in the remaining chopped vegetables.
Let simmer covered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When your veggies have softened, remove lid and simmer for 5 to 10 more minutes.
Serve over rice.
