Vegan Zombies

Just wanted to share this fun video Shawn made, since it is full of flesh eating zombies, very appropriate for this time of year.

Oh, and I think it’s cool.

Halloween Movie Party 2011

This weekend we had our 4th Annual Halloween Horror Movie Marathon. When it started out a few years ago, it was just a sleepover where we’d watch scary movies, but has since turned into something much crazier, as we watch horror movies for over 24 hours straight. Watching horror movies for so long with so little sleep definitely does some strange things to your mind and it starts to feel like you’re living in a horror movie yourself.

So here’s a glimpse into what it’s like… Get ready for a lot of photos.

To set the stage, we turn our living room into a screening room, blacking out all the windows and adding some creepy mood lighting. We even brought our spare bed out to add some comfy viewing spots.

We continued the creepy lighting throughout the apartment. Here are the beginnings of our snack table. Snacks are vital for getting though the night.

We hung a velvet curtain to keep the light from our kitchen down since there isn’t a door. Dining room chairs were moved to the living room for extra seating. We had about 15 people throughout the night, although only a handful made it till morning.

Initially Meeme was excited about the party, hanging out on our new carpet. She and Mochi got scared though and spent the rest of the evening watching movies in their own room. They particularly liked Beetlejuice.

We made our bedroom into a second screening room for our friends who don’t like scary movies as much as we do. Everyone toughed it out though and the cats had the room to themselves.

This hallway is definitely horror movie material.

So we’ve set the stage, shall we get to some of the treats?

I had to make sugar cookies as it has become a yearly tradition. This year I opted for pumpkins to go a long with my pumpkin theme.

Shawn requested that we make some healthy things instead of all sugary treats and we came up with some  scary looking drinks. While kale, celery and ginger juice, might be fairly common, it still has the look of a strange brew.

Or how about some blood? I mean, carrot beet juice.

There were popcorn balls made with Dandies.

Apples with caramel sauce for dipping.

There were pita chips with black bean dip and hummus as well as crostinis with spinach dip.

I ran out of time before guests started arriving and hastily frosted the pumpkin cookies. Not too cute but still deliciously sweet.

As a later night snack, I made some quesadillas jack-o-lanterns. I found some green cactus tortillas and knew they would be perfect for a Halloween. During the night we also made tons of tofurky dogs with lots of toppings, pizzas and even coffee cake. Oh and lots of coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

Kim stopped by and brought these amazing lady fingers. How creepy?

Like I said, we watch straight through the night and well into Sunday. This is the remaining 6 of us some time on Sunday afternoon. Jenny L., Shawn, Me, James, Jennifer Y. and Kyle. Without a doubt this has been the best year yet, so much fun! Already I can’t wait till next year.

Want to know what we watched? Here goes:

1. Coven
2. Phenomena
3. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
4. Amityville Horror
5. Martyrs
6. We Are the Night
7. Harpoon
8. Troll II
9. Sheitan
10. Dead Snow
11. The Burning
12. Rosemary’s Baby
13. The Shining
14. Silence of the Lambs
15. Cannibal Holocaust
16. Sleepaway Camp
17. The Lost Boys
18. The Company of Wolves
19. The Hunger

In fact, we’re still watching as I write this…

Bat cupcakes

While technically speaking I’m no longer in the cupcake business, I had a special request for some bat cupcakes and I just could not turn it down. Especially with Halloween coming up, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to try out some bat decorations.

I spent a long time practicing drawing bats in frosting and but every one felt like something was missing. I was about to give up and go another route when I realized what it was. Eyes! They needed eyes. I grabbed some sprinkles and very carefully placed two tiny beady eyes on each bat.

They manage to still be a little cute without being cartoonish. These would be perfect for a Halloween party or just for some who liked bats. Just imagine a dozen of these little guys at a party.

I’m debating making cupcakes for our Halloween gathering this weekend, as I make cupcakes every year. Maybe I’ll make ones with pumpkins on top. What’s your favorite way to decorate cupcakes?

Halloween Pumpkin Mantel

Generally speaking when it comes to Halloween decorations, I lean more towards the actual scary than the cute. On the other hand, I love pumpkins and I knew for our mantel I wanted a ton of pumpkins.

I bought a handful of fake pumpkins from the craft store (they never go rotten!) and went to town. I thought I’d stick with a black and white theme and at first I was tempted to make them pretty with patterned stencils, but was inspired to paint cute faces on them when we found a light up pumpkin at a Halloween store. We turned that one into a makeshift light putting it on an antique tripod.

Of course with the black and white theme, I was able to incorporate the ghosties I made.

Look at that happy pumpkin face! They were all painted with acrylic paint we had laying around the house. Pretty simple and pretty fast.

This is the just the beginnings of our decor. We have some more creepy awesome stuff that I’ll share over the next weeks. Not to mention that next weekend is our horror movie marathon and all the treats and decorations that go along with it. Can’t wait!

Lentil Loaf Sandwich

Hello! I’m back with more lentil loaf. This second recipe is even more flavorful than the last lentil loaf recipe. It doesn’t have the chewiness, but instead has a grainier texture. We ate this loaf in sandwiches, which worked out great as they were tasty and filling; perfect for a picnic lunch.

So without further ado, here is the recipe:

Vegan Lentil Loaf – take two

• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 2 cups whole wheat couscous
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp arrowroot
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 375°

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl mashing the lentils as you go. Make sure you mix everything really well.

Put into a lightly oiled loaf pan and brush the top with ketchup.

Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Easy!