Pumpkin Pasties

This is a variation of the Pumpkin Pasties recipe in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz. If you ever get a chance to get your hands on this wonderful book  - do so. It has some wonderful traditional English recipes that are delicious. These little hand pies are so simple to make that I had Joseph make them for our Monday baking to use for our afternoon snack.

Pumpkin Pasties

1 homemade pie crust or gluten free pie crust recipe
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4   cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 Tablespoons almond milk
colored sugar crystals of choice

1. Combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar,  nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

2. Make the pie crust. Roll out the pie crusts and cut into four-inch circles.

3. Put 1 - 2 Tablespoons of the pumpkin filling into one side of the pastry circles.  Then fold over and crimp the edges with a fork to seal it. Make a couple of slashes in the tops with a sharp knife to make vents.

4. Brush the top of each with the milk and sprinkle with colored sugar of choice.

5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until a golden brown.

Halloween Party 2004

This was one of our simpler parties, in our early years there were a few and as time went on they became more festive and involved.

The menu is Swamp Stew, bone bit, chocolate spider cake, spooky gingerbread house, witches hat cookies, and crunchy eyeballs.

Swamp Stew is just a basic home made stew.

Bone Bits are crackers.

Chocolate Spider Cake is a single layer 9-inch round cake and a ding dong with chocolate frosting, twizzler legs and peanut M&M eyes.

Spooky Gingerbread House was a box kit from Michael's Craft Store.

Witches Hat Cookies are flat chocolate covered cookies with a Hershey's kiss glued in the middle with left over frosting.

Crunchy Eyeballs are rice krispy treats shaped into a ball and a flat M&M poked in the middle.

Joseph is a BIG 2 this year. I know the cake looks horrid and I suppose it should it is a Halloween birthday party and Joseph wanted a spider cake - the boy likes bugs but YUCK!!

His one and only want and wish a Barney.

Baylyn and Ashley seemed to be having fun. Hey, that's that Candy Thief!!!

Halloween Birthday Party 2008

Welcome to the Black Hat Diner a place where all the elite ghoulish gather for a nip, a sip, and horribly good fun. There are only two rules. Number one - eat, drink and be scary. Number two - see number one.

This year we had a kids dress up party for Joseph's birthday. He and his big brothers are waiting not so patiently for their creepy, little friends to arrive.

The menu was simple yet yummy. Fried Rice, Wontons, Mozzarella Bites, Blue Corn Chips with Onion Dip, Carmel Corn, Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, Candied Bon-Bons, Sunset Punch, and Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting.

Sunset Punch is a mixture of 2 cans frozen orange juice concentrate, 1-2 liter of Cream Soda, 1 -2 liter of 7-Up, and 1/4 cup of grenadine syrup. Combine the juice concentrate with the two bottle s of soda in a punch bowl. Then drizzle the grenadine syrup around the inside edge of the punch bowl allowing it to drip through the mixture. For special effect I added a bloody ice hand to float about.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream Frosting recipe came from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The frosting recipe is heavenly and we are planning on using it on toast and between cookies.

The Wontons were simple. I simply made a filling of fried ground beef, onions, garlic powder and Braggs. (a really good soy sauce!) I also made a filling of chicken flavored seitan, onions and Braggs.

Then I rolled them up and fried them.

The Candied Bon-Bons were simply a red velvet cake mix that I mixed with one can of cream cheese frosting. Hand rolled into balls and refrigerated untill solid. Then I dipped them in white & chocolate candy melts and slapped sprinkles on them. I got this idea from Bakerella.

And of course I didn't have anyone back down from the table of goodies.

After dinner it was time for Joseph to blow out his big six candles. He's officially a big boy now, or so he thinks. Our big boy is the guy in the yellow hat in the picture above this one he's thirty.

Now it's time to go outside and carve the pumpkins!!!

Halloween Birthday Party 2007

This was a very easy halloween dinner for me to fix last year, very little of it was handmade in the kitchen. Usually I make nearly everything from scratch and to be honest after years of being the holiday “fixer upper” it was beginning to wear thin. I was spending all my time in the kitchen and very little with the family. So this was the first year I opted to find good eats and spend more time having good fun. The menu that I choose was kid friendly and vegetarian (I have included options for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian menu). This left me time for the all important pumpkin carving we have each year after the birthday cake and present opening. We have two birthdays the fall around Halloween my hubby on the 30th and my youngest boy on the 1st of November. So we always have a birthday/Halloween party and keep the 31st strictly for trick or treating.

Devil dogs – turkey franks or Lightlife Smart Dogs & whole wheat buns
Mystic muck – vegetarian chili
Shredded Mummy Wraps – Bavarian sauerkraut
Marsh Fire Mold – sweet relish
Milk Curds – shredded cheddar or cheddar style soy cheese
Revolting Rot – mustard
Voodoo Sticks – pickled okra
Spell Spheres – dill pickle slices
Enchanted Orbs – black olives
Bewitching Buds – pickled cauliflower
Gruesome Goo – potato Salad
Charmed Chips – tortilla/corn chips
Witchy Blend- salsa
Demon Dip – bean dip
Pond Scum – guacamole
Graveyard Gravel – Chex party mix & Fiddle Faddle mixed together
Dracula Dream Cakes – Crimson Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Moskowitz & Romero
Slime Sipper – 12 oz. frozen limeade concentrate mixed with 2 liter ginger ale and 1 tablespoons of green food coloring

Recipes that I used:

Gruesome Goo (aka. herbed potato salad)
4 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds)
2 Tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & black pepper to taste
6 Tablespoons mayonnaise or soy mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

In a large pot of water, boil the peeled potatoes until they can be pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, using a potatoes masher, mash toe potatoes to desired consistency. In a separate bowl blend together the chives, dill weed, parsley, garlic powder, salt & pepper, mayonnaise and mustard. Mix the potatoes and the herb mixture together until well blended. Put in the refrigerator for at two hours or longer. Serves 6


My Quickie Guacamole
4 pitted avocados
2 Tablespoons lime or lemon juice
½ to ½ cup chunky salsa (I use Pace)
Salt & black Pepper to taste

Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and mash up using a potato masher or fork. Add the lime or lemon juice, slat & pepper and ¼ cup of the salsa, stir to combine. Taste to see if you desire a snappier flavor, if so add another ¼ cup of the salsa, blend well. Serve immediately. Makes about 4 cups

Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes
with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

CUPCAKES~

1 cup soy milk (I use Great Value from Walmart, it has a creamier texture)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil

2 Tablespoons read food coloring

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon chocolate extract

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle.

3. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and slat into a large mixing bowl and mix.

4. Add the oil, food coloring, vanilla extract,chocolate extract, and almond extract to the curled soy milk. Whisk well to combine. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry, mixing until large lumps disappear.

5. Fill cupcakes liners about two-thirds of the way full as these cupcakes will rise fairly high. Place in a hot oven and bake 18 to 20 minutes until done, but be sure not to over bake. Let cool for a few minuets and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

FROSTING~

1/4 cup margarine, softened (I use Smart Balance Light)

1/4 cup shortening (I use Earth Balance Non-Hydrogenated)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sift if there are any clumps)

2 1/2 cups powered sugar, sifted

3 Tablespoons soy milk

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Cream together margarine and the shortening until well combined. Add the cocoa power and incorporate well. Add the powered sugar in about 1/2 cup batches and beat well, adding a little splash of soy milk after each addition. When all ingredients have been incorporated, add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy ( about 3 minutes with a hand mixer, 7 minutes if using a fork). I then put the frosting in a pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe it around the cupcake into a nice swirly pile.