Thanksgiving 2013

On Wednesday I left work early and came home to Christian and the kids and pies in the oven and pies in the making. This was the first year that Christian and I hosted Thanksgiving, minus the year we were in Brazil and had an alternative Thanksgiving. Ever since we moved to California we've been going to his aunt's house and it's always so magnificently fabulous that we've never felt the urge to host our own. But this year his aunt and uncle went to Italy and we have our new house that's big enough for such extravaganzas.

It was a lot of work but it was the good kind of work where you check things off to-do lists and your house smells so good and looks so good too because you're in a frenzy to clean it up for your guests. The kids were awesome. I made them to-do lists and they totally helped. When you say things like, "if you clean your room you get to eat as much pie as you want" they get right to work.

My whole mission was to make sure I made a moist turkey. So I brined the turkey and I soaked cheese cloth in melted butter and white wine and wrapped the turkey up. Then every half hour I would pour more of the butter and white wine mixture over the cheese cloth wrapped turkey, and it worked!

I was telling Cedar, Christian's cousin (the one holding Eliza in the picture above), that my first post ever on this blog was his sweet potato and orange puree recipe that he made the first Thanksgiving we spent in CA. That means that I'm coming up on six years of blogging.

I am thankful for blogging and am sad I don't have the time to do it as often as I would like, but because of blogging I have a job I really enjoy.

Six years later and I get to spearhead a project on the Foodie.com site and work with so many wonderful food bloggers. So many things have changed in the last two months and yesterday after having people we love and care for in our new home and sharing a meal with them, helped solidify that these changes are o.k.

Taking on a new job where I have to be in the office everyday, instead of working from home, has been a challenge. I miss my kids. Moving out of Santa Cruz, a place we love so much, to South San Francisco has been hard. We miss our friends and our community, especially our church community. Enzo has had to change schools and that has been hard for him too. He loves his new teacher but is having a hard time making new friends.

Holidays are good because they make you reflect on the past. This is our 10th Thanksgiving together, Christian and I, and we've spent most of them here in california but also in NYC, MA, and HI, all in different situations as we were moving around. The one constant was each other, and I guess the turkey too. Every year, even when we do have Thanksgiving at his aunt's house, there are always new people to share a meal with. I think that's why I love thanksgiving so much, the aspect of sharing something delicious that everyone can enjoy right there and then is amazing. It's not like Christmas where you're jealous that someone got a better gift than you, or you're annoyed that your kids are complaining about not getting enough toys. Christmas is great but there's always that element of let-down and disappointment.

So far I have never been disappointed with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner is like one big collective gift, and unlike Christmas where buying is king, with Thanksgiving homemade is better. Every year I like this holiday more and more.

Shopping Smarter with RedLaser

Last week Christian cooked breakfast for all his students, yes all 40 of them. Our house was invaded by college kids with a big appetite for crepes and homemade cinnamon rolls. When we're just cooking for our family we kind of have the drill down, but when we're cooking for a crowd we do a little extra research and planning.

I was recently introduced to the RedLaser app, which helps you shop smarter and faster. When we were planning this breakfast I used the app to search for berries and figure out which store around my area had the best price for berries.

And then I discovered the scanning feature of this app and now I'm a little obsessed scanning items so I can get a description of what's going in my shopping cart, from calories to allergens. I can find prices for things online as well as locally. My favorite is that I can shop from my phone and have the items I purchased waiting for me at the store, so I can walk in and walk out. My style of shopping.

You can download the app for free. Check it out and then start scanning things in your local supermarket, seriously addicting. Hope it helps you save some money specially during the Holiday season.



This post is brought to you by RedLaser. Get the free app at RedLaser.

Glad to be A Good Cookie

One of my favorite things to do during the Holidays is a cookie exchange. You bake a bunch of cookies and get together with friends who have also baked cookies and then you swap your treats. At the end you leave with a variety of cookies. It's that simple and that fun.

This year I've teamed up with Glad Product Company and Daily Buzz Food and stepped up my cookie exchange a notch to help the organization Cookies for Kid's Cancer.

Today Pediatric cancer is the number one cause of death by disease of children in the U.S, due in large part to the need for funding for research into new and improved therapies. Glad is proud to continue it's long-standing support of Cookies for Kid's Cancer and is calling on all of us to help by participating in their Glad Holiday Cookie Exchange.

When you register your cookie exchange Glad will donate $1 for every cookie exchanged. Yesterday we exchanged 144 cookies between 6 of us which means that not only did we get to girl talk, eat cookies, and share recipes, we were also able to raise money for a good cause. 

Thank you ladies for making yesterday so fun!

It was wonderful to come home to my kids and eat cookies with them during our afternoon snack time.

If you're planning on baking up a storm this Holiday season do consider hosting a cookie exchange and registering it with Cookies for Kid's Cancer so that for every cookie you swap Glad can donate $1 to an important cause.

If you don't have time to host a cookie exchange you can send a virtual cookie instead. It's fun and simple, and Glad will make a donation for every virtual cookie you send.

I hope you'll join in on the fun!


I have partnered with The Glad Products Company through DailyBuzz to help promote their Food Storage products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you GLAD!

Easter in Bahia

Hi,

I know that by now you've probably moved on to the next Holiday which is .... ? For us it's May 1st.  What I've noticed is that in the U.S people really look forward to the next big Holiday by stocking up the stores with decorations months in advance. Here, decorations are kept to a minimum. It's really all about stocking up on beer and music and hitting up relatives that live on the beach so you can escape the city life.

Last week we had some friends/relatives come visit us. Christian's twin's wife's brother and his family came to visit. So my sister-in-law's brother came to visit and in Brazil that's considered family. In fact there is even a term for it it's called concunhado. Is there a term for it in English too? I couldn't figure it out.

For the record Ben, my concunhado did not bring beer or loud music. I just mentioned that because that's what it seems like everyone else does to prepare for a a long weekend here. Ben only brought good things - his wife Yuki, his three kids, and his mom. We like Ben and his family a lot. We used to hang out with them when we lived in MA and they lived in NYC. In fact, they came and hung out with us in MA when Enzo was a newborn. It was his first Easter. Six years later and we've added 3 1/2 more kids between the two families.

Our guests were easy, fun, and so adventurous. Their kids eat everything. No joke. The word on the street is that French parents know what's up but after seeing Yuki, Japanese, with her kids I want to send my kids to intern at her house so they'll eat raw oysters and sea urchins.

Our Easter week was filled with beach and waterfall trips (I only went on a few, I'm still feeling more sick than not), a lot of sea food, fruit juices (I think cacau juice mostly), kids playing, capoeira, good conversations, hard boiled eggs, chocolate eggs, and good memories.

How was your Easter? Were you able to share it friends and family?

5 Foodie Gifts for the Single Ladies

Since I'm a mommy and since I write so much about my kiddies, I'm always a bit surprised that anyone besides mommies would be interested in Kitchen Corners, but as it turns out some of my most loyal readers are rad single ladies. Girls, this gift guide is for you because you know how to eat and you know that eating solo can be a real treat.


One
What: Zoku Single Pop Maker
From: Williams-Sonoma
Perfect For: The college student with the tiny freezer.
Cost: $24.95

Two
What: Perennial Mini Colander
From: Anthropologie
Perfect For: The girl who likes to cook pretty.
Cost: Between $12.00

Three
What: El Paso Quesadilla Maker

From: Sears

Perfect For: The workaholic.

Cost: $19.99

Four
What: Prep and Store Bowls - Set of 4
From: Urban Outfitters
Perfect For: The hyper organized chick.
Cost: $14.00

Five
What: Geometric Mustard Hand Printed Tea Towel
From: Amy Sullivan
Perfect For: The hip girl with the hip kitchen.
Cost: $18.00

Holiday Gift Guides 2011
// 5 Eco-Friendly Holiday Gifts for Little Foodies
// 5 Gourmet Gadgets for the Holidays
// 5 Food Gifts for the Holidays

Cool Treats for the 4th of July

I made this flag popsicle for my kids about 2 weeks ago and wish I was taking my zoku instant pop maker to Utah so I could make it again on the 4th of July for all the cousins. I'm a fan of the traditional 4th of July BBQ, but I have to admit it's mostly because of the cool desserts. 

Here is a list of some coldy desserts to keep you cool on this 4th of July

// Creamy Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

// 4th of July Ice Cream Sundaes with Cookies

// Berry Parfait

// Red White and Blue Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

// Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

// 4th of July Ice Cream sandwiches

// Watermelon Blueberry Popsicles

// Pomegranate Berry Popsicles

// Cherry Limeaid Slushies

Have a wonderful long weekend.

DIY- Turning a picture into a Valentine

Because I like food and because I like pictures I thought this idea of combining both to create a Valentine was absolutely charming. I saw it first on Design Mom, and she saw it somewhere else, and that person saw it on another blog and so the vicious cycle of copying good ideas continue.

This is a really easy project and I'll walk you through the process of editing your pictures on Picnik, a free online photo editing service I swear by, so that you can make your own picture perfect Valentine.

gluten free alfajore pops for valentine's day, dulce de leche in my pressure cooker, and a whole lot of time

Making alfajore pops took me 11 hours from start to finish. Ridiculous isn't it? On Sunday we had a great lesson in Relief Society about appreciating our time. Andrea who gave the lesson, is a mother, a wife, and a really hard worker. She's the designer behind Down East and often travels to China, Indonesia, Bolivia and around the US because of her work obligations. Yet, when Andrea is around and I get to talk to her and observe her with her family I can see that she lives by the quote that she shared in her lesson.

"Strength comes not from the frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from placing our attention and efforts on the basics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most" - Dieter F. Uchdorf

Andrea encouraged us to log how we spend our time this week. Last night when the kids were finally asleep, Christian was working on his research, and I had settled down in front of my computer to edit pictures, I saw the log and put it aside. There was no way I was documenting the embarrassing fact that it had taken me 11 hours to make some Valentine's Day treats. Somehow alfajores, even though I think they're glorious, just doesn't seem like something Uchdorf had in mind when he was talking about paying attention to the divine thing that matter most.

So I started going through the pictures I had taken of the day and right there on my screen was little Maria staring back at me. We had been up since 6:30 am, reading books on my bed, browsing different Pandora stations, taking silly pictures, and making dulce de leche in preparation for the alfajores I wanted to make. Suddenly I felt so grateful for the full day I just had, for the fact that I was able to parent my kids even through their crazies (and my crazies), and for my friends who kept coming by and helping me stay grounded throughout the laborious task of making alfajore pops.

Kitchen Corners Holiday Gift Guide {for the babes}

Baby Maria might grow up to be a pilot one day, but for now her navigation is a little off. That's not to say she's not enjoying her  airplane spoon. ThinkGeek sent baby Maria the coolest bib and spoon ever for a Holiday present. Thank you ThinkGeek, do you make the illuminating bib in any larger size? I know a 4 year old who could really use a bib sometimes and is in love with this one.

Speaking of Holidays and kids I put together a Holiday gift guide with the help of some foodie mamas.

1. Super Baby Food. Ruth from The Mom is amazing. I've been following her story as she and her baby Davy embark on a series of treatments and surgeries to repair Davy's cleft pallet. Ruth is a mother of 4 and is all about making your own baby food. That's why she loves the Super Baby Food book and recommends it. However. Davy is unable to eat solids right now so Ruth feeds her through this feeding tube. If you're a mom with a baby who has a cleft pallet or similar feeding challenges I really recommend visiting Ruth's blog and getting in contact with her. I've send her so many e-mails over the last couple of months asking her questions and trying to learn more about cleft pallets in general and she is great at responding. Thanks Ruth for your beautiful blog.

2. Combi Mommy's Food Processor. I had never heard of this product before but Lisa from Korean American Mommy told me it's one of her favorites.

3. Woodland Bib Set. I do {heart} a good etsy store and Cassandra Ellen, one of my favorite children's books illustrator has an eye for pretty and introduced me to this shop that makes beautiful handmade bibs.

4. Smiling Planet Fairies Fly Plate. Ana, my talented blog designer from Live and Enliven loves Smiling Planet. I don't blame her, so do I. In fact-o this week's giveaway is sponsored by Smiling Planet. Bonus.

5. Foogo Thermos. Mariko from The Little Foodie has been telling me for, what Mariko 2 years know [?!], about the wonders of Foogo. 

6. First Years Breast Flow Bottles. Ashlee from Ash & Lew Plus 2 loves these bottles and still uses them with her twins she said it really helped them with nipple confusion.

7. In the Pocket Baby Seat. I'm seriously hoping I can get this before we go on our trip to Hawaii. Luise from Green Kitchen Stories introduced this to me and totally raves about it's awesomeness. Luise and David and their baby Elsa are traveling the world for the next 6 months so this seat that folds up pocket sized has totally come in handy. 

8. Milk Bands. I think these would be the perfect stocking stuffer for breastfeeding moms. I need to show this to Christian, he'll smile politely much like he did when I was breast feeding baby Maria and would constantly feel my breasts in public to see which one had more milk. I could never remember which side was next. 

9. The Nursing Mother's Companion. Again, Mariko from The Little Foodie says that this is a must have for all breast feeding moms. So dads, go get this for your pregnant wife for Christmas.

What about you, are there any kids feeding products that you absolutely love and would recommend for a Holiday gift?

Still Thankful

I've spend the better part of this morning reading about your Thanksgiving. What fun. Some of you cooked a fusion between Japanese and American food. Others did a beautiful tropical center piece and a Thanksgiving feast spiced with some Brazilian flavah. Did no one make a turducken?  Did I even write that correctly?  Speaking of writing I'm in love with Erin because she's in love with her husband. That definitely didn't sound right, but  I don't know how else to put it. Erin Jane's blog just makes me happy and I think it's simply charming how she adores her Conor and creates beautiful things for him, including his Thanksgiving name card.

I'm not above Black Friday or consumption in general, but I do find it ironic how Thanksgiving is a day of pure gratitude and then in less than 24 hours people are waiting outside the doors of big mega stores to buy things. I guess it makes sense to have a Holiday where we can be thankful for our privileged lives.

 Last year I didn't wake up at 4:00am to be in front of Toys'R'Us to buy Enzo a video game that was on sale but I did go to Toys'R'Us after breakfast to buy diapers that normally cost $20 for $5, and a SD card that normally costs $30 for $3. Here is me taking a moment to thank the Toys'R'Us workers.

Thanks you Toys'R'Us workers and thank you people who work in factories to make disposable diapers and SD cards.

Today is Monday and we're having the last of the turkey and mashed potatoes for lunch. After lunch there will be no more trace of Thanksgiving. Fim. But before we move on to Hanukkah and Christmas shopping and New Years (in my case, also Christian's Birthday) I'd like to take a minute to express what I'm thankful for today.

Christian: thank you for driving back to the safeway parking lot just now to try and find Maria's missing  boot.

Enzo: Thank you for loving preschool. It makes my mom guilt drop to almost zero every time I drop you off in the morning.

Baby Maria: Thank you for eating the rest of my soggy cereal. I love your 7 little teeth.

Bloggers: Thanks for writing your blogs. I know how much time it takes and I'm always so impressed with your dedication, your attention to details, and the time you take to share a piece of your life. Your writing inspires me day in and day out.

Readers: Thank you times a million. You are the reason why I come back.

xoxo,

have a lovely Monday.

Foodbuzz 24x24: Dear Santa, I know what you eat in the North Pole

Sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. Are you surprised? Look at the size of his jolly ol' belly.

 Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the Christmas season in our home. It's a good transition because we write letters to Santa that starts out with "Dear Santa, I'm thankful for...." then there's the mom line "I need..." where I expect everyone to write socks and underwear, and Ina Garten's new cookbook even though Christian is trying to convince me to put the cookbook under  the "I want..." section of the letter.

This year we hosted a writing letters to Santa party and made some treats that we came up with, things that in Enzo's imagination Santa eats and shares with Mama Santa and their elves.  

A couple years ago I was introduced to stained glass cookies. I think they're magical  and becaue Enzo is a huge fan of snow globes we made snow globes out of the stained glass cookies by putting them in a jar and adding shredded coconut. This was Enzo's favorite treat. 

The caramel popcorn lollipops were so fun to make and Christian's 6 layer cake was incredibly difficult to make but he did it all so I can't complain. Enzo wanted it to represent the North Pole where mountains are made out of coco puffs and there are lots of piles of sweet snow to munch on.

Next year we'll make sure to let Santa know that we're throwing a party in his honor and ask him to come. I bet if he came my kids would be in their best behavior. Here is a behind the scenes video. Enzo and Maria, naughty or nice?

This was such a fun little party and I have Foodbuzz to thank for picking my idea to be featured in this month's Foodbuzz 24x24 event. I {heart} you Foodbuzz. If Foodbuzz wrote a letter to Santa I wonder what they would ask for?

Do you write letters to Santa?

If so what's your Christmas wish?

Interview with Melissa d'Arabian and a Thanksgiving leftover recipe

I had a phone chat with Melissa d'Arabian, the Food Network Star behind Ten Dollar Dinners, a couple weeks ago. I told her I have two kids. She told me she has four. Who's your mama?! Melissa was awesome to talk to. So enthusiastic and  practical and gave me some good advice on what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers.  

Tomorrow you're all going to be cooking and eating the year's most important meal. No pressure.  It will be fun, don't worry. You'll work super hard then eat super hard and then on Friday you'll have all the left overs to deal with. I mean, to enjoy.

Melissa's advice on using up leftovers is basically to give the leftovers a different flavor profile. Make something else entirely new. Instead of just heating up your turkey and mashed potatoes and eating a second Thanksgiving meal, she suggests that you use the leftover ingredients to create a new dish, for example make a cranberry salsa from your left over cranberry sauce.

Melissa d'Arabian Cranberry Salsa

(printable version)

• 1/2 cup canned whole cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• zest and juice of one lime
• 1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
• 1 white onion coarsely chopped and microwaved for 1 minute
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup Mexican-flavored canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

serving suggestion: serve with Turkey Taquitos, recipe follows

Place the cranberry sauce, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, onion, red pepper, green pepper, tomatoes, and salt, and pepper to taste in a food processor and pulse until blended, but still chunky. Serve with Turkey Taquitos.

What are you planning on making with your Thanksgiving leftovers, any ideas?
Happy Thanksgiving.
See you back here on Friday.

Popcorn Turkey

Basically I think this popcorn turkey is king. As a family that consumes popcorn almost on a daily basis I guarantee my kids would be stoked to make this on Thanksgiving.

Brittany has an insanely beautiful blog called One Charming Party which will make you ditch Thanksgiving and throw a birthday party for a small child. Brittany is pure talent and as such she shared a tutorial on how to make this popcorn turkey.

Go forth and craft.

(photo source: Say Yes to Hoboken)

Turkey Cupcake Tutorial and a Werther's Original Caramel Package Giveaway.

Go ahead and say it.

My turkey cupcake rocks.

I could never come up with something so elaborate, specially for cupcakes.  Cupcakes are the new thongs and to be honest with you I don't really even like thongs, so it's hard for me to understand what the whole cupcake craze is all about.  Last week, though, I did go to a cupcake decorating class and I was all like "oh, I get it"

They're fun to decorate if nothing else.

For this cupcake you're going to need caramels, lots and lots of caramels. Maybe not lots and and lots but enough to make your turkey and enough to eat while you're making the turkey. Here is where Werther's original comes in.

These guys (and gals) make the best caramel in the world, unless you make the best caramel in the world in which case send me some! Werther's sent our family a package of  caramels and caramel chocolate and chewey caramels and then some more caramel in the mail and they're going to send a similar package to a Kitchen Corners' reader.  Basically what you're going to want to do is eat all the caramel chocolate before anyone else in your family finds it. Then you're going to save the hard caramels for special ocassions and then you're going to bust out the chewey caramels to make turkey cupcakes, of course.

Heat up a couple chewey caramels for 5 seconds in the microwave. Now that it's soft you can play with it. Roll it out and into circle shapes. Then cut a foot ball shape out of each circle. That's what you're going to use to make the body of the Turkey. Use two small balls of the soft caramel and pretzel sticks to mold  the drumsticks. Place the drumsticks on there with a little bit of water. Then decorate the sides with candy so that it looks like a turkey dinner. The stuffing is frozen pound cake chopped up into tiny squares.

Seriously, it's pretty easy.

By the time this giveaway is over Thanksgiving will be a memory. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with some Christmas cupcake though using soft caramels and a ridiculous amount of frosting.

Have a fun weekend.
See you back here on Monday where I'll announce the cook off winner.
xoxo

To Enter: You have to be a Kitchen Corners follower. If you're already a follower leave a comment saying hi. If you're a new follower leave a comment introducing yourself and if you have a blog and would like to leave your url please do so. I enjoy meeting my readers! Please make sure your comments link back to an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

+1 more comment: You can get more entries by subscribing via RSS or e-mail to Kitchen Corner's feeds. 

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+1 more comment: Share this giveaway! Sharing buttons are right below this post. Just leave a comment telling me how you shared.

Giveaway closes: Midnight PST Thursday November 25th. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and announced next Friday.


post-edit: The giveaway winner is the lovely lady behind the blog The Wife of a Dairyman.

Don't come to me for traditional Thanksgiving tips

Enzo has been able to claim the Holiday longer than I have. I've only been a US citizen for two years. I'm a newbie. I don't particularly like pumpkin pie. Turkey is my least favorite meat. Last month I received a box full of Betty Crocker instant mashed potatoes mix and was personally offended. I only eat mashed potatoes made by yours truly with real potatoes and a substantial amount of heavy cream.  I've had one good stuffing my whole entire life. It was made by my sis-in-law Amy, who doesn't even check her e-mails so there's no way you're getting a recipe out of her.

But I do enjoy the Holiday.

I love the abundance of food and cooking. I love the fact that gifts aren't a distraction and that it's all about family, friends, and good company. Except when it's not, and those stories are always fun to tell.

This past Sunday we helped organize an early Thanksgiving dinner that fed over 150 people.  For the last 4 years we've helped organize this dinner for the residents who live at Family Student Housing up at the UCSC campus. We have residents from China, Japan, India, Korea, Mexico, Argentina, to name a few. Oh, and of course Brazil. Holla!

So we serve your traditional Thanksgiving dinner with some variation. Our friend Danny made teriyaki turkey and I don't think I can ever go back to plain old turkey. Ever.

This year we hired a group of Chinese Lion Dancers to do the entertainment. Lion dancers pairs perfectly with  turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Who would of thunk it?

Baby Maria and her friend Baby Bella wanted to crawl up on stage the whole time. Enzo ran to the back of the dinning hall and curled up in a ball. He hates loud noises. You would never have guessed if you've ever heard him speak in his one volume. Loud.

Next week we're driving up to Christian's aunts house. It will be lovely because it always is. We'll eat too much and then we'll jump on the trampoline to get the full effect. I can't wait.

I  wish I could give you tips on how to perfectly make your turkey. If you really want my mashed potato recipe I can share but keep in mind that it screams FAT. I did however, get the chance to have a phone conference interview with Melissa d'Arabian from the food network show Ten  Dollar Dinners who had some awesome Thanksgiving tips to share. There's a reason why these people are stars. When another blogger asked her what was the most expensive food she had in her pantry she replied "the most expensive food anyone has in their pantry is the one they throw away." I immediately called out to christian, "Dude, your best friend is on the phone"

I'll share her Thanksgiving tips with you soon.
Promise.

Last Minute Halloween Fun

I just got back from doing a cooking class with Enzo's preschool friends. We made Monster Egg Eyes which is always a hit and the kids got really into it. Can I just add that preschool teachers are priceless?! Their patience and energy is inspiring. 

Tonight I'm in charge of family fun night. I think we're making the pasta skeletons that I spotted at The Coterie Blog. Don't they look like fun?

Speaking of fun do you know who the official pumpkin carver in the white house is?  His stuff blew me away!

In other news, Enzo and I shared an easy orange-o-lantern recipe today at Bloesem Kids. If your little ones are dying to make Halloween themed treats make this one. It will take you less than 10 minutes guaranteed.

Have a Happy Halloween.
Come back a little latter for a giveaway that will make you feel like dancing, literally!
xoxo

Halloween Snacks

Enzo has a Halloween party at his preschool and I have to bring a snack to share with the class. I might just bring the monster eyes but I kind of want to make something new.

I like the snack-o-lanterns because it's made from short grain rice cooked in carrot juice, which I personally think would taste delish, with the green pepper on top...yum. It's the type of snack that some kids would love but others would hate but the teachers would appreciate the no sugar factor for sure.

The orange smoothie is super basic and would be an all around hit. I would use plastic cups and maybe substitute the orange sugar crystals for purple crystals, something I have in my pantry left over from Easter and if I don't use it now it's going bye-bye real soon.

Which one do you vote for?

(photo source)

Pumpkin Brunch

(photo source)

I'm so happy Halloween is on a Sunday this year. Sundays are my one day off. Yesterday was blissful, so restful and blissful. I refuse to do work on Sundays, I even try to stay away from the computer. It's the one day where I get to focus on my family and do some fun cooking projects with them without feeling rushed. In fact our Sunday was pretty great, and we made some wonderful treats and picked a cook off winner (more on that later). On Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch and bought over 30 pumpkins. On Sunday night we hosted a pumpkin decorating party. It was crazy, but I'm still not pumpkined out.

In fact this pumpkin brunch that I recently spotted on Design*Sponge has inspired me to make even more pumpkin things. I never thought of making pumpkin pancakes before but now I will. Pumpkin and maple syrup sounds like a great combo with bacon of course.

We're pretty excited for Halloween. Baby Maria finally has a costume, she will be a wild chicken. Enzo puts on his pirate costume multiple times a day. I know he's ready. He's been ready. He was born ready for Halloween. In the morning we're going to a kid friendly Halloween brunch with our friends. I think it will be a riot. Not sure how we're going to keep food from falling on their costumes. I guess stains will just add to the scare factor of the day.

What are your meal plans for Halloween?

ps. Hope you had a great weekend too.

Painted Pumpkins

(photo source)

Have you bought pumpkins already this year? Normally we do it in the beginning of the month but the beginning of the month was 90*F. I was sipping ice cold lemonade and could not wrap my mind around going to a pumpkin farm in the sweltering heat of .... October!

The weather has now taken a turn for the worst (I hate cold, hate it) so I can finally start thinking about getting the kids all warm-y in their sweaters and heading out to the local pumpkin farm.

This weekend we'll go for sure.

Family Circle has great Halloween ideas, including a series of tutorials on painting pumpkins. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin carving because Enzo wants to do the carving and I don't really like giving him sharp objects. I'm thinking of busting out the paint instead and letting him go at it. I do have to say that the white ghost pumpkins are my favorite and the green squares are also pretty cool. Maybe Christian and I will do the carving and Enzo can do the painting.

Here are the links if you want to go at it with your paint.
Scaredy Cat pumpkins
ghost pumpkins
geometric patterned pumpkin
family initial pumpkin

Are you a pumpkin carving type or  a pumpkin painting type?

Spooky Sandwiches

These are spooky peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that I shaped using Halloween cookie cutters. I added round sprinkles for the eyes. Everything took me less than five minutes to make with Enzo's help and yes we had this as a legitimate meal.

Then we made them again with egg salad inside. Then we made it again with ham and cheese. Basically we've been eating a lot of sandwiches lately.