Halloween Treats

As these pictures attest, I'm a huge fan of Halloween. Always have been. I love coming up with costume ideas, making them, carving pumpkins, decorating the house, and (now that we live in a house) having trick-or-treaters.

This year, Lisa and Ruth joined us for a night of pizza, cookies and candy, drinks and caramel apples.



I bought this month's Martha Stewart Living magazine, and was inspired by the treat tubes featured. I made some of my own with crepe paper streamer, some printouts from the computer, and filled them with candy and spider & skull rings. We handed them out along with glow bracelets to the 30 or so kids that came to the door.



I made up some easy pumpkin cookies, using a recipe from the New Cookbook from Better Homes & Gardens, omitting the raisins and nuts in the original.

Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tspn vanilla

Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, soda, and nutmeg. Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat til fluffy. Add egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Beat well. Add dry ingredients, beating til well combined. Drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet (or one lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat). Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.



Ruth brought all the fixins for caramel apples, made from scratch using this recipe from Recipezaar.com, and we had a great time all packed in our tiny kitchen cooking up the caramel, dipping the apples, and rolling some of them in crushed candy bars. And eating them, of course.

Caramel Apples
1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tspn vanilla
8-10 wooden sticks
8-10 medium tart apples

Insert sticks in apples. In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage), about 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Dip each apple into the hot caramel mixture, and turn to coat. Holding by the stick, sprinkle or roll in nuts or crushed/chopped candy while caramel is soft. Set on generously buttered waxed paper to cool.

Leftovers Frittata

Steak Fajita Tacos

We bought some great flatiron steak from Skagit River Ranch, a variety of beautiful peppers from Alm Hill Gardens, and made up some steak fajita tacos... but I totally forgot to take a picture.

Lamb Curry

Unintentionally Low-Fat Cranberry Orange Scones

I found this recipe on SouthernFood.About.com, but I accidentally cut the butter to 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cups. They held together okay, but it was a challenge.

Quick Breakfast

Chicken Pot Pie

Muppet Inferno Party

Eggplant Parm Sub from Ti Amo

Seasonal Sausage & Squash Thingy

Soup and Sandwich

Mexican Casserole

A lighter version of the Taco Casserole we've made in the past, using layers of corn tortillas instead of corn chips, and omitting the sour cream. We also used ground pork from Skagit River Ranch, rather than beef.

Gnocchi & Garlic Toasts

It's CornMazing!

Today, our good friend Ruth came over and we carpooled up to the Everett area to get some pumpkins and enjoy a corn maze. We had no idea how much fun we had in store for us.

Ruth had a whole list of farms to choose from, but we opted for the ominously named 'The Farm', mostly because it features a corn maze that's in the shape of Washington - with the major roads of the state cut through the corn field.



After a fairly quick drive up I-5, then over Highway 2, we found The Farm, parked, and stared in awe at how huge it is. Besides the giant corn maze and the huge pumpkin patch, the place has a petting zoo, hay rides, gift shop, a ton of food vendors, a trout fishing area, and so much more. There must've been hundreds of people there - making it a little overwhelming at first, but also giving the place this great chaotic energy. Some of the kids were even in costumes.

We started with some yummy apple cider that we carried around as we checked out the various attractions, then we got in line for the hay ride that takes you to the corn maze.



The corn maze was a blast. There's something really spooky, even at noon, about being in the middle of a corn maze. The most fun was running through sections of it, and posing for photos. Along the way, we learned some Washington State history, too - as many cities are labeled with short historical markers.

Once we'd worn ourselves out in the maze, we headed over to the pumpkin patch and picked out 4 beauties - two orange, one white, and a dark green one for me. I'm hoping to carve it with an animal skeleton design.

Afterwards, we drove into downtown Everett in search of lunch. After swinging by the Scuttlebutt (which was closed), we headed to a place "Pig" in the name, but upon parking decided to go with The Irishman, instead. It was a great choice - and just what we were craving. Burgers, beers, good music and fun, friendly, quick service. Although I failed to take pictures, I would recommend the place highly to anyone in the Everett area looking for great pub food in a casual atmosphere.

Ski Cake

For Dan's sister Lisa's birthday, I volunteered to make the birthday cake - and this year, Lisa wanted something called a Ski Cake.

It's apparently a family tradition in her good friend Laurie's family, and Lisa had it many times growing up. Laurie was kind enough to pass along the recipe, and answer some questions from me on the phone - since I'd never heard of a Ski Cake and didn't want to screw it up.



The cake itself is akin to cookies and cream, with a light white cake batter that's mixed with grated chocolate to create specks of chocolatey goodness. The cake is filled (and lightly frosted) with a Nanaimo Bar inspired filling, which Laurie's mom has adapted to use instant vanilla pudding powder, instead of egg yolks. And the whole cake is coated in a layer of melted chocolate, which hardens to keep the cake moist inside. After making and tasting it, I can see why Laurie's family is so fond of this recipe, and why Lisa wanted it this year.

Ski Cake
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar, divided
2 cups cake flour
3 tspn baking powder
2 egg whites
1 cup milk
1 tspn vanilla
2/3 cup unsweetened chocolate, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with 1/2 cup sugar until light & fluffy. Sift flour and baking powder into butter mix, alternating with milk, and ending with dry. Stir in vanilla and shaved chocolate. Seperate eggs and beat whites until very stiff. Gradually beat in other 1/2 cup sugar. Gently fold into cake batter. Pour into two 9-inch greased cake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and remove to rack.

1/2 cup butter
3 Tbspn milk
2-3 Tbspn instant vanilla pudding mix (powder, not prepared)
2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix until light and fluffy. When cake is cool, frost and fill with filling. Chill cake in refrigerator for 1 hour.

1/2 lb chocolate chips
1 Tbspn butter

Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. Pour slowly into center of cake, and use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate evenly over top and sides. Chill cake in refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove 15 minutes before serving.

Soup and Sandwiches

Quiche

Talk to La Palma!

As a special treat this week, our friend Tricia invited us to join her for dinner at La Palma - a great family Mexican restaurant on Elliot... near Ballard and near her Queen Anne home.



It was fun to go out to dinner with a friend for no other reason than to catch up. Since we're both living off Capitol Hill now, it takes a bit of intention to see friends - but also makes the times we see people more special.