I am soo lucky

Firstly I apologise that I haven't done any more Halloween posts.  I am disappointed that we won't be able to join in the fun this year as Little Mr has a party to go to which I need to attend also. This means I can't put any decorations up as people will knock if they see them up and we will be out )-: I am still planning on doing a small Halloween themed buffet tea just for us and of course a pumpkin will have to be carved (I need to make pumpkin pie and roasted pumpkin seeds).

I am undecided if I will take Little Mr trick or treating, we could go on our way back from the party, but I will feel guilty if he get sweets from others but I am not giving any out myself.

Anyway back to the reason for my post. I can't believe how lucky I have been I have won 2 (yes 2) blog giveaways, the first one some lovely hair grips from Miss Marple Makes she had the most unique way of choosing a winner, I have pippin to thank for my prize. I am sorry I am unable to show a picture but my memory card seems to have decided to shop working, but you can find examples of what I won in her shop.

Then a few days later Sophie from The trinket box told me I had won her giveaway too, she makes gorgeous jewellery out of silver art clay. I should receive a parcel from her this week.  I will get myself a new memory card so next blog I will be able to post pictures.

I did buy a lottery ticket yesterday hoping that winning happens in threes but alas I didn't win that.

Getting ready for Halloween - Blog 3

These are the final 2 recipes I will share from the Morrisons magazine

Worms, maggots and flies

• 550g jar frankfurters

• 400g can black beans

• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup

• 1 Mini Babybel

1 Drain the frankfurters and shred them into long lengths.

2 Place the beans in a pan and heat gently. Strain then return to the pan with the ketchup and stir well. Pile the shredded frankfurters on top, cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and heat gently for 5 minutes without stirring.

3 Carefully lift the frankfurters off the top of the beans and set to one side. Pile the beans into the center of a serving plate and top with the frankfurters.

4 Cut the Mini Babybel into quarters and push through a garlic crusher to form the ‘maggots’. Scatter the maggots

over the top of the frankfurter ‘worms’ and black bean ‘flies’.

I do not have a clue what black beans are, whatever there are I am sure its not something Little Mr would not eat so I will use baked beans with a bit of black food colouring instead.

Spider eggs

• 4 eggs

• 50g soft cheese

• 1 tbsp mayonnaise

• 50g Red Leicester, grated

• 4 black olives, pitted

• small piece red pepper, cut into 8 tiny pieces 

1 Place the eggs in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold running water for 2 minutes then peel the shells off.

2 Cut each egg in half and carefully scoop out the yolks into a small mixing bowl. Add the soft cheese, mayonnaise and Red Leicester and beat together well.  Use the cheese mixture to re-fill the eggs

3 Cut the olives in half. Place one half in the center of the eggs then slice the other half very thinly to form spider legs. Use bits of red pepper to form the eyes.

I do not blog at the weekends so next post will be Monday. Over the weekend Little Mr and I will be making some decorations for Halloween.

Getting ready for Halloween - Blog 2

Yesterday I found out that they might put something on at Little Mr's school on Halloween night so now not sure what we are doing. Today's installment is another recipe from the morrisons magazine.

Worms in toffee apples

• 8 Royal Gala apples

• 450g caster sugar

• 50g butter

• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp clear honey

To decorate

• 200g bag jelly snakes

• few drops green and black

food colouring

• 50g white ready to roll icing

icing sugar, for dusting

• ½ pack Oreo biscuits, crushed

1 To make the toffee apples, place the apples on a baking tray lined with a sheet of non-stick baking parchment.

2 Place the sugar, butter, vinegar and honey in a large non-stick pan with 150ml water. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat and boil for 10 minutes until the mixture turns to toffee. (Test frequently towards the end of the cooking time; when it is ready the toffee will be a golden colour and a small drop will harden immediately when lowered into ice cold water.) The mixture will be very hot so take care.

3 Skewer the apples then remove the toffee from the heat. Working quickly so the toffee doesn’t set, dip each apple into the toffee to coat evenly. Transfer to the baking tray to cool and harden, then remove the skewers.

4 To decorate, make 2-3 small holes in each apple and push a jelly snake into the holes (these will become ‘worms’). Trim the snakes to achieve different lengths.

5 Remove a tiny knob (about 1cm) from the icing. Roll into 8 tiny stalks and paint with black food colouring*. Knead the green food colouring into the rest of the icing and roll out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Cut out leaves and press the stalks and leaves on top of each apple. To serve, spread the crushed Oreo biscuits out on a serving plate or platter (this will look like mud) then sit the toffee apples on top. You could also poke a few jelly snakes into the ‘mud’.

Getting ready for Halloween - Blog 1

I like Halloween, I decorate the house and last year I did a buffet style tea and invited a few people round, we played games It was great fun.  I hope to do the same this year but we will see how things go. I plan to do a series of blog posts on this as I have lots of recipes and ideas to share, some of them I did last year, some of them are new ones I hope to try this year. I will post every day until I have listed everything.
Before I start I would just like to point out that not everyone (especially the elderly) enjoys Halloween.  When my Nan who was in her nineties was alive, she hated it, she found it difficult to walk to answer the door and was terrified when the kids came to knock. If you are going trick or treating please respect that some people do not like to be disturbed. Only knock on houses that have pumpkins placed outside, this way you will not upset anyone and are guaranteed that those people will be expecting you, and hopefully have treats waiting. Also remember not say out too late, the later you are out, the more the elderly panic.

Right I will start off with a new recipe, I have not tried this one, I found it in the morrisons magazine

Witches’ fingers

• 250g plain flour

• 100g butter

• 75g Red Leicester, finely grated

• 30g sesame seeds

• 4-5 tbsp milk, plus extra for glazing

• ½ red pepper, deseeded

• ½ green pepper, deseeded

To serve

• 3 x 30g pot cress

 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture

resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the Red Leicester and sesame seeds, then add enough cold milk to form a soft
dough.

2 Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into 16 lengths. Roll each length lightly between

your palms to form a ‘finger’. Lift onto a baking tray and brush with a little milk.

3 Use a small knife or scissors to cut out red and green ‘nails’ from the peppers and press into each finger. Bake

for 20 minutes, until crisp and golden.

4 To serve, place the pots of cress on a board and push the fingers into it.

(As always I am on a budget so I will do this with out the cress and just put the fingers on a plate)

                                        
Remember to check back tomorrow for the next recipe.