Pumpkin Carving and Poe - Muppet Style

Thought the Halloween Countdown was a good time to go 'back in time' and visit the The Muppets on Halloween!   

First up is the Muppet Halloween short... 

"Zero Mostel reads Poe"...in honor of today's Winners of The Halloween Tree, Edgar Allan Poe Book Give-Away!   

Laugh along as the comedian's fears are "counted and compelled", so they can "quickly be dispelled"! 

And next up is the Swedish Chef who's looking to carve himself up some Jack O'Lanterns and turn them into tasty Pumpkin Pies....but the Jacks have a plan to stave off the massacre.  See who claims victory in this Halloween themed retro short...viewer discretion is advised.

"Swedish Chef Carves Pumpkins"!

Oh My Pumpkin Seeds!

Oh my Pumpkin Seeds!  I have just discovered the tastiest Fall Tidbits ever.  And being the crafty lil' Good Witch that I am (most of the time), I just couldn't help but start mixin' up ingredients in my apothecary kitchen and creating a whole new bowl of YUMMY!  Okay...I bet you are just dying to know what I conjured up, so I'll tell you.  First of all, I discovered a new Fall product at Trader Joe's.  Of course for me, everything at Trader Joe's is new however....because we just got our very first store here this Summer....woo hoo!  So when I was there on Monday trying to find my trail mix, I stumbled upon Trader Joe's Spiced Pumpkin Seeds.  Of course the word 'spice' immediately sends up a red flag for me, because I do not like hot and spicy anything.  And I figured they probably had some kind of Chipolte or Cayenne Pepper on them.  But luckily I am also a curious and resourceful lil' witch, so I checked the ingredients.  And lo and behold, the 'spice' in these babies is of the 'sweet' variety....like allspice and cinnamon.  Now we're talkin'!  But still being ever so cautious, I decided to buy just two bags in case I hated them, knowing the Hubby human Hoover would eat whatever I refused to, because he's not picky and he hates to waste food/money. Good man!

Now I must backtrack to our other favorite Fall treat...Publix Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream.  That is some tasty tasty stuff with bits of real pie crust and ribbons of whip cream in it.  We'd already picked up about 5 cartons of it when it was on sale, because that's how we roll.  Did I mention that there are also currently 10+ bottles of that International Delights SF/FF Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer that I mentioned in an earlier post, sitting pretty in our second refrigerator?  Yeah....that crap was too hard to obtain for too long, so when we finally found a well stocked cooler....we cleaned them out!  Where was I?  Oh yes...my new magically delicious concoction of Autumn Deliciousness.  

So when I finally got a handful of those Spiced Pumpkin Seeds in my mouth, I was in Pepita Paradise....omg, they are SO freakin' scrumptious and pretty much highly addictive as well  Also, these are the 'shelled' pumpkin seeds I'm talking about...not those nasty in the hull ones.  Anyway....the light bulb in my head goes off, and I think to myself...what a wonderful world these tasty tidbits would make an incredible topping for my Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream!  So I got right on that....and the rest is Halloween History in this house.  

 Everyone loved it....in fact we probably love it TOO much, but it is what it is.  So needless to say, I sent the Hubster back over to Trader Joe's first thing the next morning with a standing order of 'every bag on the shelf'.  And in true Hubster fashion, he brought me back just 6 out of  the 30 available bags....curse him!  That's okay...he'll just be making more trips like he had to do for the creamer, until he finally broke down and stocked up like I told him to begin with!  So for those of you with a Trader Joe's anywhere near you, get over there and get some now.  As for the Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, Publix is a Florida only store I believe, but Trader Joe's has their brand of  Pumpkin Ice Cream too, and I'm sure your local grocers do as well.  And don't forget to add your Spiced Pumpkin Seed Topper!  You can thank me later for Brewin' this up!

 

And So It Begins...the Pumpkin is Back!

And so it begins....bring on the Autumn Season!
What a most wickedly wonderful surprise I woke up to this morning, thanks to my dear hubby!  I opened the refrigerator doors to discover the First Pumpkin Goodies of the Halloween Season.  Bye-bye sugar-free Hazelnut coffee creamer...you have officially been replaced until further notice by a brand new fat-free/sugar-free Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee Creamer by International Delight!  In the past I've always used Coffee Mate sugar-free Pumpkin Spice creamer because it's the only Pumpkin flavored one we could find that was also sugar-free.  But this year International Delight has stepped up its game and actually beat Coffee Mate to the grocery store...at least with the sugar-free version.  And as I sit here typing, and sipping from my Owl mug, I can attest to its Pumpkin Pie Tastiness! 

And as if that man didn't already score enough brownie points with me today...my new creamer was flanked with Limited Edition Pumpkin Pie Yogurt - Light, from Yoplait!  How cool is that?!  I have not sampled the yogurt yet, so I can't report on its tastiness as of this writing, but truly how bad can anything with a lil' pumpkin in it really be?!  I am super excited to give this stuff a try, and plan on doing just that at lunch today, but the more important point of today's post is that it is officially The Season of the Autumn People....at least in the grocery stores....woo hoo!  I should also mention that the hubster also brought home a bag of Pepperidge Farms Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies the other day too, in case anyone is interested in checking them out. I was skeptical at first, but they were moist and soft and quite yummy...however there are only 8 cookies in the bag and with 5 people clamoring to try them....the whole bag was decimated within about 5 minutes!  Hence, why there is no photo evidence of it's existence!  All the more reason to go buy some more!  Would love to know what the rest of you are finding in your area grocers...so please be sure to post! 

Halloween 2012 Recap and Apology!

Well the New Year has begun for some.  All Hallow's Eve sets the great wheel of time in motion and with it the old year dies and passes away, while a new year full of opportunities is born.  So with any New Year, I feel I should reflect on what I learned.  So I will give my Halloween Recap in today's post.  And this is a long post because I need to provide myself a record of this year.  Why am I recapping now?  Well because for me this October was somewhat of a FAIL, at least in some respects.  For instance, before the month ever arrived, I was already swamped with obligations involving work, school and volleyball.  I had intended to do lots of crafting and prepping for the upcoming Fall season during the hot summer months but alas the summer was wrought with needy family members, sickness and relentless volleyball activities.  So I got nothing done and was already starting out behind schedule. :o(

I must also now confess and apologize for being a complete failure with the Halloween Countdown this year.  I never want to skip out on it because it is an important part of my Fall ritual, but this year I was unprepared and quite a failure.  Actually, I thought I was doing good, with 5-6 posts already done and ready to go.  However,  I had to use those while on vacation since I can't work from up there.  Also, I've had a bit of a time getting used to the new blogger changes which I do not like.  So when I got home from vacation, I had no posts done, and VERY LITTLE time to work on them.  Usually, I have at least SOME time, to get something whipped out each day....but not this year.  It was very difficult to find the time, and that was causing me a good deal of unhappiness and anxiety.  So there are many days with no posts, and all I can do is apologize for coming up short.  I vow to do better next year.  I am going to prepare a couple of posts each month and save them, so they are ready to go for next year.  I had so much stuff to share too, lots of great photos from my travels, poems and art, etc.  So I hope that I will be more on my game next Halloween season, and I hope that I can be forgiven!

I don't know about the rest of you, but September is almost more fun than October for me.  September is Pre-Halloween....the build-up!  The month of anticipation and preparation.  But I was barely able to do anything because of all the other requirements coming from the school and sports.  I've never been a big sports fan because I'm not athletic, but this year I grew to loathe them!  They truly believe that the sport is the ONLY thing that should matter in your life. So needless to say, our annual Autumn trip to New England in the middle of the VB season did NOT go over well.  But I told them last year that it was an annual event for us and we would ALWAYS try to take it at that same time.  So that drew in some negative energy.  And as a result, I am seriously rethinking our involvement. 

(I don't know about other folks, 

but this is what I see when I look at a Volleyball!)

Then the Florida Highschool Sports Association, in all their UN-infinite wisdom, scheduled a play-off game on Halloween night!  NOT because the week was packed with games and they had no choice....NO, there were NO OTHER GAMES scheduled for any of the 4 other days that week....NONE!  Just one on Halloween night!  WHO DOES THAT CRAP!  Obviously there was someone who dislikes Halloween making those decisions, and they decided to ruin it for everyone.  I intend to write them a very stern letter about this too.  So my son was upset because he thought he'd have to miss Halloween for his sister's game.  But we agreed that she'd have to go on her own with the team instead of us taking her. I can't tell you the negative effect this had on my mindset this year.  I was so bummed, that I almost couldn't get out of my funk to even pretend to enjoy anything else.  But on a positive note (depending on your perspective), as the fickle finger of fate would have it....her team lost when they shouldn't have, and they were out of the playoffs just before Halloween!  So the rest of us were quasi-happy, and we all got to be home for Halloween.

But with all my good plans, I got pretty much NOTHING accomplished this whole season.  I did put up the Apothecary and most everything inside, but not until the first of October.  I usually have it all up by Labor Day.  And the front yard had nothing in it at all until 3 days before Halloween.  That doesn't usually happen either. So I shall take stock of what I was able to accomplish and enjoy.  We did go to New England and Zipline, and the weather was so cold; there were actually a few small snow flurries while we were there.  We did go to Salem, (aka HalloweenTown) and  because we went later in the season, the color down there was really beautiful.  We went to the farms and ate apple cider donuts, fresh apples, hot spiced cider and pumpkin treats a-plenty.  We watched several of my favorite Halloween shows, including Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Halloween Tree, The Good Witch and a few others.  We had lots of autumn breakfasts filled with pumpkin donuts and pumpkin coffee.  We got to do a small 'Corn Maze' and do some small scale 'Punkin' Chunkin' too! 

AND....for the first time in a while, I was actually able to carve my own pumpkin this year!  In years past, we always have a big Pumpkin Carving Party which means I am working my butt off attending to the needs of all the party guests.  And as such, I am unable to sit down and actually enjoy the festivities myself.  That's the burden I choose to bare as the Official Halloween Cheer-Meister in my area.  And with the kids' new school schedule, and the relentless onslaught of our daughter's Fall Volleyball schedule, we have been unable to host a big party for the last two years.  The high school actually scheduled all the Homecoming activities for the last week before Halloween this year, with a Saturday night Homecoming Dance on the night we usually have our party.  CURSE THEM!  And of course our daughter wanted to go, which made a big party impossible!  (Have I mentioned how incredibly distraught I am over the havoc the school continues to wreak on my month long Halloween Celebration?!)  So there was no party of course, but there were a few days left before Halloween.    And the weather here was quite chilly and autumn perfect, so we made hot Potato Bacon Cheese soup and carved our Pumpkins...just the 4 of us!  So I actually got to get my hands down in the pumpkin guts and carve that baby myself, which was a complete joy for me!  I sprinkled their lids with cinnamon, brought them all inside, and lit them up to add to the ambience.  Here they are...nothing spectacular, but it sure was fun!  (There are only 3 because my husband just helped us with the hard parts that we didn't want to do...ha!)

And finally, All Hallow's Eve was upon us....WAY too quickly, but it arrived at last.  We had 14 family members over to the house.  The weather was fantastic this year and was cool enough for Chili and cornbread muffins.  We had pumpkin chocolate chip bread, spiced cider, ghost cupcakes, and smores. The kids were decked out as zombies and a witch doctor.  The Golf Cart got a few new additions this year....notably, one of my Skeleton crew decided to hitch a ride on the roof....yes, beware of hitchhiking ghosts skeletons!  And he was quite the talk of the busy streets.  We even had people taking pictures of us which was a little disconcerting...ha!

Also we were told, that next to the Haunted House, we were the best house in the area and people were stopping to take photos of themselves and their kids in front of our Graveyard, Man-eating Spider and Lord of the Harvest Scarecrow.  So that fills my wicked lil' heart with much happiness and makes it all worth it!  :o)

We live in the back of the neighborhood.  And what's so magical about our little area is that the day before Halloween you'll see very little stuff in any of the yards (except ours), and the streets are empty except for the kids who live back here. Sometimes I even wonder to myself if this is the year that no one will show up or bother with Halloween.  But it never fails....a Magical Halloween Wind blows in overnight and come 7:00 pm on All Hallow's Eve, this place has mysteriously transformed into Halloween Central.  I am SO LUCKY to live right here.  And I'm not talking about just our neighborhood as a whole, which is really huge....but back in our section, where the night really comes alive...or DEAD!.  Yes, THIS is where the Magic Happens!!!  I've said it a bunch, but my neighbors never disappoint.  And our area's reputation has grown so big, that we now have city police posting no parking signs on the grass down the main entrance into our 'hood'!  

Yes, they come from far and wide.  Masses of people....the 'nubile young', the 'roudy raunchy teens' and the 'older than dirt' alike!  They come in by car, foot, bike, tractors, hayrides and this year....even a BUS!  I kid you not, a small bus towing a hay wagon filled with people behind it....showed up to trick or treat.  Part of the draw is that SO many houses decorate and give out good candy.  Part of the draw is the throngs of costumed revelers themselves, and then part of the draw is the house on the last street, that puts on a REALLY GREAT small scale Haunted House, with props and costumed characters to rival Universal.  In fact, I'm pretty sure they must have ties to somewhere...cause those props cannot be found at the Spirit stores.  They do tons of lighting, music and fog out front, and the scares start in the yard and go through the downstairs of the house and back out.  I LOVE THOSE PEOPLE!  They are my heros!  It is SO MUCH work, and they do it without fail every year, and it's all free!  They let masses of complete strangers into their home...(I'd never do that...uh uh, no way!)  And they do it all for the love of Halloween!  And because they do....I LOVE THEM!  

And can you believe, that we don't even know them personally?  I have no idea who they are. They live right around the corner; so you'd think I'd go over and introduce myself to them.  But I choose not to know them, because I prefer the mystery of it all.  I like how it's a regular house of people the rest of the year, but on Halloween Night, and ONLY Halloween Night....it magically transforms into a Haunted House!  So I choose to let them remain a mystery to me.  And this year, as we went through the house, they actually got me pretty good....someone came from behind, and scared me so, that I screamed out loud and almost mowed down the kids trying to get out the door....ha!  :o)

So as I reflect on this past Halloween, I am torn by the emotions I've felt.  Unhappiness at nothing working out like I'd planned....tempered and soothed by the sheer joy of the night itself, which was nothing short of Spooktacular as always.  And in the end, I guess Halloween Night itself does trump everything else when it is as perfect as it was.  So with that, I will end this excruciatingly long post that was admittedly done to help me reconcile my mixed feelings about my favorite month of the year.  I do hope everyone had a most Magical Halloween, thanks for letting me share mine with you! :o)   
(All images © Wendy Amdahl (all rights reserved)

Jekyll and Hyde

In the previous post, I talked about Sleepy Hollow.  Well, turns out that Sleepy Hollow / Tarrytown is in New York, and just happens to be a hop, skip and jump across the bridge from New York City.  So we decided to take the next day and show the kids the Big Apple!  I love NY!  I could never live in a city, but man do I love to visit them and pretend to be a native!  We took almost every form of transportation there was....car, train, taxi, bus, subway, ferry and horse and carriage in just one day and night in NY!  But the double decker site seeing buses were the best.  You get a birds eye view of everything, and you can just hop on and off at your leisure.  So we got out in Greenwich Village to walk around, and stumbled upon a restaurant and pub that was custom made just for Hallowe'en Heads like you and I!  It is the World Famous Jekyll and Hyde Club!

Imagine my utter delight at walking into a place filled to the brim with skeletons and creepy animatronics and pumpkins and skulls!  I had never even heard of the place before...we just literally turned a corner and there it was.  I spent most my time there taking photos of everything.  I've been meaning to share them with you all for years, and have just never gotten around to uploading the pics.  So I figured they'd be an appropriate post for the Hallowe'en Countdown, just on content alone.  I'd love to open up something like this here in Florida!  Anyone want to go into business?!  Hope you enjoy the decor as much as we did!  And if you are in New York City, be sure to head down to the Village and hit up the Jekyll and Hyde Club and Restaurant!  :o)

 All Images © Wendy A.

Halloween Breakfast & Coffee Hoarding

During the month of October, I like to find all sorts of little ways to celebrate my favorite month, season and holiday....Hallowe'en!  One way we do this at our house, is to fill the month with seasonal breakfasts.  The first thing that gets added to the daily menu is Pumpkin Spice Coffee.  Nothing says Fall like a steaming hot cup of Pumpkin Spice Coffee.  Alas, it is a seasonal item that is usually only found from around September to December, before disappearing from store shelves.  

A few years ago, I ran out of it fairly quickly because I would only buy a bag at a time.  I also mix mine with Chocolate and Cinnamon Vanilla Nut coffee for my own little 'Witchy Brew'!  I love my concoction so much, that I'm spoiled, and almost don't even like any other coffee...save for Starbucks Mocha.  So I ran out, and had to wait an entire year for the Pumpkin Spice to arrive again.  I was not a happy ghoul!  Now fast forward to last year when I got my mad-genius idea.  

While it was nearing the end of Pumpkin Season in Nov/Dec, I decided to stock up on the Pumpkin Spice Coffee.  Yes, I do admit this was some twisted form of coffee hoarding....but a spooky gal has to do what she has to do!  I'm not particularly picky about the brand of Pumpkin Spice because it is just 1/4 of my coffee recipe.  So we went around and bought LOTS of bags of Pumpkin Spice Coffee.

Now I know you might be thinking that surely it can't be any good after so long.  It must certainly go stale or lose it's flavor.  BUT...we checked the bags and the expiration dates were as far out as Sept. of the following year.  That is because we did the stockpiling near Christmas.  Had we obtained them in early Sept. then, yes they may have gone out before using them.  Because they only constitute 1/4 of my mix, a bag goes a long way.  So I didn't need 50 bags or anything crazy, but I did probably have about 10-15 of them.  A few I had gotten BEFORE I came up with my bright idea.  They expired sooner or had no date to be found....so I used those first.  And thus, I have been able to savor my Pumpkin Spice Witches Brew ALL YEAR long this past year!  The only thing that I wasn't able to enjoy is the Pumpkin Spice Creamer which is the proverbial icing on the cake in my opinion.  That could not be stockpiled, so I did have to revert to Hazelnut and Irish Cream creamers the rest of the year.  

And you may think that it takes away the excitement of the waiting....but I can tell you that it did not.  Besides, I still had to wait on my creamer.  And speaking of creamer, I like to use sugar-free creamer so as not to take in extra calories and carbs with my coffee.  And this year my husband surprised me with Coffee Mate's new Sugar Free Pumpkin Spice Creamer!  They did not have that here last year, and they only make it in small bottles and we've only been able to find it at Target...but it is really tasty and I am really grateful to Nestle for making this just for ME!

So anyway, we do like to have Seasonal Breakfasts during the Autumn months.  So far we've had Pumpkin Donuts from Dunkin' Donuts, Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll, and our latest one....Pumpkin Spice Bagels with Sweet Pumpkin Spice Spread on them.  Thomas has offered up these limited seasonal bagels this year, and they are really tasty!  Brown bread with the sweet hint of pumpkin and spices.  Toast them and top them with Country Crock Pumpkin Spice Spread all warm and melty on top, and they are delicious!  And of course they go wonderfully with a hot cup of Pumpkin Spice Coffee.  A fabulous little culinary ritual to welcome in the Harvest Season and Halloween!  :o)

A Taste of Autumn

Of autumn's wine, now drink your fill; 
the frost's on the pumpkin, and snow's on the hill.
~ The Old Farmer's Almanac, 1993

Autumn is officially known as the 'Harvest Season', owing to the abundance of fruits, vegetables and grains that will make their way from the fields to the table. And so it is the perfect time to share some tasty Fall Recipes that I've collected from different places on the web. Some I've made, and some I plan to make, but ALL of them look perfect to try this October! Just click on the links, copy and print the recipe and ENJOY!

First up is a festive and EASY to make Pumpkin Seed Snack Mix from Paula Deen. This recipe only calls for 5 ingredients so it doesn't get any easier than this! With Pumpkin Seeds being the main ingredient, this tasty treat is perfect for the snack table at your Pumpkin Carving Party!

(Image © Paula Deen)

This next one is hands down my favorite treat of the Autumn Season....The Classic Pumpkin Roll. Maybe it's because I first had it years ago at a Pumpkin Farm in North Georgia. Or because we always buy it at some roadside farm stand or orchard while on our Fall Vacation, thereby holding a very special place in my heart. Or perhaps it's because no matter how many times I look at the recipe and tell myself that although it seems like a lot of work, I could surely make one if ONLY I would actually attempt it....yet I never do. But it's mostly because the flavors of the fresh pumpkin, spices and cream cheese just taste so Autumn-y Perfect! Maybe this will be the year that I break down and try to make one for myself. (Although failing that... I do know they make a pretty decent one in the bakery at Wal-Mart of all places, if I really need my fix!)

(Image © Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Okay this next Autumn Dessert just looks so festive and sounds delicious....Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes with PieCrust Straws! This one sounds so yummy and I know my kids would dig it, especially with the PieCrust straws....how clever. If any of you make this one, I'd love it if you'd report back with your review.(Image © Tidy Mom)

One of my favorite things to enjoy in the Fall is a 'Pumpkin' themed Breakfast. There is just something special about serving up something warm and 'pumpkin' flavored on a Chilly October Morn! Follow it up with a favorite Hallowe'en Cartoon like "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and a trip to the Pumpkin Patch for cherished Autumn memories that the kids won't soon forget. Pretty soon it will be an annual tradition. So this tasty Pumpkin Pie French Toast is the perfect choice and easy to make as well!

(Image © Closet Cooking)

I don't know about you, but one of my other favorite Autumn activities is sitting around a warm, crackling camp fire on a brisk October Eve with good friends and family. And I think the perfect way to cap off the evening, is with a toast to the sights, sounds and flavors of the season. So why not enjoy a tasty, relaxing glass of Spiced Autumn Sangria perfectly flavored with cinnamon and orange. Just be sure to make enough for everyone, because it's certain to be a big hit! Bon Appetit!

(Image © Culinary.net)