Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! The weather has finally cooled off, it's Friday, and we've finished some larger projects at work, so I'm in a pretty festive mood right now.  Festive tidings to all! Or... BOO!  Or whatever one says on Halloween :) 

Right now, Zach is unfortunately working an evening duty, so I'm chattering away here and watching the trick-or-treaters come 'round. 

We've had some fun this year too - our first Jack-o-lantern!  Between one thing and another (mostly crazy work schedules) we've really only started celebrating Halloween since we got to Texas.  Was a harder holiday to make work in California (like I said, work schedules).  But since being in Texas, we've been able to have trick-or-treaters each year, and this year, a Jack-o-lantern too!  

 

To quote Calvin and Hobbes, "Ok, Jack, time for your lobotomy!"

   

And all done and lit!  Fun fun!!

 

And of course, with pumpkin carving, comes toasted pumpkin seeds.  My first time in years making them, so here's the recipes I found.  And my notes, so I don't forget next year :)

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• Pumpkins seeds
• Water
• Salt
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Scoop out the innards of your pumpkin.  It's easiest to do this if you cut the top off, to get access.  If you're making a Jack-o-lantern, as we were, you're doing this already, so just set the goopy pumpkin insides to the side until you are ready to shift from pumpkin-carving to pumpkin-toasting.  I suppose if you're multitasking, you could start the seed prep-work as you carve, but we were both focused on the carving.  Seeds had to come later.  :)
2. Wash the seeds.  You'll need to do this by hand, in order to separate the seeds from the stringy bits.  Use the colander; it will help.   And yes, your hands will be pretty messy.
3. Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure before you place them in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds. Add more salt if you prefer your seeds on the saltier side.  According to Simply Recipes, boiling the seeds in salt water before you toast them lets the salt permeate the seeds, instead of just sitting on top of the shell (like it would if you simply tossed the seeds in oil and salt before toasting).  
4. Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from heat and drain well.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. 
6. Spread some olive oil on the bottom of a roasting pan or thick baking sheet (I used a cookie sheet with a lip around the edge).  I say spread "some" because I just drizzled the oil, but Simply Recipes recommends about a teaspoon or so. 
7. Spread the seeds out over the sheet in a single layer.  
8. Toss them a bit to coat them with the oil on the pan. I used our silicone basting brush to spread the oil around and cover the seeds.  Worked well, and I didn't have to risk literally tossing my seeds across the kitchen (which is probably what would have happened!).
9. Place sheet on the top rack of your oven and bake until the seeds begin to brown.  This is the tricky part, because it could be anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on how big your seeds are.  Smaller  seeds may be done in 5 minutes or so, but large pumpkin seeds may take up to 20 minutes. SO!  Keep an eye on your pumpkin seeds!   I set my timer for 5 minutes at a time, and checked regularly. 
10. When lightly browned, remove the sheet from the oven and let the seeds cool. You don't have to let them cool ALL the way down before eating, but you do want them cool enough you don't burn your tongue.
11. Enjoy!

Notes, References, etc.

As I said above, I used the recipe on Simply Recipes, but there are lots of other variations on toasted pumpkin seeds, as it turns out.  Do you boil them, do you just toast them, do you use olive oil or melted butter, do you toast them on high for less time, or longer at a lower temp... lots of variations.  What I particularly liked were the flavor variations people mentioned!  Here's a sampling:

• 101 Cookbooks - Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: 3 Ways.  The variations there are Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, Black Tea & Butter Pumpkin Seeds, and Curried Pumpkin Seeds.
• 101 Cookbooks also has a Thai-spiced pumpkin soup recipe, and Simply Recipes has several pumpkin recipes, too - if you're cooking pumpkin anyway...  ;)
• All Recipes is always a good stop.  A basic recipe, but lots of helpful comments. 
• Michael Chiarello's recipe on Food Network.com.  Again a basic recipe, but there are some good tips in the comment section (I think food websites are the only ones where I read the comments anymore!)
• Food Network Kitchens, also on Food Network.com, has a bunch of variations - Italian, barbeque, Indian... definitely a few I want to try next time!
• Food.com lists some good optional seasonings too.  Chili powder, garlic powder, cajun seasonings...

My last comment is a reminder to WATCH YOUR TOASTING!  Mine did end up a little burnt :(  Probably should have stopped at 10 minutes, instead of 12.  It's like popcorn.  Light and salty and delicious if done right, but go just a little too long when cooking, and you end up with that burnt aftertaste, like you're eating charcoal. 

So, definitely worth a repeat, and some yummy looking variations I want to try, but also learned a lesson on toasting them.  Just wait til next year!  :D

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday: I have joined the ranks of the tutu-ed runners!

There was a Halloween-themed race in our area on Saturday last, with a separate costume contest for the Little Monsters, of course.  The bigger monsters were also encouraged to come in costume - so I did!  I've done other runs in costume, but hadn't done a tutu yet.  But they are getting really popular, so I thought, why not?

The tutu itself is incredibly simple and offers a lot of variation for costumes, theme runs, and similar silliness.  The craziest part?  People will charge $30 or more to make them, when they are SO simple to make yourself!!  So (being the cheap, crafty type that I am) I set about doing some research (Pinterest, of course) and buying some tulle :)

What you will need:

• Tulle - you'll need 2-8 yds of tulle.  Comes in tons of colors, as well as shiny and glittered varieties.  I used 2yds each of 3 colors (black, purple, shiny orange).

• It's an inexact science to figure out how much you need, but rule of thumb: More tulle = Fluffier tutu.
• You probably want the finer mesh tulle - less scratching as you're running.  But, personal preferences and all that.
• ALTERNATIVE: tulle ribbon.  These are found in the wedding/floral sections of the craft stores.  Probably need about 4 spools, judging from other instructions I found out on the Internet.  I just used tulle off the bolt - required more cutting, but cheaper and had the colors I wanted.

•  Ribbon - long enough to go around your waist and tie securely.

• ALTERNATIVE: elastic.  1/2 to 1 inch wide elastic works just fine.  Don't really want to go narrower than that - you are running in it after all, and want it to be at least a little sturdy. If you're using elastic, you'll also need needle and thread.

• Scissors 

What you do next:

1.          Cut your tulle into strips about 4 inches wide.  The strips are attached to the skirt band doubled over, so you'll want the strip lengths to be twice what you want the skirt length to be (i.e., if you want a tutu 9 inches long from the waist, cut 18 inch long strips). 

• If you are using tulle-on-a-spool, that's easy - it's already at the width you want, so you'll just cut it to the length you want.  Remember - 2x the length of the skirt.
• If you are using tulle from the bolt, fold the piece of fabric so that it is length you want, and then cut into strips.  

2.          I cut all my strips, and kept them grouped into piles by color.  I held one strip of each color in each bundle that I attached to the ribbon.  Other variations I saw made their skirts striped, so each bundle is one color only, alternating colors around the band.  All in your preference.

3.          To attach the bundles of tulle, you tie it on using your choice of knots.  Some instructions just tied on the tulle with an overhand knot, but most used the Lark's Head knot (even if they didn't know what it was called).  The Lark's Head is the 'up, over, and pull-through' knot, about as simple a knot as you can get.  Yay for learning this stuff in Girl Scouts!  I'm not going to explain it any more, because there are tons of clearer directions out there with videos and diagrams and all (including in one set of the instructions below), so I'm sure you can find one that is clear to you. 

4.          Since I was doing a no-sew version, I was attaching my tulle to a length of ribbon, long enough to go around my hips and tie.  I started attaching my tulle in the middle of the ribbon and worked out from there, adding bundles on each side.  The more tightly squeezed in your knots are, the more tulle your skirt will have, and the puffier it will be. 

5.         Keep adding tulle until you run out of space or of tulle.  I had ended up not cutting my strips evenly, so I had more orange and black than purple.  I added a few bundles of black and orange (and even just a few orange-only), but they blend right in.  There's so much color and movement in the skirt anyway, that a little unevenness like that won't show :)

6.         Ta-da!  You're done!  Go tie it on and have some fun :)

Other references I used (there are 1,000,001 different instructions for tutus out there; these are a few I looked at for research, in no particular order):

• Idiot Runner Girl 
• Sparkling Fashion 
• The Hair Bow Company
• Hyvaa Paivaa Textiles (don't worry, it's in English)
• My Happiness Redefined
• Cut Out and Keep
• Healthful MD - very good description of the Lark's Head knot too, if you're unfamiliar with it.

And then the race itself!  

The skirt was the final piece in my costume which also included striped knee-high Halloween socks and a hairband with a tiny witch's hat.  So cute, and only $1 at Target!

 

If anyone asks, I chose the ribbon with the apples because witches and poison apples and the whole deal.  But really, it was the first one I grabbed out of my stash that didn't clash completely :)

Thoughts?

• Fun, ridiculously silly, ridiculously easy - win win win!
• There are tons of ways to customize these suckers.  As I said above, you can make them striped or color-blocked, depending on how you arrange the colors.  You can add ribbon to add some contrasting color, or use strips of fabric or wide ribbon instead of the tulle to make a different kind of skirt altogether (swishy, rather than poofy).  And just playing with the colors of tulle, there are tons of options: I've seen ones with different holiday color schemes, ones for each of the Disney princesses, red ones with large white spots as part of a Minnie Mouse costume, blue ones with large stars as part of a Wonder Woman costume, lots of pink and purple ones for fairies, green ones for Tinkerbell... the list goes on and on.
• I don't know if I'd be able to run longer than a 5K in the costume I used on Saturday.  I was pretty pleased with my race time and I like the skirt, but the tulle can get bunched between your legs as you run.  I did have to walk a few moments during the last mile to rearrange my skirt.  In the future, I'd either need to make it shorter, so that it sticks out more than it drapes, or wear running tights - which it was definitely too warm for on Saturday... yay Texas :(
• All in all, though, a fun project and a fun race!