happy halloween

Happy Halloween!

i want my mummy

These mummy cupcakes were calling me. Last Wednesday, I read in The Plain Dealer's Taste section about Michael Heaton making them with his daughters. He was given direction by A Cookie and a Cupcake, a delicious and innovative cupcake bakery in Tremont. My favorite is the Espresso cupcake- chocolate cake, caramel mousse, and espresso buttercream.

Anyway, Sean, Kate and I got sticky and messy making and eating them. Sean was able to squeeze the frosting onto the cupcake to make the messy mummy bandages. Kate helped out by putting the cupcake liners in the pan. (I found the orange with black spiders papers in my stash of things I don't need but got it on sale.)

I used a cake mix and made some buttercream with butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. I saved a bit to tint green for the eyes and then didn't bother with the pupils. It's a great frosting task for an "I want to help!" 3 year old. The messy "bandages" add to the appeal of the mummy cupcakes- and provide a sweet heap of sugary buttercream.

west side market

You can't beat a trip to the West Side Market for lunch. Kate and I shared a crepe from Crepes De Luxe. Mike had a bratwurst sandwich from Frank's. Sean ate a hotdog from Johnny's Hot Dog, reportedly the oldest hot dog stand in Cleveland. He marveled at the fact that he ate the whole thing and "I didn't even drop it!" Sean's first hot dog is usually the sacrificial dog that rolls out of the bun after the first bite. We sat across the street in the park to eat. I was happy with the weather. I loved the carved stone benches. Even the trash containers were cute!

After watching crepes being made, sampling fruit and checking out the beef tongue- blech- we headed over to Dean Supply. I was looking for a few things and had never been there. Love the place. It inspired me to have a carnival birthday party for one of the kids next year. They carry a ton of party supplies in addition to the mostly restaurant and caterer staples.

As we were leaving, we just had to try Seti's Polish Boy. Seti's truck sits every day in the parking lot of Dean Supply serving up dogs and fries. It was even promoted by Michael Symon on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate". Messy and delicious, the hotdog was smothered in BBQ sauce, fries and coleslaw.

Lake Metroparks Farmpark Halloween Hayride

We've taken the kids to Lake Farmpark a handful of times to watch cows being milked and the Border collies herd sheep. It has always been an educational and fun place for a summer outing. Last night was our first special event, Halloween Hayride. It was well worth the $5. per person ticket. We rode a 20 minute hayride around the park with our group. If you have a group of around 20, you get your own hayride. It was obvious that much planning and work went into the event. Teens provided most of the entertainment as we were pulled from small stage to stage. The Wizard of Oz, Peanuts gang, Thriller, witches, coffins, and plenty of hanging skeletons colored the landscape. It was family oriented except for the wandering happy scarecrows that turned into scarechildren. Sean wasn't a fan. The concern really wasn't if the kids were too afraid, it was the chill in the air. There was a even a small scale carnival fairway set up with corndogs and elephant ears. Overall, everybody had a good time.

chocolate toffee bark

chocolate toffee bark

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. butter

saltine crackers

1 c. chocolate chips

In a saucepan, boil the butter and sugar to the soft ball stage. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and arrange crackers on the sheet. (This is the base.) Pour the butter-sugar mixture over the crackers and bake at 400 degrees for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and return to the oven for 1 minute. Spread the melted chips over the entire surface. Cool and break into pieces.

It is a true test of patience to wait for a little one to line the cookie sheet with saltine crackers!

homemade play dough

homemade play dough

3 c. flour

1 1/2 c. salt

3 c. water

2 T. vegetable oil

1 T. cream of tartar

Put all ingredients into a large pot and cook over medium low heat until the dough pulls away from the pan. Cool and then knead into a ball.

Make colored dough by using food coloring or a packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid. We made pink lemonade dough which resulted in a sweet yet mild scent.

acorn frame

It's a rainy, windy, stay-at-home day, so we decided to do something with the bucket of acorns that we gathered yesterday. I cut out a frame shape so Sean could glue the acorn caps and dried berries on to the cardboard. Glue is one of Sean's simple pleasures. If I don't pay attention, he will have squirted out the entire tube into a pile on paper. Now we just have to find the perfect photo.