Family Theme Halloween Costumes

I understand if you are a little confused.

You are probably thinking, "Um...where is the CAKE?"

Today I decided to share one of our family traditions with you.

Six years of family theme Halloween costumes!

This year we chose a Star Wars theme.

If you read my last post with the Butterscotch Bundt Cake recipe,

you already know that my oldest daughter is a huge Star Wars fan.

 

And here are our costumes from years past...

My secret weapon is that my mom is a fantastic seamstress,

and has spent many hours helping us make these costumes!

Alice in Wonderland (2011)

My parents even joined in on the fun!

Dr. Seuss (2010)

 Toy Story 2 (2009)

Steve Irwin & Crocodiles (2008)

The Incredibles (2007)

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at our family theme costumes.

Does your family dress up together too?

Tell me about your favorite costumes!

Happy Halloween!

Butterscotch Bundt Cake

When my 13 year old daughter created her first email account,
she combined two things that she loves to come up with a name for herself...
"Butterscotch Jedi".

This Butterscotch Bundt Cake is dedicated to her.

I decided to keep it simple by starting with a yellow cake mix,
which I jazzed up with butterscotch pudding, melted butter and rum extract.
The cake turned out really buttery and moist.

Then I used butterscotch chips to make a glaze.
I was too impatient to let it cool & thicken, so I let my cake swim in a lake of butterscotch
and spooned a liberal amount over each slice of cake.

Sometimes it pays to be impatient. :0)

Butterscotch Bundt Cake

by Bird On A Cake

6035579

Ingredients

Butterscotch Bundt Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 (4 serving) box butterscotch instant pudding
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons rum extract

Butterscotch Glaze

• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a bundt cake pan. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Place the butterscotch chips in a small metal bowl. Heat cream over medium heat. Watch it closely and immediately remove from heat when it starts to boil. Pour over butterscotch chips. Let sit for 2 minutes, then slowly stir the mixture. Continue to stir until all the chips have completely melted. Let cool slightly before pouring over cake.

Powered by Recipage
 

  "Mom, you will give me all the cake."

Enjoy!

Would you like another delicious bundt cake recipe?
Check out my Red Velvet Bundt Cake.

I share my recipes & tutorials at these fun link parties.

This recipe was featured!

Roasted Acorn Squash – Sweet & Spicy

Roasted Acorn Squash is so yummy, it’s my favorite squash to make when Autumn arrives.  It’s so easy to make, delicious on it’s own, but even better with copious amounts of pasture butter and a little sea salt.  I also love adding extra spices and seasonings to the squash to mix it up from time to time, this is one of my favorites. 

Enjoy!

Roasted Acorn Squash - Sweet & Spicy

Equipment: Cutting Board, Sharp Knife, Roasting/Baking Pan, Large Plate or Optional Food Processor

·      1 acorn squash, cut in half, remove seeds and membranes

·      ½ teaspoon chili powder blend

·      ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

·      ¼ - ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt (See Resources)

·      3-4 tablespoons pasture butter (See Resources)

·      1 tablespoon maple syrup grade B, raw honey or coconut palm sugar

1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2.   Prep squash – wash outside skin, cut squash in half, remove seeds and membranes with a metal spoon (Note: Save seeds to freeze and add to stocks for extra flavor or reserve to make roasted acorn squash seeds).  Sprinkle chili powder and cinnamon onto the flesh.

3.   Place squash flesh-side down on roasting pan.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until flesh is completely fork tender. 

4.   Remove from oven, cool about 5-10 minutes.

5.    Remove squash from outer shell with a spoon.  Either place squash onto a plate to mash with a fork or place squash into a food processor.  Add sea salt, butter, and sweetener of choice.  Mash with a fork or puree in food processor until smooth and combined. 

6.   Serve immediately.   

Note: If you don’t have chili powder blend, try a mixture of chili powder, cumin, coriander, and a pinch of ground cloves. 

Yield: Makes about 2 servings. 

Pineapple Sorbet Recipe (Vegan)

I was given a beautifully ripe pineapple the other day from my friend Laura.  When I asked her earlier how to tell if a pineapple is ripe, she said that it's ripe if the bottom of the pineapple is yellowish and if you can easily pull a couple of the spiky leaves out of the middle of the top.  I decided to make pineapple sorbet out of the pineapple she gave me.  I am so glad I did!  It's fantastic to say the least, and currently my favorite sorbet.  The light yellow color of the sorbet is beautiful, and it is so fresh tasting.  If you can get a pineapple on sale, it's a really affordable sorbet your family will love.

Pineapple Sorbet Recipe

1 ripe pineapple
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Cut away the outer shell from the pineapple, and discard all of the woody parts. Cube the pineapple core into small squares and add them to a medium-sized pot. Add the water and sugar and heat to boiling over High heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then pour it into a blender and "liquify" it.  Pour the pineapple puree through a mesh strainer to strain out any pulp and fibers.  Add the strained pineapple puree to an automatic ice cream maker to make the sorbet (I run the ice cream maker for 16 minutes).  Makes 1 pint (2 cups) of sorbet.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe (Vegan)

Fall always reminds me that I need to start baking with pumpkin again.  I created a fantastic pumpkin bread recipe a few years ago that is a favorite in our house, and somehow I neglected to publish it here until now.  This recipe doesn't use cinnamon, just allspice and nutmeg to spice it and bring out the great pumpkin flavor.  This bread is moist and delicious, and it is also egg-free, which means you can lick the batter from the spoon and mixing bowl (Sam's favorite thing to do).  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz. can)
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the wet ingredients and mix throroughly.  Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour the batter in.  Top with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw.  Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool thoroughly before slicing.  Makes 1 loaf.

If you want to make muffins instead, bake the muffins for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Makes 16 muffins. This bread and these muffins freeze well.

 

Toothy Monster Cupcakes

Here is a simple tutorial for some fun Halloween cupcakes!

I just love their big mouths full of pointy teeth,

and their staring zombie eyes...

Toothy Monster Cupcakes  

I was inspired by these cupcakes on the Wilton site.

What You Will Need:

A batch of cupcakes

Chocolate ganache or melted chocolate fudge frosting

Decorator bags fitted with a round tip (Wilton #12)
A batch of buttercream frosting

Purple and yellow food coloring gel

M&M's

First, cover the tops of your cupcakes with ganache or melted frosting.

Let them cool and harden.

Color 1/2 cup of the buttercream yellow. Divide the rest into two bowls.

Leave one bowl of buttercream white and color the other bowl of buttercream purple.

Pipe purple buttercream along the top third of the cupcake,

moving back and forth in a zigzag motion.

 Make the teeth by piping a dot, then pulling away quickly to form a point.

 Pipe two large dots of yellow buttercream for the eyes, and press M&M's into the dots.

  

Watch out, he bites!! 

  

Enjoy!

  I share my recipes & tutorials at these fun link parties.

And this holiday link party...

This post was featured!

Fall Harvest vs. Halloween {The Switch Witch, Healthy Homemade Treats + Natural, Organic & Fair Trade Chocolates and Candy Ideas}

Willow Pond Organic Farm

How does your family celebrate?  Do you celebrate the Fall Harvest or Halloween?  Do you celebrate both?  How do you incorporate the two?  Does the Switch Witch come to your house for Halloween?  If you have time to share, I’d love to hear what you do. 

For many of us “Real Food” parents, Halloween can be an interesting time. 

Now that my daughter is in Kindergarten, Halloween is being talked about more.  In the past, Little Love has dressed up in costumes for Halloween and gone to see my mom, my Aunt and a few neighbors, but it’s never been for the traditional commercial candy/trick-or-treat.  I have tried to incorporate the Fall Harvest into Halloween with annual trips to pick organic pumpkins and apples, carving pumpkins at home and making a little party out of it, making homemade treats, and instead of commercial candies on Halloween, she gets little presents from my mom and organic chocolates. 

This year, since more and more kids are talking about Halloween at her school (she goes to a Waldorf school, they have a Harvest Festival and do not celebrate Halloween, so that helps some), I’ve decided to incorporate The Switch Witch.

There is a beautiful book called "The Switch Witch"{*affiliate} by Charity A. O'Neil-O'Kane that talks about a different way for families to celebrate Halloween (without the overload of commercial candy).  She is not a scary witch (which I appreciate), she lives in her house (which is more enchanted than haunted) with her cat Magic and has pumpkins and cornfields in her yard.  She visits homes on Halloween night where children with imaginations live, and she has the power to make a healthier Halloween.  I love this concept and this book.  The idea is that on Halloween night the Switch Witch can come and visit, take away the commercial candies (or some of them) and switch it out with healthier alternatives or treats, or even a special gift. 

* {Amazon Affiliate link included helps support this blog.  Price is the same for you.}

Little Love getting ready to choose some pumpkins.

In our home, we start to celebrate the Fall Harvest before Halloween.  My Little Love already got to go to our favorite organic farm, pick out her pumpkins and pick some apples (with me and her grandma/my mom), she looks forward to this tradition every year.  She celebrates the Harvest Festival today at her school.  As Halloween approaches, we will celebrate by carving pumpkins and having homemade treats.  This year I will probably make some gluten-free Owl-looking chocolate pumpkin cupcakes, some fresh fruit skewers, and maybe some caramel corn or caramel apples. 

Little Love and her little organic pumpkin.

Little Love picking some apples with her grandma.

Litte Love and Me

Wishing everyone a beautiful Fall Harvest and a Happy Halloween!

Need Recipe Ideas for Healthier Homemade Treats?

Here are some of my family’s favorites:

Spiced Pumpkin Smoothie

Honey-Sweetened Hot Chocolate

Spiced Pumpkin Tea (Chai – w/o black tea, caffeine free)

Slow Cooked Pears

Chocolate Fudge Sauce (to top your favorite ice cream)

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake (sprouted gluten-free flour & egg-free)

Mini Warm Chocolate Cakes

Chocolate Covered Frozen Banana Bites

Sprouted Cut-Out Cookies (use Fall or Halloween theme cookie cutters)

Need Ideas for Healthier, Organic, Fair Trade Chocolates & Candy?


Endangered Species Chocolate – Natural, Organic, Fair Trade, Ethically Traded

Milk and Dark Chocolates

Heavenly Organics – Organic, Sustainable, Fairly Traded, No Refined Sugars

 These amazing chocolates come in Mint, Pomegranate, Ginger, and Almond … my absolute favorite is the Chocolate Mints, they remind me of my childhood days when I used to eat Junior Mints.  The soft honey center is unbelievable.  Fillings are made with Raw, Organic White Himalayan Honey, Chocolate Shells made with Organic Unsweetened Chocolate.

Stirs the SOUL – Organic Raw Chocolates, Fairly Traded, Sustainable, Allergy and Gluten-Free, Unrefined Sugars

Chocolates are Banana-Fig-Currant Sweetened, Date Sweetened, Coconut Palm Sugar Sweetened, or Raw Honey Sweetened.

There are many flavors to choose from such as Blissful Dark, Spiced Chai, Mint, Orange Gogi, Cayenne Cinnamon, Honey Rose, Lavender, Coconut, Espresso, Hemp, Hemp & Maitake.  I have had the honey and date sweetened chocolates – the dark, spiced chai, mint, cayenne cinnamon and orange gogi flavors.  All were delicious.    

Yummy Earth – Organic, Gluten-Free, No Artificial Flavors or Colors, No High Fructose Corn Syrup, Real Fruit Extracts

Lollipops, Jelly Beans, Gummy Worms, Gummy Bears, Twist Wrapped Hard Candies.