Halloween

Halloween 2010

A couple of pics from Halloween 2010 – apparently I was too busy hostessing to take pictures during the actual party….

Decorations this year revolved around black lights – the bottles filled with various colors of highlighter fluid are still gracing our kitchen…think they’ll last until next year??  We drank from marmelade jars painted with fosforescente spray paint, there was plenty of themed food (raw hamburger meat which is really big here, breadsticks shaped like fingers and toes, blood soup with mozzarella eyeballs (roasted red pepper instead of tomato), deviled eggs, spicy toasted pumpkin seeds, mummies (pigs in a blanket), worms and dirt for dessert….).  Glow in the dark nail polish and glow sticks for prizes added to the atmosphere…I promise to do a better job of documenting next year!

In attendance: me (I’m still in love with my wig), Luca was a mummy, there was a wizard, little red riding hood, Morticia Adams, a prostitute, several vampires, 3 witches, a butterfly, and a demon.

American Girl Doll Halloween Skirt

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 Witch skirt for Sydney’s American girl doll

I decided to sew a bunch of American girl doll clothes for my neices for Christmas this year, but couldn’t resist making a special Halloween outfit (pictured above).  I didn’t use a pattern, just got the AG doll measurements and winged it.  I’ll try to post the template I used later on – basically I cut six six-inch long and 2 inch wide strips out of an old black shirt and sewed them togheter.  Then I added five layers of orange and black tuille and sewed them all together with a  folded piece of orange satiny ribbon.  The trickiest part was adding the velcro to the back, but it seems to have come out alright.

  

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This is the back view – velcro closure

Shirts are a little out of my sewing ability at the moment, so I’m bidding on a hot Hallowen knit sweater on Ebaysweater

and I ordered some cute converse sneaks to complete the outfit.

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Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!  2008 is the lowest-key Halloween I’ve ever celebrated.  I made jack-o-lanterns, and ate pumpkin seeds, but that’s about it.  We’re going to Torino tonight to experience Movement an international DJ experience…not very Halloweeny.  But seeing as how I haven’t been to a dance club in over a year, it’ll probably be fun!  Have a great night!

Distinguishing Wild Mint from Stinging Nettle

heidi_shira.jpgLots has changed since we last spoke!! The biggest news is that I’m a proud new owner of an old Italian car and that I’ve officially moved out of Sinio and into Verduno, where I have my own apartment. The hotel and restaurant are officially open and all of the castellani are working like maniacs around the clock to keep up the four star standards.

Did everyone have a nice Halloween?! Luca and I made jack-o-lanterns (his second pumpkin carving EVER, can you believe it?!!) three days after the fact, but it was still a Halloweenish celebration. Here, people celebrate their friends and relatives who have passed away by bringing flowers to the cemetery and participating in a special graveside mass.

I went for a walk yesterday to look for some wild mentuccia to use in the evening’s Thai Spring Rolls. Unfortunately, I mistook a stinging nettle for wild mint and had a stinging nose all day long. Won’t make that mistake again!!

Here’s a picture from when our old exchange student Heidi came to visit me in the beginning of September. She stayed with us for a year in NY when I was in 10th grade–eeks, even before moltenchocolate was born!

Devo andare a letto adesso perche sono proprio stanca e domani sveglio presto. Santa Polenta. A presto!!

Brined Pumpkin Seeds

pumpkinPumpkin seeds are pumkin seeds, right? Not if you brine them!! Here’s how to do it…

Step 1: Make a Brine
Bring 2 cups of water, the juice of a lemon, and 1/2 cup of salt to a boil. While that’s cooling, hollow out your pumpkin; get rid of the big chunks of flesh, but don’t worry too much if there are still some strings mixed in among your seeds–they’re extra flavor, baby!

Step 2: Kick ’em up and roast ’em up!
Soak the seeds in the brine for as long as you like (at least a half an hour). When you’ve brined to your heart’s desire, strain the seeds, toss them in a few tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter, add a pinch or two of cajun spices (like paprika, cayenne pepper, etc.), and some black pepper, and roast those babies in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes (or until they’re light golden brown and nice and crispy!). Yummers!

Oh Dear

candy_corn.jpgOkay, so I sent a bunch of you some Halloween treats in the mail, but I have a feeling that they REALLY are NOT going to ship well. At all. So, I just want to warn you that if a leaking box arrives on your doorstep, it’s not from the Wicked Witch of the West, it’s from me, and the best thing to do is just throw the whole thing out. Unless everything seems fine, which it may!! If not, consider it perfect fuel for your very own sacrificial bonfire. I do apologize. You know, I try to send exciting things, but you just can’t get moltenchocolate worthy treats if they need to be shipped…those extra two days decrease the quality of everything. What a disaster. You should all just go buy Pilsbury cookies in a can and make those instead. Or, better yet, brine some pumpkin seeds! Happy Halloween!

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