Pumpkin time!

So this year, Thomas actually *grew* his own pumpkin (over at Nanny and Grandads), it's been sat on the kitchen table now for a couple of weeks waiting for the right moment to get the knives out (and today was the day)!  Despite spending a good while pretty adamant that we were to do a (Nintendo) "Mario pumperkin Daddy!" when it came time to ask Thomas today he decided (after browsing the internet for ideas) that a "Pumpking"-style scary smile was the perfect choice (phew!) -


- so we made a "lid" by cutting an angled hole in the top, reached inside and scooped out all the loose flesh and seeds -

- carefully setting all the seeds aside for later on, decided on the final design together -

- and got on with the cutting!

Meanwhile, we popped the cleaned pumpkin seeds into salty boiling water for ten minutes then roasted them in a 200 degree oven for 15-20 minutes-

- when cooked you can eat them whole (they are *so* crunchy and delicious), once we had managed to find some tea lights (and the sun had set by this time also) we were able to give our Pumpking a trial run (all ready for Wednesday)!!  Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Halloween everyone... I've just got back from Nanjans house where Pops didn't even recognise me when I knocked on the front door (I did have my mask on and I was a day early!)... Mummy and I had practised 'trick or treat please' and when Pops realised who I was, he let me in and I was very lucky to get some cake, pear and a satsuma... nothing made it into my my bucket as I ate them all... nom nom nom!

Spooky Trail - Priory Farm

So yesterday, by way of celebrating Halloween, we decided to take Thomas to Priory Farm to walk their seasonally themed "Spooky Trail" -

- made all the more spooky by the huge fields of dead sunflowers left from the summer -

- populated by absolutely hundreds of Himalayan Parakeets greedily gulping down the leftover seeds (occasionally being spooked and exploding into a green cloud above our heads - much to Thomas' amazement) and a carpet of Guinea Hen below picking over what the Parakeets dropped...

Climbing the (extremely muddy and slippery) hill -

- stopping briefly to admire the view -

- before playing in the musical maze -

- (which involved banging lots of gongs) -

- got scared by some giant spiders hanging under the high hide -

- and fired a giant arrow down the hill -

- trying not to kill any other visitors (or rampaging wildlife) -

- then we slid down the other side of the hill, dodging skeletons, through the orchard and pumpkin patch -

- and round the lake -

- and then back home for roast lamb with all the trimmings... ;)

Halloween frolics

Well, here we are again, only this time I'm back home late enough to have caught just the tail end of the cute bit - the decent local families personally taking their adorable little ones, all dressed up nicely, to politely enquire if we would like to give them a treat (please) with no possible threat of a trick anywhere in their arsenal (or intention)...although some do try and pinch more than their fair share, even with Mum and Dad looking on... ;)

Perhaps next year though, let's try and leave the inbred, goonish hooded teens in their shackles until after we have handed them back their "five for a quid" style cigarette lighters and poured petrol all over their heap of illegally purchased fireworks...you have no place in this curious American import, spotted-ones, especially so if your idea of a Halloween costume is a hooded top, a can of White Lightning and a cheap, tinny mobile phone crackling out unintelligible drum and bass (as was happening over much of Redhill)...

Happy Halloween...*cackle*... >;)

Spooky green halloween cake recipe

Flyingpops has put on her baking hat (all of a sudden) and now we have cakes coming out of our ears! This one she made last night to celebrate Halloween, a spooky green cake!

To make it you need the following -

6 ounces of self raising flour
6 ounces of caster sugar
6 ounces of butter
3 eggs
2 teaspoons of green food colouring
1 dash of vanilla essence

• Beat this lot together into a smooth creamy mixture (Flyingpops used the hand blender with whisk attachment and didn't make *too* much of a mess thanks to careful use of a tea towel, but you can do it with a spoon if you need to)
• Spread the mixture evenly between two 6 inch, medium depth cake tins which you have lined with a grease-proof paper disk (draw around the bottom of the cake tin onto the paper and cut just inside the line, it will fit perfectly in the bottom)
• Put into a pre-heated oven (190 Centigrade/Gas mark 5) for between 20-25 minutes (until golden brown)...turn the tins out onto a wire rack and leave them to cool, carefully removing the grease-proof paper disks.
• Spread your favorite jam onto the base, then sandwich the two together, decorating the top with icing (butter icing with lemon zest is good, but use your imagination) and sprinkles of your choice...
  

Spooky green Halloween cake...Done... ;)

Halloween Party

Went to a Halloween party last night (costume, of course), drank a lot, played silly games, made a terrible mess with party poppers, jolly good fun... ;)

Actual halloween isn't until Tuesday, but have stocked up on required sweets for the little darlings on the estate (millions of kit-kat bars, as they were on offer in Tesco)...plus we scored one of the numerous pumpkins, provided as decoration at the party, to put in our window so the kids know it's okay to knock (the one pictured above actually!)... ;)

Halloween comes to Priory Farm

Took a trip up to Priory farm this morning (our local Farm shop/Garden Centre) to take a look at their Halloween display (which is normally very good), they didn't disapoint this year either -

- with some rather spooky trees guarding the entrance -

- and the sign inviting visitors to try and find the Pumpkin King on his throne -

- somewhere in "Spooky castle" -

- (he wasn't too hard to find, sat there on his "throne", har har ;)

We had a bit of a walk round the rest of the place (didn't know that they had stocked ponds there too) -

- and found the (very muddy) pumpkin patch, well, more like pumpkin field actually... ;) Then the gathering storm forced us back to the car, shame, because it was supposed to be their "fun day" today when all the kids come visiting, oh dear... :(