Happy Halloween! Glowing Frog Egg Drinks, Jack-O-Lantern Rice Crispy Treats, and Evil Bananas

Happy Halloween everyone!

I'm not a big Halloween person. I don't get dressed up. I don't decorate. I carved pumpkins two years ago and was all ready for trick-or-treaters, but no one came (I was very sad). But I do love Halloween foods and seeing little kids get all crazy for the holiday.

I was babysitting this weekend and I thought, "what would be more fun but to have a mini Halloween party ourselves?"

Spooky!

Glowing Frog Egg Drinks:

Clear (or nearly clear) drink (I used Diet Sprite - no sugar)

Club Soda (with quinine)

Bubbles/Tapioca pearls (see my post on bubble tea drinks)

Big straw

Black Light

Put the bubbles on the bottom of the glass, fill most of the way with selected drink and add a good splash of club soda. Under a black light, club soda glows blue. Makes for a great party drink (can be made in an adult version). Plus, the bubbles freaked the kids out.

Quote of the night, from a very honest 5 year old, "Amy, are you evil?"

My reply, "little bit."

After they enjoyed their drinks (half the kids braved the "frog eggs") we made rice crispy treat jack-o-lanterns. I meant to bring orange food coloring, but I forgot. Oh well. These were still cute!

Rice Crispy Treats (adapted off the side of the box)

1 bag of large marshmallows

1 stick of butter

1 box of rice crispies

Melt to butter and marshmallows in a large bowl (Microwave, 2 minutes, stir half way). Add food coloring (optional). Carefully stir in cereal with a spatula or large spoon. Cool and make into pumpkins, either on wax paper or in hands. Use icing or sprinkles to make faces. Press the rest into a 9 x 9 pan to eat later.

Happy Pumpkin!

 The story behind the bananas:
I love this blogger called the Bloggess (bloggess.com). She tagged an idea that she wanted to do with her daughter that showed love notes sent to kids by writing on a banana. They're meant to be sweet and encouraging. Until the Bloggess discovered it. She wrote fun notes such as "act normal. you will be contacted with further instructions momentarily" on her husbands banana.

All you do is take a toothpick and gently write into the skin of just under-ripe bananas. As the banana ripens, the message will darken, leaving fun messages to whomever gets the banana. Muahahaha!

I find this incredibly hilarious.

Happy Halloween!!!

Kale Chips, Butternut Squash Fries, and Bubble Tea

Happy Summer! I haven't been doing much baking lately, mostly because when I come home I don't feel like doing much besides this...

"mmmm, so cuddly"

But otherwise, I've just been lazy. I been wanting to make a few items that I bought ingredients for, but just haven't gotten around to it. As my father always told me (sarcastically, after seeing me bringing home my flute every night but rarely ever practicing) "All good deeds start with good intentions." So, in the same line of thought, I tend to buy ingredients for projects but it takes me awhile to get around to making it.

But veggies can only wait so long. This week, I had a few free nights so here's what I made.

Kale Chips

I saw this recipe somewhere online a few weeks ago and was immediately intrigued. Kale chips? All you have to do is wash the kale, pat it dry, spread it on a baking sheet (mine was lined with foil so I didn't have to wash the pan... ah laziness), mist with pam (or other spray oil) and sprinkle it with salt or other seasonings (I recommend garlic powder), and bake it for ~5-10 minutes in a 425 degree oven. The kale comes out crispy, light, and AMAZING. It has the taste of slightly overcooked potato chips. Its surprisingly good and satisfying. They're so easy to make and very healthy. You can eat the whole pan and its only about 50 calories.

Also on the same night (once the oven is hot I like to go with it...)

Butternut Squash Fries!

Butternut Squash fries are just like sweet potato fries. Similar texture and taste. Just cut them thin, spray with oil and sprinkle with seasoning, and the bake at 425 for ~30 minutes. I like them dark and toasty. This picture was taken after I flipped them. I didn't get a picture of the finished product as I was too busy inhaling them.

Last, I made bubble (boba) tea. If you're not familiar, brace yourself.

Bubble tea is a popular drink in Asia (at least from what I hear. I've never been there). Its a drink made from tea, juice, watered down smoothy, or whatever you want with "bobas" at the bottom. The bubbles, which look like what I imagine octopus eggs look like, are made with tapioca pearls. They come in a variety of colors, usually black, but the ones I found at my local oriental market (a fun place to spend a few hours, trust me) are green:

Bubbles! aka tapioca pearls

I followed the direction on the package, basically boiled water, dropped them in and let them boil until they floated, then reduced heat to medium and left them with the top on for 5-6 minutes. At the same time I made a simple syrup (1 c. water + 1 c. sugar, boiled) and put the bubbles into the syrup to cool. 

Finished bubbles

To make my finished drink, I put the bubbles in a cup, poured a few T. of the syrup on top, added milk, and cool peach green tea and mixed together. To drink, you need a big straw (I got this one from Panera... they use them with their smoothies). Yumm. The bubbles have a fun chewy texture and the drink is refreshing!

Ta-daa!