Trick or Treat Confessional

As mentioned in a previous post, the idea of giving out traditional Halloween fare and all it's trashy accoutrement's, makes me feel a bit icky. I did have one idea to avoid the prepackaged tickets to the dentist, but it was a miserable failure. I thought I might give out Scribble Cookies. I frequently make these as party favors and stocking stuffers. I save our broken crayon bits and, after peeling the paper, break them up into bits, fill the bottom of a muffin tin and put them in the oven on 200 degrees for about 15 minutes or so. The result, when cooled, is a little rainbow chunk suitable for little hands to make big and crazy art. So I thought I would try to make these in ghoulish shapes, but the only Halloween molds I had were plastic candy ones. Knowing this would melt at even the lowest of baking temps I decided to try the melting process in the microwave, but it went nowhere fast. Then in a moment of delusion, I thought "Maybe it would be OK in the oven." The result was a big plast-ICKY mess and the demise of my candy mold. I did find a metal baking pan with pumpkin shapes at the store, but they were way too deep and would have created freakishly large coloring treats suitable for knocking siblings unconscious. Plus, the tray was nine bucks, so I passed. So I did end up setting out a bowl of individually wrapped candy bits and goldfish crackers, but I will do penance by spending the next year searching for a viable alternative. I do, however, recommend trying the Scribble Cookies. Those are good, clean fun.
We had our trick or treat last night and I wrapped up my costume creations just in time. I procrastinated more than usual this year, which accounts for my absence on the blog this week. But we are now post-holiday and I can breath easier. So here is the trio, youngest to oldest, in all their ghouly glory.

My sweet little spider was the most challenging ensemble this year. I got this idea last spring when I was going through some of my Dad's old clothes. God bless him, the man loved his black, nylon socks. He would be quite proud that they found new life as a costume creation. I stuffed the socks with newspaper and then attached them with Velcro and thread to a piece of cardboard that I covered with felt. It turned out to be heavier than I thought, though, and David had to come to the rescue and attached more heavy duty strapping with a drill and some serious muscle. Team this up with some black, thrift store clothes and the wicked

web-ster  was complete.

For some reason, this little insect escaped a decent picture, but you get the idea. I must admit, this is not my handy work. On a trip to Casa de Thrift to get two sets of plain black duds for the costume base, I decided to browse their costume selection and found this little tunic for a dollar. A DOLLAR! I couldn't even buy the fabric to make it for that price. So that took care of one bug and I just topped it off with a headband that I attached black pipe cleaners to for antennae.

Knowing that, at nine years old, the number of Halloween's that I will still be able to go homemade for my man motivated me to do something I knew he really wanted. I wasn't sure how we would do with The Joker, but I am quite pleased with the result. The key is to know what you are going to do well in advance so you can keep your eyes peeled for stuff you may need. I started picking up pieces here and there at the end of summer. The purple pants were off the dollar rack at the ubiquitous thrift store. The coat (actually a long ladies blouse, but don't tell him) and green t-shirt were also a buck a piece on a clearance rack at Wal-mart. I cut a V-shape out of the neck and just drew on buttons to make the vest. The shirt, tie, gloves and boots we already had. I did invest in the green hairspray and the make-up was leftover from a previous incarnation as a vampire. But really, would this get-up be complete without a young boys attempt to mortify his mother by channeling Heath Ledger?

Tonight we will make the annual costumed pilgrimage to Grammy's to delight her and make our way through the T or T maze of my youth. Although not the eco-ist of holidays, I did manage to get away with spending less than $15 to bring three kids their Halloween dreams-come-true and as I survey the damage of Peanut Butter Cup wrappers and lollipop sticks, I can't help but feel my Dad smiling upon me. Do you think they have Snicker Bars in heaven?

One Morning Near Maine

To be clear - I am NOT a photographer. It is one of those skills I do hope to gain,

but here are some images from my 7am October world.

 I never knew a warm egg could be the best thing I touch all day. I slip them into my pocket

 and then hold them while I wait for the dogs to "get busy".  When I come inside and lay them in the carton beside their brethren, I count each one and say a silent thank you.

Meet Inferior Chicken. Don't worry, she isn't about to do anything. She just takes a look around and then goes about her day, pooping and eating. She is the only hen without a developed comb and her vent (that's butt hole to non-chicken folks) is puckered up tighter than a cheapskates wallet.

The chard and baby spinach look so sad at this frosty hour, but these greens are remarkably

resilient and by noon they will spring back to life and will be inviting me to come clip them

and turn them into something delicious.

This thin and curvy birch is my favorite tree on our property. It is dead or dying.

 I do not know which. The time will come when it will fall or need to be taken down and  I am already dreaming about what its new life will be.

When I am tired and weary from the daily chores that I have put upon myself by choosing this not-so-simple life, it is these moments that bring me back to the knowing that this is progress. These things are real and tangible connections to how we survive and, with a little luck, thrive.

Vindication

I have been feeling a bit guilty that I spent $43.00 at Apple Annie's the other day. This fruity expenditure included 37 lbs. of end of season, Pick Your Own Cortlands that I only managed to get because I am 5'9". The entire time I was picking I was thinking of my grandmother saying to twelve-year-old me "Some day you'll appreciate being tall." and I would be all "Yeah, right.". I never believed her, especially since she was never taller than 4'10".
The rest of my purchase was 27 lbs. of what they call "sauce" apples. They are like seconds, small and maybe a bit imperfect. These are sold for .50 cents per lb and the PYO are .80 cents. So with my 64 lbs. of apples I am planning to make sauce, apple butter, misc. fall yummies like crisp and fried apples and also attempt to dry a significant amount for use during the winter when seasonal fruit does not exist in New England. I am going to try two drying methods. First I will see how it goes with a food dehydrator. At the bus stop one day, I noticed that my neighbor had one out with her trash. It was still in the box and she asked if I wanted it. Took it home and discovered it had never even been opened. Score! I will also string some up the old fashioned way and hang them above my newly drying jalapenos.
I wondered if I was crazy to lay out so much cash for apples, but on an emergency run to the dreaded Walmart tonight I saw the towering display of red, fall fruit by the door and the price was .79 cents per lb. When you average out the price of all my global goodies you get .64 cents per lb. Kiss my local, low spray ass Walmart!

Halloween History

Let's just put it out there right now - my mother is amazing. Not in a baking cookies-cleaning your room for you-white glove test- kind of way, but in a stay up all night to help you finish a project and still go to work the next day- Girls Scout leader/Sunday School teacher- teach you to love others as you would love yourself- "I am so proud of you"- should be canonized- sort of way. She was and is the best and although she wasn't super crafty, one of the things I will never forget is that she ALWAYS made our Halloween costumes. Even if it was out of poster board or assembled from old clothes, we never had a store-bought get up. So when I became a mother and had no vision of what kind of a parent I would become, I at least knew that I wanted to carry on this tradition. One of the most special things about doing this was that when my son was born, my Dad had already retired and since he was the only one in the family who could operate a sewing machine, we worked together on many of Noah's costumes. These have become the most cherished of memories as my Dad passed away over 4 years ago. Although my girls did not know him, when they don one of the costumes that he helped to create, we can talk about how wonderful he was and we all feel him close to us once again.
Even though Dad is not with us to help sew buttons or cut fabric, we are still carrying on with our commitment to do Halloween Homemade and now I try to give it an ecological twist, as well, by repurposing things we have and purchasing as much as possible from the thrift store. This year, I am making a Joker (a la Batman) for Noah, a ladybug for Josie and a spider for Ms. Caroline. These are a work in progress and as soon as I am done I will detail how they came together and, of course, add photos.
Until then though, I decided I would post some of our earlier costume creations and possibly get some folks unstuck if they are still trying to figure out what they can put together and are feeling the pull of the plastic guises on the rack at Walmart. I am missing a few years that were pre-digital camera, but let's see what we've got.

AHA! Noah as a musketeer at age 4. Not a single stitch in this thing. Just printed out a fleur de lis, traced it, cut out felt and glued it together in the form of a smock. Add an eyeliner mustache, David spray painted a dowel and made it into a foil and all the clothes were pulled right from his drawer or dress up box.

He wanted to be a vampire so I pulled this cape out of the dress up box and just put the rest together from things around the house. Did have to buy the fake teeth and some black hair spray. We also invested in a cheapo makeup kit that year. It is still going strong and noone's face has fallen off yet. Josie spent her first Halloween as his bat which is made mostly out of a hooded sweatsuit and was transformed from Noah's baby costume as a black cat. I ditched the tail and made wings out of cardboard covered with felt.

Stop! You're under arrest for continuing to crank out kids! After two babies in 18 months I did break down and buy the police hat and night stick. Again, the rest of his outfit is from clothes we had. I took white sweatsuits that I had for the girls along with baby hats and drew the lines with fabric marker. My favorite part was the ball and chain that each girl had. Painted a Styrofoam ball and made a pipe cleaner chain. Noah was six here and that was the last time I could con him into the group get up.

The gender neutral costumes were making their rounds this year with Josie wearing the Elmo costume my Dad and I made for Noah (he sewed, I dictated and made eyeballs). Caroline revived the bat and Noah went as a Highland Bagpiper. We are Scottish and that was my grandmother's kilt. He had the hat already and I made the sporin (that pouch thingy) out of a men's shaving case, some faux fur scraps, and a ladies chain belt I found for 50 cents. This was his idea and was one of our favorites!

And here is the crew last year. Poor Caroline is the eternal recipient of the hand me down and is sporting  Elmo (no choice given here). Noah wanted to be someone from Star Wars and my limited crafting and sewing skills led us to compromise on being Luke Skywalker as a Jedi knight. All the black clothes came from the thrift store, those are my black boots and he pulled the saber out of his toy box. Josie as the bag of jelly beans has got to be one of my all time favorite creations and was certainly the easiest. Two clear plastic trash bags (which I later reused) a bunch of colored balloons (not so ecofriendly, but they had a ball with them later) and the headpiece top of the bag was made out of a paper plate that I wrapped with cellophane and tied with ribbon. I then velcroed the plate to an old hat and attached a ribbon that I tied under her chin to keep it straight. Paint a few jelly beans on those cheeks and we had Halloween heaven.

*The one disclaimer I should put out there is that my kids are not allowed to just pick any costume. It has to be something I can actually figure out how to make. Noah started off wanting to be Batman this year, but after some discussion we decided that the Joker was more doable. I gave each of the girls a choice between two different bugs that I knew I could pull off and let them choose. To get a closer look at any of the costumes just click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.

I put together this photo retrospective for two reasons - to show that someone who can't sew, knit, paint or craft at all and really does not have any artistic inclination whatsoever can get a little creative juice flowing and find a way to put something together AND to further show that costumes can be gleaned from things you already have and second hand sources and need not cost more than a few dollars. Sure, there is a time investment, but trust me, it pays in spades. I know that when my kids are 30- somethings, these are the things they will look back upon and remember that their mom did it because she loved them. I know this because every Halloween I am reminded that my mom was the greatest and that the memories of her creations have lasted far longer and are sweeter than any cookie she could have ever baked.

Ecothical Dilema #1 - Halloween Candy

I am struggling. Struggling to find the balance between adhering to my environmental preferences and not making my children the Halloween outcasts of the neighborhood. In recent years, I have been growing increasingly uncomfortable with the large bowl of garbage wrapped goodies that I put out for Trick or Treat. Aside from my aversion to candy on the whole (we use individual M&M's for behavioral rewards if that tells you how rare candy is in my house). In fact, at this moment we have no candy in the house outside of the super mega 4 lb. bag of the afore mentioned melt-in-your-mouths that is out of kid reach.

I tried a search of ecofriendly Halloween candy and came up with lots of Fair Trade and organic options that, while better on the whole, made the blood pressure of my inner tightwad start to rise and didn't solve my packaging problem. I also searched for Trick or Treat alternatives and got many good suggestions for needless junk that would ultimately create even more trash and cost more, as well. The one idea that fit my bill was to give out change, but I had flashbacks to birthday parties when my mom would give out pennies for the game prizes and I tried to envision how much the disappointment of child faces in 1984 would rise in the year 2009. Maybe not.
Of course, I would love to put out a big plate of homemade baked goods or even some of the Halloween molded chocolates that the kids and I always make, but I hear the voices of my youth saying things like "razor blades" and "cocaine" and it makes me wonder if anyone would let their kids take them. In reality, the treats should be individually wrapped to keep things sanitary. Could I get away with wrapping up my new little Pumpkin Whoopie Pie gems? Although this would be some waste, at least I would feel better about what was wrapped inside. I may take a bus stop survey and see what people think. I don't mind being different and I think a lot of kids would appreciate the change, but you never know. Maybe a move like that would finally put me in the "crazy lady" category. I could live with that. I'm not so sure about my kids, though. I'll have to pitch it.

Falling In Love

John Travolta and Olivia Newton John can keep summer lovin'. For me, it's all about Fall. Although I have grown more fond of the dog days since I became a gardener, I remain an Autumn girl at heart. It is fairly easy to appreciate Fall when you are from New England. It is a season that touches all of your senses. A description of fall reads like some wine label; full-bodied, a wonderful aroma. It has notes of the upcoming Holidays with just a hint of the waning days of August. It also gets better with age. Now that I am an adult, and even more so a mother, I have a new appreciation for "back to school". Fall has the promise of quiet moments and routines and strict bedtimes. Fall is a mothers best friend.
More than anything, I love Fall food. You can fire up the oven without thinking about the sweat pooling in your bra. You can make heavy, comforting meals that are simple and satisfying. Things are still coming in from the garden, but you don't have the hassle of rapid weed growth and insect control and scorching sun. The onset of Autumn always motivates me in the kitchen and I bust out some of my best recipes. I have four words for you. Pumpkin. Chocolate. Chip. Cookies. Wipe your drool and get out your mixing bowl. You may have to run to the store for a can of pumpkin, but it will be so worth it.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies*

2 cups sugar                            2 eggs
4 cups flour                             1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
4 tsp baking powder               1 cup veg. oil
2 tsp baking soda                    2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon                        2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp salt                                 12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients then mix in the wet, adding the chocolate chips last. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased cooking sheets a few inches apart. Bake about 10-12 min. They will look a bit soft and undercooked at first. Wait a minute or two then remove them to a cooling rack. These are a very cakey and filling cookie, but they will get gobbled right up.

*This recipe was given to me many years ago by one of the women I can credit with my Domestic Goddess Transformation. Margie "Gorgeous" Brennan is an amazing mother of seven who, among other things, really turned me on to the essential nature of homemaking skills in the quest for a frugal life. Cue "Wind Beneath My Wings".

Canned pumpkin is on my seasonal pantry list, but I always manage to have some leftover from winter. As soon as September hits, the little cans of pumpkin mush start calling to me, "Use me. Love me. EAT ME." This year I only was able to get one smallish pumpkin to grow in my garden and it was not of the edible variety. Next year I will absolutely be pursuing pie pumpkins in the hopes of making  these delightful treats even more satisfying. In  the meantime, I am continuing to expand my pumpkin recipe repertoire and decided to try Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I mean, who doesn't love whoopie pies. First off all, any excuse to throw the word "whoopie" into polite conversation must be taken advantage of and "pie" is always a good time. So put that together with some pumpkin and you have the potential for a frenzy of Fall fun. I checked out a ton of recipes online and finally decided to try the one posted on Martha Stewarts website. I wanted to do one with a cream cheese based filling rather than the Fluff I typically use. I usually find Martha's recipes overly complicated, but this one was pretty straightforward. I linked it rather than post it because I will need to do a bit more experimentation before I decide if it's the one for me. However, I can report that 5 out of 5 Ecocheapo family members ate more than one tonight and already have dibs on some for tomorrow. I may have just found my new Autumn lovah.