Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween! Kids Rule!


Before I post a recipe, I must tell everyone how sorry I am about what is going on on the East Coast. Our poor country. All these people without energy, electricity, communication. Water everywhere. So many lost homes and loved ones. I am so sorry. My heart goes out to everyone. My prayers are with you and your loved ones. Hopefully you can find a bright star in your future, sooner rather than later. 



For those who are not struggling, today is an almost normal Halloween. It's probably a good thing to have children enjoy the day. I have written a post directed to kids and adults who want to be kids. 

(Giveaway below...keep reading.)

Happy Halloween!

Kids rule. I love kids. I love kid food. And there's nothing like a costume. The fun. The anonymity.

Daryl's website
For those giving out candy, smile at those kids.

For those of you wishing you were the kids, dreaming about pillowcases stuffed with loot, continue to dream. Dreams are what help us go on, and on, and on.

I love pretending, creating. I think it's times like these, when kids get to put on costumes and be somebody different that help stir a child's imagination. Forever.

My son loved wearing capes. He still sees himself as a hero. And he is. [And he's safe in New York. He has electricity. We are blessed.]

He also loved picking out pumpkins. The bigger, the better.


Jack at five picking a pumpkin. Oh, the challenge!
I loved putting on all sorts of costumes, too. Princess, Indian, doctor, army man. I tried loads. And then I ended up an actress and then a writer. Go figure. :)

When I'm writing...ahem, I love candy. Chocolate, in particular. And caramels. (Bad for teeth, good for soul). But at Halloween, I love candy corn. There's something so festive about the candy. So I decided to use it in this sweet treat. Not a hard recipe. Something you can probably throw together tonight with whatever "stash" you have in the house. Melted ice cream would even work with this. It's all about sugar.

So...

Make your own party.  A kid-easy party. Ice cream sundaes with a Halloween theme.


My step-kids Craig and Jill, a number of years ago, who loved Halloween.



A Halloween Sundae

Ingredients:

Vanilla ice cream
Chocolate sauce (or your favorite sauce)
Candy corn (or your favorite small candy)
Chocolate sprinkles.

Directions:

[Look how easy this is...]

Put scoops of ice cream in a glass. Douse with chocolate sauce and candy corn. Top with sprinkles. 

Note: The candy corn got really cold very quickly -- not good for teeth.  So you might want to make sure they stay on top of the ice cream or just have them in reserve and pop one in with every bite.  :)

Of course you could remove any of those, add whipped cream, and simply enjoy...according to your own sweet tooth.  Oh, simply have whipped cream straight from the can. Anybody remember doing that?

Enjoy!






GIVEAWAY:

What is your favorite all-time Halloween treat? For one of you who comment, you will win your choice of the first three CHEESE SHOP MYSTERY series. Check back next Wednesday to see who won!


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The 4th in A Cheese Shop Mystery series: 
TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE
coming February 2013.

You can pre-order the book HERE. 

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

Chat with me on Facebook and Twitter.

And if you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list
 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!

Also, you probably know by now about my alter ego,
DARYL WOOD GERBER...and her new series
A COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERY series
debuts July 2013

"Like" Daryl's page on Facebook and "follow" Daryl on Twitter.
"She" doesn't say all the same things "Avery" does. Promise.

Say cheese!

***********







15 comments:

  1. Popcorn balls are my favorite treat from Haloween as a kid. Of course in my day, they were homemade and no one worried about what horrible things could happen when they were eaten.

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  2. Hi, llk. Aren't you up early! I adored popcorn balls. And, I know what you mean, we never even thought about choking on them. (or grapes!) What a different world...but what a wonderful, resilient world.

    Best,

    Avery aka Daryl

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  3. As a kid, anything chocolate. Now, I make sure to buy some dark chocolate Reese's cups!

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  4. I, too, loved popcorn balls ... and my great grandmother made the *best* (at least as far as our family is concerned). My uncle and mother have tried repeatedly to recreate them from the recipe card covered with spidery handwriting, but they never turn out the same. Somehow, that's o.k. with me ... I love remembering the treats almost as I love eating them. :)

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  5. Candy corn...sickeningly sweet, yet I can never seem to get enough of the stuff! I will HORDE it in order to enjoy nibbling on it for weeks to come!!

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  6. Lizzie, I agree. Pure sugar but so much fun once a year!!

    Avery aka Daryl

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  7. Indian corn, candy corn or any of the new corns. This year it was a bag of caramel flavored candy corn. YUM YUM. Look forward to getting some every year.

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    Replies
    1. Caramel flavored candy corn? Oh, Sandra, can't even imagine. yum! Must look for some of that. Yum!

      ~Daryl aka Avery

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  8. My all time favorite halloween candy is Tootsie Rolls, Reese's peanut butter cups, and Kit Kats. Love the chocolate! I also love the candy pumpkins... pure sugar to melt in your mouth. :)

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  9. Elisa and Abby, I love Tootsie Rolls any time of the year. Love them. Little presents every time you open them. In fact, the protagonist in my new Cookbook Nook series loves them, too. [They'll be an easy and fun giveaway at book signings and conferences, don't you think?]

    And those candy pumpkins...I sent some to my nephew's children. They're using them to play tic tac toe! LOL

    ~Daryl aka Avery

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  10. We lived pretty far out of town when I was a kid, so my mom would drive us to neighbors and our grandparents houses. Mrs Wright who lived next door to one grandma used to give out full size Hershey candy bars and I looked forward to trick or treat at her house every year. Now, it would have to be peanut M&Ms, yummy!

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    Replies
    1. Karen, those were the days, when people gave out full candy bars. Wow! I can remember giving out smaller versions but telling kids they could take three. That amazed them. :) The teens, of course, thought that meant three handfuls! LOL

      Daryl aka Avery

      PS My husband's favorite candy - peanut M&Ms.

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  11. I have a LOT of diabetic patients and work with them to manage their disease by avoiding foods that send their blood sugars through the roof. But when it comes to my nurses and other staff, I feel it is my obligation to ensure that their blood sugars NEVER slump! This past week I have had a bowl on the nurses' station counter that I have kept full of the GOOD candy (snickers, heath bars, reeses peanut butter cups, etc.) One of the doctors said that it was my Bowl of Sin! )And he says this every time he snags a candy bar!) I have found out that his favorite candy is peanut M&Ms, I can't wait to give him the BIGGEST bag of peanut M&Ms I can lay mu hands on as a Christmas present.

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    Replies
    1. Nurse Judy, this is a sweet & funny story. You have to protect your kids but, yes, your staff MUST have their jolt. :) As I said in another response, my husband's favorite candy, peanut M&Ms. :) If only I could have peanuts. Not allergic-allergic, but shoot, I don't feel very good after having one. I can have peanut butter. I think it's the fact that it's been processed, don't you? Love the flavor.

      Daryl aka Avery

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