3. Does seating your kid across the table from Grandma leave you anxious? Are you worried about “the open mouths, the feet on chairs, the slumping, the wrestling, the singing of songs about poop”? Here’s a crash course on table manners.
What’s the plan for your pumpkin post-Halloween? You could just light it for the next couple nights and wait for it to rot before finally tossing it into the compost bin, or you could bring it down to your neighbourhood park and place it with its pumpkin brethren. If you live near a park that does a pumpkin parade, we highly recommend the latter.
You and your neighbours bring your jack-o’-lanterns down to the park, line them up and light them up one last time. Some parks, like Toronto’s Christie Pits, also invites you to bring a marshmallow stick and a flashlight for the accompanying bonfire while Sorauren Park‘s parade promises to have thousands (thousands!!) of pumpkins on display. Toronto Parks & Rec will then pick them up for composting. Read more...
Yams make great Jack-O’-Lanterns because they are nice and large, often conical in shape (which makes for a great hat), and when they burn they smell like a dream. Also, since they are a root vegetable, these guys can have all kinds of growths and hairs that add character to a face.
Yams might give you a bit of guff when carving because they’re hard as rock when they’re raw. An apple corer will be your best friend. Scrub off the vegetable first and cut off the bottom so it has a flat base. Begin hollowing it out with an apple corer, and then use a pairing knife to empty it completely, leaving about a half inch thick skin or however much you can manage. Then sketch your face on the outside and carve. Top it off with its pointy hat and behold, a yam monster! Read more...
This is the first post in our series of idea offerings for unique Jack-o’-lanterns. Getting into the spirit of Halloween means decorating your place, but REALLY getting stoked about Halloween means making place stand out like a witch’s warty nose. The humble Jack-o’-lantern is a festive decoration and fun craft, but why should it be made exclusively using pumpkins? Besides, pumpkins might not be as easy to come by this year thanks to a little hurricane called Irene. If you can stick a candle in it, you can make a Jack-o’-lantern out of it, we say.
Today, we’re feeling inspired about pineapples. Read more...
You drove to a pumpkin patch (or the corner store) and picked out the perfect pumpkin. After you’ve cleaned out all the goo inside (and roasted the seeds for a yummy snack), it’s pumpkin carving time. But before you get started, consider your options. Here are three ways to make your pumpkin the best on the block.
1. Carve it…using technology
If you’re going for a classic pumpkin, there’s that old standby: taking something sharp and carving a face into it. Of course, you can go beyond the traditional toothy smile and triangle nose and ramp things up a notch by using a pumpkin carving stencil. With some added time and effort, your pumpkin can sport the mug of Woody from Toy Story, the Cheshire cat or even one of those blue dudes from Avatar. You can buy them online from sites like Zombie Pumpkins, and you can print them instantly.
Recipes for pumpkin smoothies, cupcakes, mac ‘n cheese and butter
In September, we couldn’t stop talking about how much we like them apples, posting apple recipes galore. Something about that month just screams “apples” to us, maybe because we still make the connection between crunchy apples and back-to-school time (we were the dorks who actually brought apples to our teachers).
But come October, we’re all about pumpkins, baby. We want to bake them, mash them, eat them and love them (not to mention carve them). Here are three easy ways to get your pumpkin on this October: recipes for mac ‘n cheese, smoothies and cupcakes, all flavoured with the yumminess of pumpkins.
