Plants vs Zombies Birthday Party

I love making my kids' birthday cakes. Princess, castle, edible butterflies, jungle animals, cars have all been past birthday cakes.This year my "baby" turned 7! Seems like just yesterday he was a toddler trying to keep up with his big sister.Today, he is truly his own person with a huge personality. He's very sweet with a sensitive side that he sometimes tries to hide and has a streak of devilishness. Lucky for him,  his amazing smile, charming personality and twinkle in his eye lets him get away with a lot (except from his sister who doesn't let him get away with anything!)

This year he chose a "Plants vs Zombie"(PvZ) party theme. I thought finding PvZ party items would be easy given the computer game is sooooo popular - boy was I wrong! Nothing, nada, rien. No party games, no party plates, no banners, no loot bags with PvZ on them. They do have their own shop. I ordered some Plants vs Zombies trading cards for the loot bags, a plastic disco figurine and t-shirt for my son's presents.

Games

I printed off some PvZ colouring sheets (see end for link) that the kids enjoyed as a way to keep them occupied as everyone arrived. For a party games I made my own "Pin the Eye on the Zombie" game. To make it I used a Zombie head from the internet and then used photoshop to cut out the eye on the Zombie. Finally I printed the "eye" so the kids could pin them on the Zombie. It was a hit - the kids loved it.

We also played musical Zombie chairs. This is the same as the classic musical game but the kids had to walk around like Zombies.

The final game was "What time is it, Mr. Zombie?" - just like "What time is it, Mr Fox?" The kids each had a turn being the lead Zombie. Mr. Zombie starts out at one end of the room with his back to the kids. One of the kids at the other end then yells out “What time is it, Mr. Zombie?” Mr. Zombie then calls out a time that is on the even hour (1 o'clock - 12 o'clock). The kids take that many steps. When the group gets to where the Zombie is, but not past him, and asks the time, the Zombie can yell "Midnight!" He then turns and chases the kids back. Then a new Zombie is picked.

Drinks

We had subway to eat but I had big pitchers of kool-aid in green and blue that we labelled "plant" and "zombie" juice.

Also, in the loot bags I included, in addition to the trading cards, a packet of sunflower seeds for them to plant, a little solar powered sunflower toy that moves its leaves, and some mini m&ms. All of the items were put in a medium sized terracotta pot so that the kids could plant the sunflowers at home - I forgot to take a picture of them!

Decorations

For decorations I searched for some high res Zombie images to print as 3 ft images. I used Picasa so I could print them as "posters" on my computer and save the cost of printing at a professional printing store. The poster function lets you print one image over many sheets of paper depending on how big you want it. Once printed you just piece them together like a puzzle.

I printed out some "plants" that we also posted on foam board. My daughter labelled them so anyone without PvZ knowledge would know who they were.

The Cake 

The cake took me a month. Well, not the cake but the figurines which are crafted out of fondant. I started them early so they could dry out and be easily placed on the cake. I'm not a professional cake decorator, I am not an artist and I'm not fast. I checked out many PvZ cakes on the internet - there are amazingly talented cake makers out there! See end of post for links.

My son, however, had the final say on whether each figurine was "cake worthy". Many did not make the grade! Trust me, it was stressful! The house does not have a back wall. I had planned making it but I ran out of time and space on the cake board! In the end no one seemed to notice or care.

The cake was vanilla with chocolate chips and little colored candies inside. The icing was just my go to vanilla buttercreamwhich I dyed in two colors of green. The cake was a serious hit. Kids and adults thought it was pretty amazing. Most importantly my son thought it was great!

Now I have a little break before my daughter starts planning her birthday party in the summer!

The Photos

Please forgive me for posting so many pictures - but a month of work deserves a bit of self indulgence :)

Cone head Zombie meets his end.

The harder to kill Bucket Head Zombie.

Lawn mowers are the last line of defense before the Zombies eat your brainz.

Chomper, sunflower, cactus, potato mine, jalapeno, pea shooter, snow pea, cabbage-pult,
wall-nut, Tall nut,  and Torchwood are ready to stand their ground!

Maybe they should run!

Add caption

Love this little guy!

The house

Other helpful  Plants vs Zombie birthday links:

PvZ Store

PvZ Cupcakes

Lots of cakes

Cake tutorial

pinterest board

Colouring sheets

Solar sunflowers (please note: I found these for $1.25 at the Dollar Store)

Blurry photo of Pin the Eye on the Zombie!

Foodie Penpals - April

Yet another great month with Foodie Penpals!

This month Lisa from Beyond the Fringes sent me a lovely package filled with amazing and thoughtful treats. A variety of teas, lovely chocolate (didn't even last long enough to take a picture of it...again!), organic garlic from Ontario, morel mushrooms, and a spicy kung pao sauce all made for a lovely foodie pen pal package. To add even more to it Lisa included a lovely hand written note and a thoughtful printed package of recipes and ideas she thought I would enjoy - so sweet!

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 

-Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 

You must submit your information by April 4th as pairings will be emailed on April 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup. 

Whole wheat pumpkin muffins

These are great muffins. Not overly sweet and the whole wheat pastry flour gives them a wonderful texture not to mention extra fibre. My kids love them. Often I will make 36 mini muffins instead of the traditional size because the they are perfect when you just need a bite to take the edge off of hunger pains when dinner is still an hour away. They also travel well for snacks on the go. Mini ones usually bake in about 13-15 minutes.

Adapted from "Whitewater Cooks with Friends"

Ingredients

1-3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 c canned pure pumpkin
1/3 c milk
1/2 c mini chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 c toasted pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat butter for 4 minutes.
4. Add sugar and beat for another 2 minutes  and it's fluffy and light.
5. Add eggs one at a time for 30 seconds each. Scrape down batter from sides between additions.
6. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Beat until well combined.
7. Starting and ending with flour alternate flour and milk (3 flour additions; 2 milk). Stir each addition until just combined.
8. Stir in chocolate chips.
9. Divide batter evenly amongst 12 greased muffin tins.
10. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on top of each muffin.
11. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Cookbook Review: Championship BBQ Secrets for Real Smoked Foods by K Pullman and J Fertig

Buffalo-style Hot Wings

We, like so many Canadians and Americans, are caught up in the smoked meat craze. And really how could we not?  There are BBQ restaurants, food trucks, TV shows and smoked meat competitions all within a sauce dripping arm's length of us all. And  the meat can't be beat! The taste of a piece of bark on a pork butt or brisket is heaven on earth.

So when I bought my husband a Weber Bullet Smoker I  pretty much took the crown of  Best. Wife. Ever. 

We've smoked pork, beef, chicken and turkey so far with amazing results and jealous stares from our neighbours. So when I was offered the chance to review Championship BBQ Secrets for Real Smoked Foods by Karen Putman and Judith Fertig I jumped on it.

This is the 2nd edition of the 400 page cookbook/how-to-smoke anything resource. 

Karen Putman was a chef and well respected, award winning BBQ competitor who passed away in 2011 but certainly leaves an amazing legacy to anyone who has an interest in the BBQ world.

The 2nd edition has added more tips and secrets from Karen's friends. 

The book itself is 400 pages and those pages are filled with useful tips, tidbits and information that even seasoned slow cooking meat veterans will enjoy. There are tips on different types of equipment, how to's about getting started, what you need to know if you are thinking about entering a competition,  how to create your own signature rubs and sauces, and of course great tips on each type of meat you want to smoke plus loads of recipes. It's a lot of information but is presented in an easy to read and easy to use format. There are also great step-by-step photos on how to prepare charcoal, meats etc. And of course there are mouth watering photos of many of the recipes too.

The recipes cover the gamut from rubs and sauces to sections on each meat - pork, beef, poultry,and  lamb. There are also cold smoking recipes and recipes that are truly different like tofu and almonds and even "smoky deviled eggs"!

I like this book. In fact I love it. Lots of great info and recipes that I've already ear marked to try over the coming months. Unfortunately, the recipe I tried while reviewing the book fell short. I'm hoping it was the one dud in the otherwise great read.

We decided to try the "Buffalo-Style Hot Wings" recipe. It was super simple with only 4 ingredients. It was easy to slap the marinade together and throw on the wings but the execution didn't work. The recipe says to place them in a single layer in an aluminum pan and then smoke them in the pan. Well that led to a lot of grease from the chicken and marinade. There was so much that the underside of the wings didn't hold the marinade, formed a wet, unappetizing skin and definitely weren't "hot" as promised. We ended up throwing the wings on the BBQ grill after smoking to crisp them up a bit. 

Too much grease was captured in the pans.

The undersides of the wings didn't look appetizing.

The taste of the meat, however, was phenomenal, smoked poultry is simply something everyone must try (well, except vegetarians). My husband thinks it would have been much better if we hand poked holes in the bottom of the pan so the grease could drip out or just put the wings directly on the smoker grill. Despite the disappointing result we will not be throwing this cookbook in the trash. We will be trying more of the recipes and the rubs/sauces. I know there are many other great recipes that can be smoked out. 

So we grilled them to crisp them up.

A little extra sauce and they were good to go!

If you or someone you know is smoking enthusiast I recommend this book. It has something for everyone and every skill level.

Book Infomation:Championship BBQ Secrets for Real Smoked Food 
2nd Edition
Karen Putman and Judith Ferig
Published by Robert Rose Inc
isbn: 978-0-7788-0449-9

Curried Coconut Milk Prawns

Curried Coconut Milk Prawns - an easy week night meal

This recipe is great on its own or served over either rice or Israeli couscous. You could also add a tablespoon of your favorite curry paste instead of the curry powder. It also works with chicken or pork.

Serves 4ish.

Ingredients

2 cans (13½ ounces/400 ml) of coconut milk

2 tablespoons (30 ml) or so of medium curry powder

1 ½   teaspoons (5 ml) of soy sauce

1 inch piece of ginger, grated

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

2 cups frozen peas or edamame

3 cups fresh spinach

1 cup chopped pineapple (preferably fresh)

1 pound (450 g) of fresh or thawed frozen medium prawns, shells off but tails can be left on if desired (see pic), deveined

Instructions

1. Over medium heat sauté onions and curry powder until onions are translucent. 
2. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for another minute.
3. Add spinach and pineapple and continue to sauté until spinach is just beginning to wilt.  
4. If your pan is big, add the coconut milk, otherwise transfer the mixture to a large pot and add the coconut milk. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat. 
5. Add soy sauce. 
6. Stir in the peas and prawns. Lower the heat until it is barely simmering. Continue stirring until the prawns are cooked through (curled and red - about 5 minutes).
7. Serve or its own or over rice/couscous.

Israeli couscous

Honey Oat Muffins

My kids love these muffins! I thought the cardamom might be a little overwhelming but it isn't. The cardamom flavour is definitely stronger in the batter than in the baked muffin but it still adds a nice little "something-something" to this snack. The honey shines through in this recipe and can be tasted in every bite. You can also use maple syrup instead of honey. Of course, if you want to use less the sugar leave out the chocolate chips.

I've also occasionally used one pack of individual instant oats (any flavour) when I've been out of regular oats. I use whole wheat pastry flour but you can use all-purpose flour though it might make a slightly more dense final product (not that there is anything wrong with that).

Ingredients

3/4 cup quick or instant oats
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar or turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose can be substituted)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain yogourt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

On medium low heat combine honey, oats, cinnamon, cardamom and vanillla. Heat until honey is warm. Remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl beat together sugar, eggs and oil on medium high speed for 3 minutes.

In small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add half the flour mixture to the egg bowl and stir on low speed until just combined. Add the yogourt and mix again. Add the oat mixture and stir. Add the last of the flour and chips. Stir just until combined.

Evenly divide amongst muffins tins and bake for 15-17 minutes until golden and tooth pick test comes out clean.

Cool for ten minutes in tins and then remove muffins from tin and cool completely on wire rack.

Foodie Penpals - March

Another great month with Foodie Penpals!

This month Emilie from Find Your HealthSpot sent me a lovely package filled with great treats. Teas, amazing chocolate (didn't even last long enough to take a picture of it), a raw vegan snack with cocoa and cranberries, and a delicious energy bar. Thanks Emilie. Check out her blog here.

One of the items she sent was a strawberry tea bloom from David's Tea. The kids loved watching it bloom (I don't have a clear teapot so I used a bowl). It took about 8 minutes for it to bloom completely. The tea itself tasted great too - it was light and tasted fresh and (surprise) strawberry-like. I also loved it on ice.

The strawberry bloom.

Strawberry bloom submerged in boiled water.

Starting to bloom.

Bloomed!

Love the pinky finger!

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 

-Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 

You must submit your information by April 4th as pairings will be emailed on April 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.