Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Halloween Drinks for Adults

Since June only has 30 days my GPD will be today. :) I managed to finally get some ink for my printer and was able to print off some things for my binder. I think with both my Halloween binder and my Christmas binder I'm going to have to get bigger binders for them as they are getting quite full.
Today I will post drinks for adults with the Halloween theme.

Banshee
1/2 oz Creme De Banana Liqueur
1/2 oz Creme De Cacao Liqueur
2 1/2 oz Milk or Cream
Shake with ice and strain into a Cocktail Glass.

Black Martini
1/4 oz Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 oz Blavod (Black Vodka)
Combine the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and the strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Frankenstein Cocktail
1/2 oz Green Melon Liqueur
1/2 oz Blue Curaçao
1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
1/2 oz Jägermeister
Splash of Orange Juice
Pineapple Juice
Fill a Collins glass with ice. Add the Melon liqueur, Blue Curaçao, Peach Schnapps and the splash of orange juice. Fill to top with pineapple juice. Stir to mix. Lastly, float the Jägermeister on top.

Jack-O'-Tini
2 oz of Premium Vodka
1/2 oz of Pumpkin puree
1 Tsp. Lemon Juice
2 oz of Orange Juice
1/2 Tsp. of Honey
Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a thin orange skin curl.
Cool Drink Note: A great autumn/Halloween variation on the classic martini.

The Great Pumpkin Punch Recipe
1 Part Apple Cider
2 parts Ginger Ale
1 Part Rum
Pour the ingredients into a hollowed out pumpkin with floating pumpkin chunks.

ABSOLUT RASPBERRI Red Eye
1 part ABSOLUT RASPBERRI
2 dashes raspberry liqueur
Pour frozen ABSOLUT RASPBERRI into a shooter glass. Pour the raspberry liqueur onto a bar spoon and carefully add to the center of vodka to form an eye.
Notes: If you go to a bar and ask for a "Red Eye" you'll get a bottle of beer with a side of tomato juice.

Vampire Cocktail
1 1/4 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Chambord Liqueur
Splash of Cranberry Juice
Measure and pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

Zombie
1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Dark Rum
2 oz Orange Juice
2 oz Lemon Juice
Dash of Grenadine
1/4 oz Cherry Brandy
Pour over ice in that order into a Sling Glass or a Zombie Glass and garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.
Drink Notes: Some people like to shake their Zombies; some don't -- some prefer to layer and then give the drink a quick stir with a couple of straws. There are quite a few variations of the Zombie; many recipes call for Apricot Brandy instead of Cherry.

source unknown

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Halloween Drinks

Here are some great drinks to try for Halloween time for kids of all ages.

*Bloody Bug Juice

24 ounces frozen strawberries thawed
6 ounces lemonade, frozen concentrate
1 quart ginger ale
1 cup raisins
1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen

Place the strawberries in a bowl and mash with a fork.
In a large pitcher, mix the strawberry mash, lemonade
And ginger ale. Place handfuls of raisins and
Blueberries (bugs) into tall glasses. Pour the liquid
Over the bugs, then sit back and watch the bugs and
Scum rise to the top of each glass. To quench a
Creepy crowd's thirst, double or triple this recipe
And serve in a punch bowl. Drape some gummy worms
Over the rim of your bowl for a particularly
Swampy-looking effect!

*Halloween Drink
Mix something yellow with something blue; orange juice and mountain dew are good for the yellow. Great blue drink - kool-aid is good for the blue. You'll end up with a radioactive shade of green. If you're using a punch bowl try this: get some latex gloves, fill them with water or juice, freeze. Unmold carefully and float "disembodied" hands in a punch bowl. Dry ice and black lighting is a good effect, too.

*Ghoul-Ade
1 pkg. Grape unsweetened kool-ade
1 pkg. Orange unsweetened kool-ade
2 cups sugar
3 quarts cold water
1 quart chilled gingerale.

This will be as black as midnight, but delicious.

*Goblin Goo Drink

1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Brand Grape or Orange Flavor Gelatin Dessert
4 cups (1 qt.) cold prepared KOOL-AID Grape or Orange Flavor Soft Drink Mix

PREPARE gelatin as directed on package.
REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm.
BREAK gelatin into small flakes with fork. Spoon about 1/2 cup gelatin into each of 8tall glasses. Pour 1/2 cup cold soft drink over gelatin in each glass. Serve immediately with a straw to sip gelatin pieces and soft drink.
VARIATIONS: Two Color Goo: Prepare grape and orange flavor gelatin as directed on package. Refrigerate and break into flakes as directed. Layer 1/4 cup orange gelatin flakes, 1/4 cup grape gelatin flakes and additional 1/4 cup orange gelatin flakes in each glass. Pour orange cold soft drink. Over gelatin in each glass.
FIZZY Goblin Goo: Just before serving, prepare KOOL-AID as directed, substituting cold seltzer for water.

Next time I will post some drinks for the adults. ;)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Bat Lore

Guardian of the night, cleaner

Latin Name - various
Folkname - Fledermaus
Planet - Moon
Polarity - Feminine
Deities - Persephone, Camazotz, Fu Hsing

Weather Lore
The indigenous Americans regard the bat as a bringer of rain.

Folklore
In a Chinese folk-tale, the bat did not go to the phoenix's (Feng-huang) birthday party because it claimed to be a quadruped; later on it did not go to the unicorn's(Ky-lin) birthday party, claiming to be a bird. Both the unicorn and the phoenix had to admire it's cunning. Western belief has always linked the bat to vampires - undead spirits which prey on the blood of the living. In the Middle Ages in Europe, people thought bats sucked blood from sleeping children. A vampire bat has four razor sharp canine teeth with which it collects the blood of other animals, usually horses, and shares it with other bats. Bats starve very quickly, so this food sharing saves their lives.
If a bat should fly near you it was thought that someone would betray you, or even worse affect your daily life with either a curse or enchantment. A bat flying around the outside of a house or into a room was thought to indicate that a period of misfortune would befall someone known by the family. Bats on the wing were seen to have different meanings. If many were seen before twilight then fair weather would ensue, and for perhaps obvious reasons, to see one actually hit a building whilst on the wing was a sure sign of rain.
Some beliefs also originate in Africa, Australia and many are universally known. Often thought of as an extremely lucky animal, many would traditionally carry a bat bone to provide protection and encourage prosperity. In fact, although often associated with the darker aspects of what some may call witchcraft, the opportunity to become invisible at will was thought possible by carrying a right eye in the pocket. To kill one would shorten the life of a man according to folklore in Africa and Australia as the life of a bat was seen to parallel that of man, and if you ever found one entangled in your hair, be careful not to hurt the animal but get ready for a change of hairstyle as it was thought to encourage bad luck to head your way if the bat was not released by cutting the hair.

Mythology
The bat is an attribute of Persephone as Queen of the Underworld; it is a symbol of Fu Hsing, the Chinese god of happiness; and among the Quiche tribe of Guatemala the bat is a god, Camazotz (the equivalent of the Mayan deity Zotzilaha Chimalman). In the mythos of the Kulin and Wotjobaluk tribes of S.E. Australia, Balayang the Bat discovers the two ancestors of women, Kunnawara (Black Swan) and Kururuk (Native Companion) in the river and takes them to the creator god Bunjil, who gives them life, and says ' Man is not complete without you, nor will you be complete without him.' The bat is also the totem animal of the men of the Wotjobaluk tribe.

Symbolism

In Africa, the bat is ambivalent, symbolising perspicacity as well as darkness and obscurity. To the alchemists, it represented the androgyne, as being of dual nature (both bird and mouse). In Buddhism, it signifies a darkened understanding. In Chinese symbolism, the bat is yin because it is nocturnal. The word for bat, 'fu', is a homophone of the word for happiness, implying good luck, wealth, longevity and peace. Two bats indicate good wishes and are an emblem of Shou-hsing, god of longevity. Five bats symbolise the Five Blessings (health, wealth, long life, peace, happiness). A white bat symbolises longevity, referring to a story of a 1000-year-old bat hanging head downwards from a bough. A red bat symbolises good fortune (red being the Chinese lucky colour). In Christianity the bat is 'the bird of the Devil', and incarnation of the prince of darkness (Satan is depicted with bat's wings) As a supposed hybrid of a bird and rat, it is a symbol of duplicity and hypocrisy; as haunting ruins and lonely places, it symbolises melancholy. In European folklore the bat represents black magic, witchcraft, cunning, wisdom and revenge.

To the Hebrews, the bat denoted impurity and idolatry. In Japanese symbolism, it is unhappy restlessness, a chaotic state. As bats lived in caves, which were seen as entrances to the next world, they were thought to be immortal and so became symbols of immortality. In parts of Africa, Australia, Bosnia, Tonga, and England, the bat was sacred because it was believed to represent the soul of the dead. Some people even believed that if you touched a bat, your soul would be able to travel at night. Bat symbolizes Rebirth. Shaman initiates undergo a ritual death in which they face their fears and are reborn without their old identities. Bat medicine teaches us to release fear and any pattern which no longer fits in with our pattern of growth.

Bat's Wisdom Includes:

Shamanic death and rebirth
Pollination of new ideas
Transition
Initiation
Viewing past lives
Understanding grief
The use of vibrational sound
Camouflage
Invisibility
Ability to observe unseen

Monday, June 8, 2009

Some Frugal Halloween Ideas

The average family in North America spends over $100 per year on Halloween goodies. As your kids drag you through aisles full of ghosts and goblins, the scariest thing about Halloween is threatening to leave bite marks in your pocketbook. It can be much less expensive and a lot more fun to devise your own chilling creations. Here are a few tips that you can use to help save a little spending money and still make some great stuff for Halloween.

Face Paint
1 tsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. cold cream
food coloring

Mix all ingredients together in an old muffin pan and you are ready to paint. This amount makes one color.

Fake Wound
1 Tbsp Vaseline
tissue
cocoa powder
2-3 drops red food coloring

Place Vaseline in a bowl. Add food coloring. Blend with a toothpick. Stir in a pinch of cocoa to make a darker blood color. Separate tissue. Using 1 layer, tear a 2x3 inch piece and place at wound site. Cover with petroleum jelly and mold into the shape of a wound. The center should be lower than the sides. Fill the center with the red petroleum jelly mixture. Sprinkle center with some cocoa. Sprinkle a little around the edges of the wound to make darker.

Fake Blood - Mix 2/3 cup white corn syrup, 1 tsp. red food coloring, 2-3 drops blue food coloring to darken and 1 squirt dish soap (helps blood to run well).

Abrasions - Dab brown, red and black eye shadow on area. Apply blood over area with cotton balls. Use comb to gently scratch area in one direction. Apply cocoa or dirt over wound with cotton balls.

Black Eye - Apply red and blue eye shadow to depressions around eyes.

Bruises - Rub red and blue shadow over bony area to simulate recent bruises. Blue and yellow eye shadow to create older bruises.

Look Old - Cover face with baby powder. Draw dark lines on your skin for wrinkles. Smooth edges to blend. Cover again with baby powder. Add baby powder to your hair to create gray hair.

Deviled Eyeballs - Make deviled eggs. Add a green olive with pimento in the center for an "eyeball".

Radioactive Juice - Mix equal parts Mountain Dew and blue Kool-Aid.

Toxic Juice - Add some green food coloring to lemonade for a spooky color!

Bloody Eyeballs - Boil cherry tomatoes 30 seconds. Allow to cool; then peel skin.

Goblin Hand - Freeze green Kool-Aid in a rubber or latex glove, float in punch. (Make sure it's not a medical type of glove as they usually have a type of powder inside to help people put them on easier so it wouldn't be good to use those kinds. Don't want any of the powder in your punch!)

Spider Webs - Use the tape from old cassettes or black yarn to make spider webs. Use cotton balls stretched out for small spider webs.

Glass Jack-o-Lantern - Outline a pumpkin face on a spaghetti or pickle jar with black paint. The paint around the outside of it with orange paint. Place a candle inside for a jack-o-lantern.

Halloween Guess It Game

In this game, you challenge the participants to reach into mystery boxes filled with creepy things and try to guess what each item is. The person with the most correct answers wins the game. An example is if you want them to guess "grapes", you might try to confuse them by saying, "I think it's eyeballs..."

Cut a hole in the top of a shoe box or laundry box for each item to be used. Cover the box with black spray paint. Decorate each box with pumpkins or spiders for a more festive flavor.

Place the following items inside, one per box. Be sure to place enough of each item so the guests can adequately "feel" the guts.

Eyeballs - grapes or peeled cherry tomatoes
Intestines - cooked spaghetti
Skin - oil a piece of plastic bag
Brains - scrambled eggs
Hair - an old clown wig
Bones - thoroughly washed chicken bones placed in some sand
Vomit - chunky salsa
Fingers - hot dogs cut into finger sized pieces
Teeth - corn nuts, pine nuts or popcorn

Have a Pumpkin Hunt - Hide mini pumpkins like you would Easter Eggs. Let the kids find and decorate them. For small children use glue sticks with construction paper cut-outs for decorations.

Edible Slime - Pour lime gelatin into a glass bowl. After it is partially set, add gummy worms. Chill until lightly set. Then serve slopped all over the plate.

Bloody Popcorn - Add red food color to melted butter and pour over popcorn.

Freeze gummy worms in ice cubes and add them to drinks. Cut gummy worms in half if needed.

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