Luau DIY

My sister-in-law had always dreamed of a Hawaiian-themed bachelorette party, and that is exactly what she got! Her sister and a good friend organized the party and I chipped in as well. Hawaiian stuff are a bit of a novelty and quite expensive in our country (a single lei would cost around 5 euros) and we were on a budget so we ended up making most of the decorations and accessories ourselves.

The grass skirts were made by my sister-in-law out of crepe paper stapled on elastic band. The leis were made by a friend out of tissue or crepe paper and cut up straws. The tissue paper was cut into many flower shapes. They turned out really pretty.

I cut triangles out of a cereal box and painted them with acrylic paint-

I made 4 holes in each of the triangles with an office hole puncher.

I threaded a ribon through the wholes

I found this idea for cupcakes and the flip-flop cookies on another blog. The base is simple sponge cake, I colored half the frosting blue and kept the other half white and dipped it in brown sugar Ű(before adding the blue frosting to the other half. I used gum candy for the float belt.

I had searched for an oval shaped cookie cutter, but could not find one anywhere, so in the end I decided to look in the bathroom cupboard where I found the cap of a Nivea sunscreen bottle.

I used store bought decorative icing to make the flip flop straps. ( I used Schwartau colored icing pen thingies http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schwartauer-Werke-Schwartau-color-yellow/dp/B003RFQOVY)

I made these flowers for everyone's hair out of muslin and organza and beads. I cut out the flower shapes and then I melted the edges and I used transparent thread. I may make a tutorial.

Elderflower syrup

Fruit syrup or squash is a drink that was popular during my childhood and is experiencing a renaissance- at least in our family. I am more of a "let the kids drink water" type of parent myself, but my husband comes home with a bottle of syrup increasingly often- to a great delight to all of us, I might add...

photo from http://www.laundryetc.co.uk/2009/05/24/the-elderflowers-are-coming/

 I decided to make our own syrup, but as we do not have any fruits growing in our garden, I decided to use elderflower blossoms. There are several elderflower bushes in our area (which are in bloom from May to June), but it is important to pick them from bushes located far away from traffic. My aunt picks them at a cemetery...
It is also important to pick the blossoms when they are in bloom and if possible after it had rained.
There are several recipes for making this syrup, but here is the one I used: (I ended up with 3 wine bottles worth of syrup)
25-30 elderflower blossoms (take the dried bits off)
2liters of water
2 kgs of sugar
75gs of lemon tablets/citric acid tablets (a combination of ascorbic acid and apple acid- possibly replaceable by actual lemons)
1. Let the blossoms sit in water for 24 hours with half of the tablets. Cover bowl but stir the liquid once or twice.
2. Remove blossoms from liquid
3. Add sugar and half of the lemon tablets and cook for 35 minutes. Stirring ocasionally and making sure the syrup does not caramelize.
4. Pour syrup into disinfected bottles.

I put the syrup into wine bottles for a rustic feel and decorated the bottles with vignettes.

I  used leftover scraps of wrapping paper, and letter stamps I recently bought. (So glad I got to use it for something :) )
After finishing with the letters, I rubbed a candle over the paper so that the ink from the stamp would not rub off later on hands or clothes:

The end result:

We delude this syrup with water ( I prefer sparkling water) and lemon/lime slices or with lemongrass or mint leaves. The vast amount of sugar used as well as the citric acid preserves the syrup, however it is best to store it in a cool, dry place. It makes a good present for foodies, families and families with children or with sweet teeth. Despite the sugar, it is probably much more healthy than coke, sprite ect...  Having said that, I plan to try a honey based recipe next year.

EDIBLE EYEBALLS

EDIBLE EYEBALLS

Super-sweet and Super-gross these babies could be perfect Monster-party / Halloween/ David Bowie fan club meeting treats!

My son got a Horrible Science book from her godparents

In it there was a recipe that really captured his imagination: edible eyeballs. It seemed a bit complicated at first but once we started making it wasn't that bad.

Recipe: 
25g Rice Crispies
75g chocolate
8tbsp powdered sugar (mix it w water to make icing)
M&Ms
clingfilm

Step 1: I melted the chocolate over a bath of boiling water (I actually used the leftover choc from the candied oranges).

Step2: We mixed Rice Crispies into the chocolate

Step 3: We spooned out the goo onto bits of clingfilm and wrapped them like so (see above). The amount spooned out should be more or less that of an eyeball :)

Step 4: We placed the wrapped balls on a tray/plate and put them in the freezer or fridge to set.
Step 5: When they have hardened we unwrapped them and place them on baking paper

Step 6: We put icing  on eyeballs, stuck an M&Ms onto each and put a small dollop of brown store bought icing for the pupils (should have been black) 

Here is Daddy indulging in a freshly hardened eyeball with Simon looking on. :))

P.s. Thank you F and É for all your help!

CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

We usually make candied orange peels in the winter, more specifically as Xmas gifts for friends  right about the time I make my Spiced Orange jam... However, this year I found such a great recipe for orange jam after we ran out I wanted to make some more to last us until the next orange season... So I made the orange jam and decided not to throw the peel away but rather make candies for Easter! To make things a bit more interesting - and also because I have recently found a huge bar of baking chocolate in the cupboard- I also dipped the orange peels in chocolate...


Step 1: I thoroughly washed the oranges. I put the orange peels in a large pot and let them sit for 3-4 days changing the water a few times a day. (If you do not want to wait that long you can let them sit for 2 days and bring the water to boil 2-3 times before candying them)
Step 2: Cut the orange peel into strips

Step 3: make a syrup consisting of water and sugar. (For about the peels of 2kgs of oranges I used 0.5 liter of water and 0.5 kg of sugar) When the sugar has dissolved, add the peels.

Step 4: Let the orange peels cook, this can take over an hour. stirring occasionally so the sugar does not burn.

This is what it should look like when the water is gone, at the last stage it is best to stay near the pot and stir.

Step 5: Lay the peels on a cloth covered tray or backing sheet to dry, place then so that they will not stick together. You can stop here, the candied peels are great as snacks or for baking cookies/cakes.

 Step 6: Melt dark chocolate in a shallow pot over boiling water

Step 7: Dip peels in chocolate and place on baking sheets- it important to use a non-stick surface so it is easily removed after chocholate dries. I left peels on tray overnight

Here is the end result... they taste a lot like like Terry's Chocolate Oranges!

 

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