Saturday, November 2, 2013

Halloween and pumpkin cake

This year we had the best Halloween ever. In the morning we carved our pumpkins, 
 then using the flesh I made pumpkin soup and this pumpkin cake.
 Recipe (from a LLL magazine)
200g raisins
200g sugar 
4 eggs
120g sunflower oil
200g buckwheat flour (you can use semolina too)
100g plain spelt (or wheat) flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
100g crushed walnuts
3 hand fulls of fresh grated pumpkin (you could also use 6 apples, or the equivalent carrot or courgette)

Mix everything together and bake at 150 degrees for about an hour.

We also made pumpkin gingerbreads,
 After dinner the kids got dressed up in their costumes and we went to visit our neighbours to offer a slice of cake or a biscuit in return for the goodies they gave us.
 After that we waited for our friends to come by trick or treating at our house and we went with them to the estate on which they live in the village. There we had the most wonderful Halloween celebration.
There was a big bonfire and lots of kids. Garry arrived after work dressed as a bear and with beer to share, just in time for a really beautiful fireworks display. Benny and Joa had never seen fireworks before and I think I spent as much time watching their wee faces as I did watching the sky. There were glo-sticks and chinese lanterns, chat, sparklers and fun. Joa fell asleep on my lap in front of the fire and the other 2 went into one of the houses to watch a little tv with the other kids. There was such a great sense of welcome and community and I was so happy that we got to be a part of it.
Unfortunately Joa woke up and was sick, then when we went home Benny was sick too. Rebe was sick the next morning and by mid morning I had caught the bug too, so we spent all day yesterday feeling very sick and sorry for ourselves.
We're all on the mend now though, but relishing the memories of such a great Halloween :-)

3 comments:

  1. That looks like a lot of fun. The french don't really celebrate Halloween, but this year we were in Italy and they do - kids had a blast. Last year they got to have a UK Halloween, I think they are getting a liking for it. Halloween must be a great celebration in Ireland.
    That cake looks fantastic.
    My little guy got sick this week also, the bug declared it's presence 1 hour into a 5 hour car journey and stayed for quite some time after.

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  2. oh ghastly, at least we were at home I can't imagine that was a good car journey. It was a lovely halloween thank you x

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  3. Looks like great fun Laura (shame about the gastro). Love your pumpkin biscuits and the cake looks awesome (must have a go at making it). xx

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