PASTA PUMPKANESCA

We know Halloween is over, but pumpkin season isn't and you might still have some leftovers from your past pumpkin carving sessions. So here's a treat for all the people who are (like Melina) not too much into sweets and cakes. Besides that, who doesn't love a steaming bowl of nice pasta, topped with a deliciously creamy sauce?

Well, we certainly do and we think that you won't be able to resist this quick and easy dish either! 

Don't worry if you lack some ingredients. Just remember that cooking is a creative process and if you do it with love, the chances of your food not tasting good are close to zero. So we hope you enjoy this recipe and maybe even surprise a loved one with a nice home cooked meal. 

You'll need: 

pumpkin pulp (can't give you any measurements here, just use how much you like) 

fennel (no measurements either)

a nice big onion 

a small cup of cream

a tiny glass of white wine 

some cherry tomatoes

Parmesan

and of course the pasta of your choice 

After you put the pasta in boiling water, dice the onion and fry it in some olive oil. Add the fennel, pumpkin and tomatoes and stir until semi soft. Then pour the wine and cream over it and let it cook until the vegetables are done. Spice the sauce with spices of your choice, mix it with the pasta and help yourself to a big heap of Parmesan or Pecorino. Easy-peasy! 

PUMPKIN CAKE

Maybe you did a lot of pumpkin carving these past days and now you're wondering what to do with all the pulp you saved. We can help you, let's just agree on the fact, that pumpkin soup most certainly is delicious, but it gets boring after a while, doesn't it? 

Here's the recipe for a mouth-watering pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting: 

175 g flour

175g brown sugar 

125g sun flower or other plant oil 

175g pumpkin pulp 

80g of ground walnuts 

3 eggs

1 tea spoon cinnamon

1 tea spoon baking powder

1 pack of vanilla sugar

the skin of one orange 

a pinch of salt 

for the frosting: 

200g cream cheese

80g powdered sugar

the juice of one orange 

Preheat the oven to 180°C, then mix sugar, oil and eggs until nice and creamy. Now comes the best part, you can add all the other ingredients for the cake, mix thoroughly and surprise surprise (!) you're done. Coat a baking dish with oil or butter, pour the mix in and let it bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Now sit down and have a cigarette. You deserved it! 

After the cake is done and you took it out of the oven to let it cool down, you can prepare the frosting, which basically means whipping the three ingredients together and then you just wait for your cake to have room temperature, to put the frosting on top and if you like in between. And that's it. Seriously. Who knew baking could be that easy?

HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS

We have already shown you how to create an awesome costume, so now it is time to pimp your crib! 

We had a lovely handicraft afternoon, took some pictures and had a nice glass of wine. 

Just sit back, relax and envy us for our crafty skills! Just kidding, anybody can do it because yes, it's that simple.  

 "Snakes in a jar" No Samuel L. Jackson there, sorry guys.

 Meet Hedwig, our transsexual pet owl. 

 Cordelia, the slightly confused ghost. 

 Jack the Pumpkin King and Luna the speaking cat (we know she has a crescent moon on her forehead and not a star, but it was easier to carve).

 Paper bag lanterns. A.k.a "the easiest".

 Hedwig's got a dirty mouth!

 Meet Witch Vader. So fancy! 

GET IN THE MOOD

There are only 17 days left until Halloween and oh boy are we excited! It's something about autumn, with it's foggy nights and dead leafs covering the ground, that makes you wanna get your tarot cards and sacrifice a goat to Satan. Naturally Halloween is the peak of this mythical and sombre time and should be properly celebrated. With creepy movies, booze and dressing up! It could even be, that we like Halloween just a tiny bit more than Christmas...Sure there are no gifts, but it's the only time of the year, where it almost seems possible, that there is still some magic in this world. And we want you to experience that feeling too, so take a look at these images, dust off your Ouija board and get into that creepy flow, which everybody secretly enjoys...