October 2013 Archives

It appears, after careful searching (read: not that careful), that I never blogged our pumpkin effort from last year. Odds are it was because we were stuck in Minneapolis due to Superstorm Sandy, but it could be just because I'm lazy (quiet, you.)

So, after a really nice effort this year, I've decided on a MEGAPOST of both years' accomplishments!

Without further ado, we'll start with 2012's editions:

Ellen's Dr. Who "Fezzes are cool":

Katie's "Nyan Pumpkin"

Chris's "Celtic Pride" unlit and lit








And my "Super Mario" unlit and lit.








Linda did not participate in the 2012 festivities, preferring to take a more advisory post. However, she did a wonderful job with her "Jack Skellington" head this year:





Katie followed up her lovely Nyan cat with an even geekier effort, the robots from Portal 2 "high fiving".

Chris outdid himself with the Psycho from Borderlands 2. I'm posting a picture from their website this is based on, and his freehand pumpkin version.

I did the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, looking angry.

I owe a blog entry on our wedding, of course, but for now let me post the sweet tea recipe that I served at the wedding, as i've had several people ask.

First, I use Harney and Sons 2 QT black tea bags. Best tea I've had, and a pretty good deal considering they make so much tea at a time. You can get them in NYC at their store, or online here:

https://www.harney.com/organic-plain-black-iced-tea-1.html (get the bags, not loose tea).

I made in bulk, and that came out to 7 bags for 3 gallons. It's supposed to be 2 bags / gallon, but I like it strong.

First, boil 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar to make simple syrup. I ended up using 1 1/3 cup of sugar / gallon of tea.

After the syrup is done, let sit while you boil 1 cup of water for every tea bag you're going to use. I'd suggest starting with 1 cup of water + 2 tea bags/gallon. After the water boils, add the tea bags and let them steep for at least 15 minutes. Pour this into a pitcher and add the simple syrup. If you're making 1 gallon, you'll want 1 cup water + 1 1/3 cup sugar worth of syrup.

Fill up the rest of the pitcher with cold water and mix together.

Lastly, get some 16 oz mason jars and fresh mint. You'll put a sprig of mint in each jar and fill with tea, seal up, and refridgerate. Should easily keep for a few weeks. Drink right out of the jars.