Katie: Welcome to another episode of Knit A Spell. If you're watching this week,
Katie: and I highly recommend you watch us this week, either on Instagram or on our YouTube channel,
Katie: you may notice that not only is Jim not here this week, but we have another cohost. It is my mother: Connie Rempe!
Katie: Yay.
Connie: I'm so excited to be here.
Katie: That's right.
Connie: Yes.
Katie: The maker of the Magical Maker herself.
Connie: True.
Katie: Connie was just inducted into the Barbecue Central Show Hall of Fame after being on the show a record 17 times!
Connie: I'm a good filler.
Katie: Connie's Corner has become quite the segment and was overwhelmingly accepted this year.
Connie: A very big honor.
Katie: That's right.
Connie: Yes.
Katie: It's my honor to have her on my show this time since Greg has been monopolizing her and we're going to talk about spooky snacks and booze beverages.
Light From Lantern presents: Knit A Spell.
I'm magical maker: Katie Rempe.
And I'm the maker of magic: James Divine.
Join us as we stitch together the symbiotic relationship between crafting and 'The Craft'.
Katie: So why would my mom be a perfect fit for this episode?
Katie: To fill in for Jim? Not to speak on your behalf, but if there has ever been a kitchen witch, it's this woman right here.
Katie: I don't think I've ever had a time where I've gone to a restaurant and I've eaten something and I've described it to you where you haven't had the ability to
Katie: 100% replicate it.
Katie: Better even than the restaurant did originally.
Connie: Cooking is my hobby. I enjoy it. It's my release from anxiety and tension, and then it benefits everybody else.
Katie: The reason that I'm not so good at it is because she is so good at it, in fact.
Katie: And over the years, we've collected quite a few recipes and inspirational articles and whatnot on snacks and beverages of the spooky variety. And so we thought this is a perfect opportunity to share them forward with you.
Katie: This week we're gonna be making a drink in the second half
Katie: and in the first half, we're gonna be sharing all sorts of our favorite recipes and things that we think you should know about that hopefully will inspire you this season.
Connie: And they don't have to be difficult, anybody can do it, and it's fun to do and get together with your friends!
Katie: First of all, I think we should reflect on why do we even bother making spooky snacks? Can't we just eat the same stuff all year round?
Connie: We can, but what's more fun than making something really cute and clever and, a little different for certain times of years.
Connie: Now, halloween is coming. What's more prolific than having a few different cute hor'dourves to share with your friends and family.
Connie: Yeah, I agree.
Connie: You can anthropomorphize anything if you want to, as we found in researching for this episode.
Connie: So why don't you start by sharing a couple of your favorite recipes with our listeners.
Connie: Going right to really easy, but really cute. I always have crackers or little flatbread toast. And you get some cream cheese.
Connie: Do a schmear, kind of a ghosty creation on that cracker. And then take two capers. Ooh, little eyeballs. Stick it at the top and you've got, a really cute cracker.
Connie: Another one is just Mozzarella sticks. Everybody loves cheese.
Connie: You take them shred the top, so it's like hair. And again, get your capers, stick 'em on little eyeballs.
Connie: Another one that I like is chocolate graham crackers. Ooh. Melt some chocolate.
Connie: Do crisscrosses on there like it's. The oh, sutures. Sus, Yeah, the sutures.
Connie: Another one is cute on a skewer, you take little chunks of say, salami or ham. Maybe three chunks.
Connie: Put it on the skewer. Take some creamy Italian dressing and drizzle it over there, making it look like a mummy, and Olive on the top and a little dressing on where you're gonna put the eyeballs and capers again.
Connie: Capers are really your friend because they're little eyeballs.
Connie: I personally like witches fingers. I usually do it on a cheese ball and then stick the fingers all around.
Connie: It can be like cheese straws or whatever, and then at the end for the fingernail use an almond.
Connie: And then on the cheese ball itself, again, another friend along with your capers is your pimento stuffed olives.
Connie: Yes.
Connie: So put a couple eyeballs on your cheese balls. You put your, witches fingers all around there.
Connie: It's the only time where it's okay to stick your finger into a cheese ball.
Connie: That is true.
Connie: Don't redip.
Connie: They're easy snacks. Nothing hard, doesn't take more than a few minutes to do all of them. And you look like a rockstar. Your
Connie: friends are
Connie: enjoying it immensely, it's a good thing.
Connie: Yeah. A fun time for the season.
Connie: Now, if you wanna do something a little more substantial, we call it a bat witch. Which is the bacon, arugula and tomato now. So you get like a basal leaf. A thin slice of tomato and your bacon and drizzle just a little Italian, dressing over that. And you've got a batt witch. A little more substantial.
Connie: Your friends think, look it, you put in a lot of effort and, minimal effort for maximum, pleasure.
Katie: One thing I enjoy about making snacks for the season is you can always look to items that already have some flare. Let's say, you're making perhaps a graveyard cake and you have all of your little gummy worms and everything else that's in there.
Katie: Obviously you wanna put it in a little cute pot, right? I Anything could be receptible for a dessert, but when it's the season, you gotta go the extra mile.
Katie: You could get these pretty cheap from Oh yeah. Dollar store or thrift store even.
Connie: Yeah. And then, other than Halloween or whatever, you put nuts in there or it's all year round, you can use it. So it's a multitasker and I appreciate a multitasker.
Katie: I just was gonna say that. And it shouldn't be a surprise at all because if anybody has a psychic connection, it's she and I.
Katie: Yes. Yeah.
Connie: And it's almost everything you can make ahead of time. So that's the real magic. Yes. You're not spending time away from your friends while they're there doing stuff. You've prepped it, you've got it ready to go.
Connie: It's stuck in the fridge, you. Boom, out it comes and you can have a good time too.
Katie: You could actually be drinking and eating with your friends instead of stuck in the kitchen preparing everything for them to enjoy on your behalf.
Connie: Yes. Yeah.
Katie: We could keep you here, obviously forever, but.
Connie: I think that's, a really good overview of a lot of really easy ones for you guys to do.
Connie: And we're gonna have pictures of all of these things for you guys.
Connie: We'll also be sharing a bunch of them on our Instagram page you can just be following us over there to enjoy all the fun. Yes.
Connie: Why don't we take a quick break and when we come back we'll get boozy. Now the fun begins.
Connie: That's right.
Katie: We'll be right back.
Jim: Your hands are the map to achieving anything you want in life. But it's hard to read that map on your hands in just one reading.
Jim: My coaching packages allow me to work with you over time to build towards your goals, listening, advising, and cheering you on.
Jim: We bring in life coaching, executive coaching, leadership coaching we bring in tarot, palmistry, a little bit of astrology, all the mystical and the practical together, and these amazing coaching pathways that my clients are on already really help propel people towards their goals.
Katie: Learn more about Jim's new Packages by sending him an email [email protected] to schedule a free discovery call. Or visit thedivinehand.com to learn more.
Katie: Hey Knit A Spell fans. Join our Patreon for just $13 a month to gain access to extended episode comments, episode outtakes behind the scenes and bonus content, magical making tips, monthly polls to influence future topics and guests and interact with your fellow patrons. Plus, you'll be supporting one of your favorite podcasts.
Katie: Join today to gain access to our entire post history. Visit patreon.com/lightfromlantern to learn more and sign up! Jim and I look forward to seeing you there.
Katie: And we're back. So on the second half, I'm going to demonstrate a little cocktail here, and it is the BooBerry cocktail. Something of my own creation.
Katie: Maybe not that creative, but we're doing it anyway.
Katie: So here's what you're gonna need:
Katie: Some blueberries.
Katie: An alcohol of your preference. I prefer something clear like a vodka or a gin,
Katie: or you could even use none of that, if that's your preference.
Katie: And then ice.
Katie: And some soda, water, and cute cup if you got one.
Katie: Here's how I recommend making it, and if you disagree, please leave me to comment or send me an email.
Katie: I am no mixologist. I just like to drink!
Connie: And don't we all .
Katie: So I'm gonna start with putting some blueberries into a glass.
Katie: I'm putting just enough to cover the bottom here, but if you prefer more or less, feel free to customize it to your preference.
Katie: Then you get the muddler.
Connie: And what's more Halloween ask than squashing and mashing? Yes. Kinda like the monster mash the come on. Yeah,
Katie: This is now called the Monster Mash . I don't know what the BooBerry cocktail, that was a stupid name. That was much better.
Connie: It all
Katie: fits. It also reminds me of being a kid and how you'd go to school and they'd have a Halloween festival day and they'd make you put your hand in something that felt like eyeballs, but was usually grapes.
Connie: You wanna peel the skin off the grape so you have that real slimy.
Katie: Ooh. Somebody had a lot of time on their hands.
Katie: That wasn't us.
Katie: So once it's good and muddled, you'll see it has this sort of nice pinky color, which is always surprising to me.
Katie: I always think they're gonna be, the same color as the outside.
Katie: Once you have 'em good and muddled, you can go ahead and add your ice.
Katie: And then add, an ounce or whatever your preference is of your preferred alcohol.
Katie: I'm going for vodka because you're always in the clear with vodka.
Connie: We're not judging how much you put in there either.
Katie: You do, you cheers! So get that over the ice and then finish it off with a little soda water.
Katie: This one happens to be lemon, but you could use lime. You could use any gambit of flavors or unflavored.
Connie: Whatever tickles your taste buds.
Katie: Whatever floats your boat.
Katie: Looks good. Whoa. Yes.
Katie: And then I think a fun little finisher here would be to grab a couple of your leftover blueberries and stick them onto a fancy toothpick situation. We found these guys that have little decorations at the top.
Katie: Eyeball esque.
Katie: Top it right there. Looks delicious.
Katie: Give it all a big spin. That looks good. Wow. With all this fruit in here, it seems like it might be good for you?
Connie: Obviously! You have to have so many servings of fruit. You could take care of that in several drinks.
Katie: That's true. And blueberries are full of antioxidants. Yes. They're also quite magical. They represent the earth and the water, which is funny because I'm a Virgo and she's a Cancer.
Connie: Give it a shot.
Connie: I'm really excited.
Katie: That's taste dangerous.
Connie: Does it taste deadly?
Katie: It's refreshing. It's not overpowering. I think if somebody wanted a little bit more punch Yeah, you could probably add like some lemon juice or some lime juice.
Connie: I think that's very good.
Katie: If you're a sweet juice, you probably could add some sugar or some simple syrup.
Katie: Yes. Ooh. Or a sugared rim.
Connie: Oh, sugared rim is impressive looking.
Katie: Yes. So that is our BooBerry cocktail slash monster mash cocktail. And we'll put the recipe online for you to enjoy at your leisure anytime of year.
Connie: Absolutely. Cuz it really is very refreshing.
Katie: Now, here's the other thing to consider. Not only can you make drinks into something spooky or themed, you can also purchase items that are already themed. For instance,
Connie: Oh, this is awesome.
Katie: The crystal skull vodka. We aren't supported by any of these people, by the way, but if you'd like to, we are willing to hear from you. Dan Aykroyd.
Katie: And who didn't like Dan Aykroyd?
Katie: He's the Ghostbuster!
Katie: Fun story about this. You might have noticed I didn't use it in our drink because,
Katie: Pinnacle Vodka.
Katie: These are two very different price point options, as you might imagine, just even from the packaging. However, the aficionado that lives in this family, which happens to be my father, did a blind taste test between Pinnacle, Crystal Skull and Titos. Guess which one came out on top?
Katie: Your wallet will be thankful to learn it was the cheapest option and we tried to trick him. We made him do it a couple of times, which he was actually very willing to do.
Connie: Kept getting happier to do it.
Katie: I'd love to know your thoughts on your favorite vodka. Have you done a blind taste test and realized disappointingly that the one you spent all the money on for the cool bottle, which I obviously kept, so not a total loss? Was actually the least liked ?
Katie: Especially after his whole story about how it's poured over a diamond. Maybe it's the most magical vodka, but it didn't taste the best.
Katie: You had some other cocktails that you wanted to share, so I'm gonna enjoy this beverage while you share that.
Connie: My favorite, not the taste maybe so much, but it was called the Eyeball Highball. Which come on, that is just so visually adorable.
Katie: And who doesn't like to say eyeball highball?
Connie: You take your ice cube. Not that anybody has an ice cube tray, but it's worth going out and getting some. They still sell them. They do, yeah. And you get your, again, pao stuffed olives, slice 'em like, it's gonna be an eyeball.
Connie: Put them in the ice cubes free zone and that's your ice for your cocktail. That's your eyeball high eyeball. It's adorable.
Connie: I'm gonna be freezing all sorts of eyeball looking things this year.
Connie: Now we did hear of another another drink , it was The Scary Bloody Mary.
Connie: You get your bloody Mary mix, or if you're one of those that make your own, that's okay too.
Connie: Then on the you take the skewer and put a little mozzarella ball. And then in the center you cut out a little hole and you put your sliced pimento stuffed olive, and you set them, like over the top of the drink. And it's looking at you and it's cute.
Connie: It's all stuff you can do ahead.
Katie: Yes.
Katie: Yeah. This last one is my favorite.
Connie: The ghost in the graveyard, which we found that there is a black vodka. Who knew? You know how much more holiday esque is that than black vodka and then a scoop of vanilla ice.
Connie: So that's your ghost,
Connie: In the grave yard in the graveyard. I didn't put that together until right now. Yes. That's clever and sounds delicious.
Connie: So there are drink options out there .
Katie: And after a couple, you won't even care what they looked like initially.
Katie: You'll just be having a great time.
Connie: It's a fun evening. Your friends are gonna really enjoy it.
Katie: Many photo opportunities. That's right.
Katie: We hope that this episode has inspired you.
Katie: And if you try out any of these things, we'd love to see them. Absolutely.
Katie: Connie wants to see them. Don't disappoint my mother!
Connie: Do it! Just do it!
Katie: Make something and then show us. Yes. Show us on iTune. I that'd be hell thing. Yeah. If you can figure out, show us on iTunes or Instagram, or an email, or on our Patreon, whatever.
Katie: We just wanna see where you're up to.
Katie: All right.
Connie: Happy Halloween.
Connie: You're gonna be the star of your party.
Katie: That's right. Be safe.
Katie: Thanks for joining us. Mom, you've been in delight.
Connie: It was wonderful. Thanks for having me. What a pleasure. Aww, my baby!
Katie: She's such a sport.
Connie: Her brothers call her the baby still.
Katie: I'll never not be the baby, that's the power of age.
Katie: And don't worry, Jim will be joining us again next week so you can look forward to having your original crew back, although. I don't know.
Connie: It was fun for me.
Katie: Encroachment.
Connie: It was fun.
Katie: She's only available for special engagements.
Connie: I don't wanna step on anyone's toes.
Katie: All right. Until next week.
Katie: Thanks for joining.
Connie: Bye.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the show, consider sharing it with a friend, leaving a review on iTunes and Spotify or following Knit A Spell on Instagram.
You can also subscribe to the Light From Lantern YouTube channel to enjoy full episodes of Knit A Sepll and see our happy faces.
You can also learn more about readings, classes, and events going on with your favorite Maker of Magic James Divine by visiting thedivinehand.com and subscribing to his newsletter. Then follow Jim's fun and interactive Instagram account @DivineHandJim.
Keep up with Katie the Magical Maker by subscribing to her newsletter at lightfromlantern.com.
You'll receive a free knitting pattern as a thank you gift, then follow Katie on Instagram @LightFromLantern for even more magical making tips.
See you next week. Next week.
