Recipe: The Spider Web Sweet

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Halloween is this Monday and is sure to be filled with tricks and treats. If you’re like me, you have a giant sweet tooth which can be satisfied with this Halloween recipe:

The Spiderweb Sweet

-Oreo graham cracker pie crust
-white baking chocolate (I normally use Baker’s, but Hershey’s is good too)
-gummy worms
-1-1/2 cups of milk
-chocolate Jell-o instant pudding mix

1.Beat Jell-o mix and milk with a whisk for 2 min. (Make sure there are no clumps and that the texture is smooth – just like spider silk)

2. Put half of the mixture into your pie crust.

3. Top the half with gummy worms – they’re the spider’s victims and they serve as a nice surprise to those eating this treat.

4. Pile the rest of the mixture onto of the candy coated top. After doing so, use a spatula to smooth out the mixture. This will give your pie an overall neat appearance.

5. Place in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

6. Now it’s time to make your web. Remove the cheesecake and melt your chocolate (I usually use a microwave because it’s quicker and easier) for about 60 seconds. Take it out every 10-15 seconds to stir before returning it to the microwave.

7. Once your chocolate is melted use a piping bag (or makeshift piping bag using a Ziploc bag and cutting the bottom corner off) to make the web design. For the web design, start with a little circle in the center and draw larger ones around it. Fill your center circle with the white chocolate, but do not fill the others.

8. When you finished crafting your circles, take a toothpick or something with a point on it and dip it in your center circle. Proceed to draw lines from the center circle to the crust –this will create your spider web.

9. Once your web is created, either serve the sweet on the spot or put it back into the fridge until it’s treat time.

You can also craft a reverse Spider Web Sweet by using a basic cream cheese recipe and melting dark chocolate or milk chocolate for your web.

Not into spiders? Well, you can always make a graveyard instead. To do so, you would follow The Spider Web Sweet, but instead of putting a web ontop you would put a rather delicious cemetery.

Cutting cookies in half (namely Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Milanos), you would stick them into the pie so they would stand like tombstones. You can even decorate them with fun little phrases like ‘I Emma Spook’, ‘RIP’, ‘Boo,’ and other Halloween sayings and puns. You can also use chocolate Pocky or pretzels (chocolate coated or regular) to make little fences for your ghastly graveyard.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what do you like to make for Halloween?

Christmas Traditions Get Better With Age

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Christmas is usually a time for children, but who’s to say it isn’t for the young at heart? I’m a child at heart especially when those jingle bells start jingling and trees are beautifully adorned with decor. Even so, my inner child still doesn’t derive from the fact that I am an adult now and that some Christmas traditions have fallen to the way side due to time. Yet there are some holiday related events that still are just as wonderful to me as an adults as when I was a child.

Here are some Christmas traditions that get better with age:

5. Christmas Apparel

Don we now our gay apparel – especially for the holiday season. Since I was a  child I have had Christmas outfits: Christmas dresses when I was a baby and from childhood onward, Christmas pajamas that could only be worn on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. New pajamas are a treat because they’re warm and hopefully adorned with some awesome design (like Darth Vader), but Christmas pajamas are special. They’re pajamas ringing in yet another Christmas, a Christmas full of merriment, wonder, and elation.

4. Holiday Baking

Most children helped their parents bake during the holidays for some party or for leaving cookies out for Santa. In teen years and onward, holiday baking falls onto our shoulders by means of tradition or merely wanting to whip up a batch of cookies. I find that I love holiday baking because it allows me to further my creativity and I get to give people I care for something sweet just in time for Christmas.

3. Advent Calendars

Advent calendars are little sneak peeks of what’s to come for the big day. Days marked from December 1^st to the 25^th (24^th for some advent calendars), hide little gifts beneath their numbers. There are even different types of advent calendars from beard conditioning to tea. These calendars in particular get better with every year because our interests tend to change overtime and variety should always be welcomed. One year someone may get a chocolate themed advent calendar, another year they may get an anime themed calendar – the possibilities are endless. 


2. Giving

Speaking of giving, as children we often receive presents from everyone. Albeit, we do give whatever gifts we can to others as children, but we do more receiving. As an adult, the role is most often reversed. We give now to children, to close friends, to coworkers, to parents, to relatives, and even to charity. This year I feel as though I’ll be giving more which is wonderful. Tis the season to be jolly and giving, so why embrace it? Besides, there’s just some wonderful feeling that comes from giving a gift to someone. It’s that warm feeling like popcorn is being made in your stomach and explodes into thousands of fuzzy warm puffs. I’ll be gift giving not only to my family, friends, and coworkers, but also to Toys for Tots –a personal tradition I’ve performed every year at every possible chance I can.

1. The Lights

As kids our eyes widen at the glimmer and glow of Christmas trees and shimmering houses. The amazement still strikes us as adults, but only now we can create that magic. We can deck our halls, doll up our trees, and adorn our lawns and homes with enough lights to be seen from the Curiosity rover. We are now the providers of those smiles, those widened eyes, those slacked jaws; we are doing what we only dreamed we could as kids. With the use of technology and lights we can create the magic of those wondrous decorations we saw many years ago as children.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what are some of your Christmas traditions?

Hints for Surviving the Holidays

Season’s Greetings and Welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Folks, it’s just two days away from Christmas and I’m more excited than a dog with a chew toy. The holidays can usually be a hit or miss time of the year, especially with family and friends.  Some people dread the holidays due to in-laws, parents, being alone, and other reasons. Here are some tips for the upcoming holidays.

5. Baking Makes Any Soul Happy

As I’ve mentioned before, I have depression. I know the symptoms too well and still suffer them, but I accept it as a flaw of mine that can be healed with time. You know what makes me happy though and forget my depression? Baking. Baking is as therapeutic as cleaning and is an art. Baking takes your mind off everything and helps you focus on the situation at hand: to ensure that you bake the best food the universe has to offer.

It’s your baking; you do it how you want to and it will teach you what you did right or wrong. If people don’t like what you made, it’s not your fault. You didn’t ask them to eat what you made, they just decided to eat it. You just made it because it made you happy and there’s nothing wrong with that.

4.  Treat Yo Self

Ah, yes the concept from “Parks and Recreation” that the Internet has adapted. You may be someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas or any holiday for that matter. You may be a person who doesn’t buy gifts for people. Either way, you have your reasons. However, this is the season of giving and there is no harm in giving yourself something. You’ve worked for it all year, you’ve had your eye on that one thing that you know will make you happy. So by all means, order it online, go to the store and buy it, because you deserve it.

3. You Don’t Need a Partner

One of our primal needs is intimacy, which can be thought of as love. The first and most important type of love is to love yourself. Accept everything about yourself even if your mom hates your hair or your aunt thinks you could be prettier if you lost some weight. Whenever anyone criticizes your appearance, you immediately question what they were like at your age, and disregard their negativity.  Chances are they were like you in their youthful years and will never admit it.

After loving yourself, there are many types of love: infatuation, admiration, adoration, and so many others. Then there’s true love, the type of love you often associate with a relationship. When your family questions why you have no one during the holidays you just tell them that you don’t need one. That’s it.

You don’t need a partner for the holidays. It doesn’t make anything more magical or special, if anything it just offers companionship which you can have with a friend online or in person. Even if you never want someone to stand by your side, that’s perfectly normal and all right. You are a strong person who can stand on their own two feet and love yourself in a way that no one else can. It’s a special type of love that only you can have and makes you feel fantastic.

2.  Don’t Worry About Life

Yes, you will figure out what college you want to go to, what major you want to pursue, what you want to do in life, where you want to live, and much more. It doesn’t need to be decided in the blink of an eye or as a hurried response to someone who questions your life. They’re asking anyway because they care about you and want to see you succeed in life, which is the want of parents and relatives everywhere. However, nothing can be gained by rushing through life and finding yourself working at a job that makes you miserable with a degree in something you never wanted. You decide what you want to do when you’re ready. Eventually things will work out.

1. Let No One Ruin Your Holiday

I emphasize ‘no one’ because no one: parents, exes, friends, enemies, relatives, should ruin your holiday. This is a day of celebration, a day of looking back and realizing that you made it another year, that you are strong and can go onto the next year, and a day of overall merriment.  Holidays are like your birthday: they only come once a year and since our lives are so incredibly short, it’s best to embrace them, and do whatever we please with them. If you don’t feel like having dinner with your family, but rather see a friend then do it. If you rather sit in your room all day and treat the day like any, then by all means go for it. If you want to do nothing, but drink the holiday away then have fun (just please don’t drive or turn into the Hulk when you’re completely smashed).

In short: let no one take your happiness from you, especially during the holiday season.  Parents and relatives can be ruthless and relentless with their questions, concerns, and antics, but at some point you can’t just run from them anymore. You must stand up for yourself and slay their words with your own sword of justice, crafted by your personality, desires, and emotions.  They cannot rule over you and what you want to do. At best, they can offer ideas, but it’s up to you to take them or not.

School's Back in Session

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Before I begin tonight’s post I would like to thank my followers and readers for taking the time out of their busy lives to read my work. As a writer, I greatly appreciate it and hope you continue to enjoy my blog and pass it onto your friends. If there’s anything you want to see me write about or improve on, feel free to comment or inbox me. I’d be more than happy to respond.  Enjoy tonight’s entry. :D

For many students, the winter break has ended and the new semester has begun. By now, college students have moved back into their dorms and reunited with their friends over the holiday filled vacation. Other students have returned to hard desk chairs and an empty board before them, just waiting to be written on. However, while we are taught the basics and details, there are just some things that schools don’t teach us that we need in life. Here are a few of those things.

4. Home Economics

I put this one last because there are some schools that actually teach this. For me, home economics was a club in middle school. I regret not attending all the meetings because I usually forgot about them or had to study. But home economics include how to properly do laundry, how to cook something other than toast, basic car maintenance, how to sew, and other lessons that should be taught in a classroom, not in a club meeting.

3. Tipping

Tipping at a restaurant, valet, and other places are just one of the little lessons school never taught us. While there are apps that help us give the proper tip, there are those who aren't as tech savvy as most of this generation. There are even tons of web sites devoted to telling you how much you should tip. But it comes down to two things: your overall opinion of the service that was performed (moving, waitressing, etc.) and simple percentages.  

2. Mortgages and Other Payments

At some point in your life, you will rent an apartment and eventually move into your own home. Either way, there will be payments due. Some of these payments include rentals, mortgages, gas bills, electric bills, and a ton of other money draining taxes. But of course in life, you will also accumulate credit cards and a car (or more) which you will also need to pay off. Some of you may even have school loans or loans from other places, which sooner or later you’ll have to get rid of. Regretfully, school doesn't teach you how to pay off your credit cards, loans, mortgages, car insurance, and taxes.

1. Tax Returns

A few days ago I received the required paperwork for my tax returns. To be honest with you readers, I looked at the papers and called my dad in because I was completely and utterly confused.  This isn’t to say I can’t read or write (believe me, I read and write like a sailor curses) but the tax return materials are mind boggling. There are so many forms, sections, questions, fill in spaces, it’s insane. I know you’re supposed to learn how to do these things on your own, but it would be better for school to teach us how to properly fill everything out. That way we won’t stare at the pages like they’re written in some secret, government language and will be able to understand what to do.

What is the one thing you wish they taught you in school? Feel free to comment and as always feedback and followers are welcomed. 

Tis the Season to be Baking

Welcome everyone to a delicious entry at The Magical Mystery Blog.

Around this time of the year I do my holiday baking. While I usually make sugar cookies, this year I’ve decided to do something a little different. As mentioned before, I’ll be creating strawberry angel cookies for the Doctor Who special, The Time of the Doctor set to air on BBC on Christmas Day. But for the holidays, I like to bake some other tasty treats. However, as the days to Christmas begin to wind down I find that I don’t have enough time to bake. So I figured I would share my recipes I was going to attempt this year, with you my fellow readers.

Midnight Christmas Cookies

• Follow this simple sugar cookie recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/

• When the cookies are finished baking, allow them to cool. While the cookies are cooling down, take baker’s chocolate (any brand will do like Hershey’s, Ghiradelli, or even Nestle), and put it in a microwave safe bowl. Keep the microwave at medium power and stir at thirty second intervals. It takes  about ninety seconds for one ounce of chocolate to melt. It takes approximately three and a half minutes for six ounces of chocolate to melt.

• Once the chocolate is fully melted, dunk half the sugar cookie in chocolate.

• For the final touch, sprinkle ground up candy cane on the chocolate half of the cookie. In the summer time you can use this recipe again but instead of covering the chocolate half in candy cane, you can use orange or lemon zest.

• Allow the chocolate to cool and serve whenever your stomach is hungry for something sweet.

Strawberry Fields Forever Cake

• This recipe works best with a white cake because the color will show better. You can pick up any box of white cake mix at the store and it will have the recipe on it.

• However, instead of using water use strawberry puree.  To make a strawberry puree simply purchase fresh or frozen strawberries and remove the stems. Afterwards, place them in a blender or a food processor and grind them until they are pureed. As a puree, it will act as a liquid which is why you do not need water for this recipe.

• When you’ve mixed all the ingredients together, proceed to bake the cake for thirty to forty minutes. To see if the cake is fully baked, use a toothpick to poke through the surface. If there’s cake on the pick, it’s not done. If there’s no cake on the pick, it’s ready to be taken out.

• When you remove your cake from the oven you will see that it is indeed, not white. Instead, it’s a strawberry red, giving it that iconic Christmas color we've all come to know.

• If you want to put icing on your cake, give it about five to ten minutes to cool down. Icing the cake is always the fun part and since it’s Christmas, you can decorate it with all sorts of holiday cheer. You can put a marshmallow snowman on the top or pipe snowflakes and stars. Have fun with your baking!

What are your favorite holiday recipes? Feel free to post them in the comments below and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.