Fall Recipes 2021- Three Quick Snacks

Good morning everyone, and happy Thanksgiving! She's family has been put on the spot this year to create some appetizers before today's feast. Luckily, we have these recipes handy, and we'd like to share them with you. Please note that the ratios and measurements for these aren't set in stone. If you prefer more or less of one thing, or if you want to do some replacements and omissions, that is perfectly okay.

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Sweet and Smoky Pumpkin Seeds

If you have some leftover pumpkins from Halloween, this is the recipe for you. We discovered that two medium-sized pumpkins will yield about 2 cups of the seeds. Make sure they are rinsed well and pat them slightly dry with a paper towel. The seeds will still be sticky, but they will hold the seasoning better than pre-roasted seeds.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups washed and dried fresh pumpkin seeds
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, set aside
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 heaping teaspoon ginger
• hearty sprinkle cayenne pepper
• sprinkle of sea salt
• sprinkle of black pepper

Recipe:

• Preheat the oven 300 degrees Fahrenheit and spread the pumpkin seeds out as evenly as possible on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper
• Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds with salt and pepper in about a 3-1 ratio. Turn the seeds over a little with a spatula in order to evenly season them
• Bake the seeds for about 20 minutes. This will help to dry out the insides and keep them crunchy
• When they are finished, put the olive oil into a large saucepan on medium heat. When the oil starts flowing more freely, pour in the cooked pumpkin seeds
• Stir well, allowing the oil to coat all of the seeds. While it is roasting, combine the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the remainder of the spices into a large bowl
• Toss the 3 tablespoons of sugar over the oily seeds. Stir until the sugar starts to crystalize over the seeds, but don't let it get to a caramel color
• When the sugar crystals form, dump the seeds into the bowl of spices and mix until they are evenly coated in the seasoning
• Serve at room temperature with a refreshing glass of apple cider or a drink of your choice

Rosemary Garlic Cream Cheese Spread

She's family always get a cheese platter with crackers to munch on during the Macy's parade. This flavorful spread is by She's own invention- works well with crackers or crunchy veggies like cucumber and baby carrots.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoons dried dill
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons garlic clove (we used canned garlic)
• handful of finely shredded cheddar cheese
• sprinkle of sea salt
• sprinkle of black pepper

Recipe:

• Take the cream cheese out of the package and put it into a small-medium mixing bowl. Let soften
• Using a fork or a standing mixer, mash up the cream cheese
• Add all of the spices, stirring constantly
• Cover and refrigerate when not eating

Turkey Feathers Trail Mix

This trail mix is so easy to make that you could include the kiddos. Tell them that the pretzel sticks are "turkey feathers" and they will love to help out in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Reese's pieces candies (or any other candy-coated peanut butter pieces)
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/3 cup unsalted almonds
• 1/3 cup unsalted peanuts
• handful of pretzel sticks

Recipe:

• Toss all the ingredients into a container with a lid. Add more of a certain ingredient if you would prefer. (You can never have enough chocolate.)
• Shake it up thoroughly. The pretzel sticks may tend to stay at the top, but you could also take the lid off and give it a good stir
• Serve or store for later. Replace with green and red M&Ms for a Christmas treat!

Signing off,

Queen Elsa Rodgers

Fall Recipes 2021- Drinks and Desserts!

Something about the changing of the leaves and the shortening of the day really puts me in the mood to write... and bake. She and the doll family has spent more time in the kitchen than anywhere else ever since the season began. Try using these recipes along with your Thanksgiving feast.

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She's Soft Ginger Cookies

Wait- where's the snap? Well, there isn't one. And perhaps that is what has made She's soft gingersnaps so popular. Their old-fashioned flavor and addicting texture are sure to be a hit with friends.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses (regular is also fine, we just used blackstrap)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 heaping teaspoon cloves
• 1 heaping teaspoon ginger

Recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Get a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. This will prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan.
• Beat the softened butter and 1 cup of sugar together using an electric mixer. While mixing, add the egg and the 1/4 cup of molasses 
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients by simply stirring with a spatula. This would include the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.
• Put the mixer on the lowest speed and slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 
• Using a cookie scoop, ball up the dough and roll it in a dish that has the 3 tablespoons of sugar until there is sugar all around the ball.
• Evenly space the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet, but don't press them down.
• Bake the cookies for 11 minutes, then check them. If the middle of the cookies still jiggle when you shake the pan, add 2 more minutes to the bake time. They should be medium brown in the oven and cool to a dark brown, but not burnt.
• Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with some leftover sugar. Cool before eating! Or if you're a doll and you don't eat, it smells stronger when it's warm.

Herbal Apple Tea for Two

Perfect for a relaxing day spent at home watching rain or visiting an orchard.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar

Recipe:

• Pour the water into a pot or kettle along with the cinnamon and cloves, then bring to a boil. Lower the heat until the liquid is steaming and let the spices sit in the water for about four minutes. It should be a clear brown.
• With a mesh strainer, filter out the cloves and cinnamon into a heat-proof large measuring cup with a lip for easy pouring. Return it to the pot or kettle and turn on low heat.
• Add the apple juice and sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
• Top with ground cinnamon if you prefer. Serves two. Enjoy hot or cold.

Peanut Butter Honey Cookies

If you're not ready to leave summer behind, these peanut butter cookies can be enjoyed any time of the year. Press them with your thumb before baking and top with jelly after they are cooled to make a good after school treat.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 5 to 6 fl oz of honey (about half a bear bottle)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Recipe:

• Using an electric mixer, combine butter, peanut butter, granulated and brown sugars together in a bowl until it has a creamy texture.
• Add the eggs while the mixer is still running. 
• In a separate bowl, stir the dry ingredients together. This includes baking powder, baking soda, flour, and salt. 
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer running. 
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
• When ready, roll the dough into balls using a cookie scoop. Place on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Flatten each ball with a fork to make a checkerboard pattern.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• If you prefer, sprinkle the finished cookies with granulated sugar when they're still hot from the oven.
• Cool on a baking rack. Best served cold.

She's Birthday Pumpkin Pie

In lieu of birthday cake, She sometimes requests homemade pumpkin pie. It's a surprisingly simple recipe but never fails to delight. The leftover crust and filling can also make a mini pie for dolls.

Filling ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 heaping teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 heaping teaspoon nutmeg
• Hearty sprinkle of cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Crust ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening (we used Crisco)
• 7 to 8 tablespoons ice-cold water

Recipe:

• Let's start with the crust. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. This includes flour, sugar, and salt.
• Cut the butter into small chunks with a knife. You'll want them about the size of your pinkie fingernail.
• Combine the butter with the dry ingredients by mashing the chunks with your fingers. The warmth of your hands will not melt the butter, only soften it enough to get a good dough. 
• When the dough can be squeezed into quarter-sized lumps without falling apart, add the vegetable shortening and continue mixing with your hands. 
• If need be, sprinkle in a little iced water at a time.
• The dough is ready whenever it can form a round loaf shape, but isn't wet when squeezed.
• Roll out the dough into a circle on a lightly floured surface.
• Form into the shape of a pie pan. If you prefer, you can cut off the edges of dough with a paring knife and flatten it into a ramekin. We made this pie twice and used both aluminum and glass. Either one will bake the same way.
• Moving on to the pie filling! This is the easy part. Just whisk all the ingredients together in a separate mixing bowl. 
• Pour the pie filling into the crust. Any leftovers can go into the ramekin with the extra dough.
• Bake the pie for 15 minutes on 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• When the timer ends, lower the oven's temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for 40 more minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• If you made the mini pie, it should only require the first 15 minutes on 425 and maybe 10-20 minutes of baking at 350. I would recommend the toothpick trick.
• Let cool for 2 or more hours. Top with pumpkin pie spice or whipped cream.

Falling Leaves Mulled Wine

"Leaf" it to Kristoff's puns to make you "fall" in love with this non-alcoholic spiced wine.

Ingredients:

• One bottle (750 ml) of sparkling red grape juice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 10-13 cloves
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• splash of lemon juice
• hearty sprinkle of allspice
• light sprinkle of cardamom

Recipe:

• Pour the sparkling grape juice and apple juice into a large pot and turn the stove on low-medium heat. When the liquid is steaming, add all other ingredients.
• Continue to heat the wine on low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Don't let it boil! Taste intermittently to ensure the flavor is coming through. 
• Turn off the stove and pour through a mesh strainer into a heat proof vessel, like glass. Since the apple juice was added, the liquid contents increased and you will not be able to put it back in the original grape juice bottle.
• Serve hot as an accompaniment to a crackling bonfire.

Additional notes:

One of the best parts of this drink is that mulled wine can be customized! You can use real red wine or a few other ingredients. We're including our suggestions down below.

• Orange peel
• Nutmeg
• Fresh ginger
• Cranberries
• Anise flower

Signing off,

Queen Elsa Rodgers

Helen's Journey P.1: Boat and Sword

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the blog. Another addition came to us in June 2019, a Frozen 2 Anna doll by the name "Helen". Helen is a special case, unique to any other story the dolls in She's collection. Helen is the only doll we have ever met who knew the exact moment they gained sentience. This would have not been so surprising if she hadn't done something about it, because Helen didn't need shipping and handling to reach the Room She Lives In. Because Helen got here all by herself. This is her story, one she is finally willing to tell.

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Gaining sentience is like... daybreak.

You're in darkness so dark that you never realized you were there. And then, all of a sudden, a huge burst of light. With the light comes colors: gold, peach, pink, and violet, in pastels and neons. It's so bright it hurts, but your eyes are forced to stay open as breath ruptures your chest. Breathing is a choice now. It's optional, but goodness, does it feel good. You rise and fall like oceans overtaking a mountain, overlapping it and drowning you in the sensation of life. 

I was able to calm myself long enough to observe my body. I had wavy copper-colored hair, part of it done up in a braided halo. It was the kind of hair I always wanted to have. My eyes are bigger than I remember, my eyelashes thicker. My hands are smaller, and my skin is paler, plastic and unblemished. Years of age and experience washed away in a single resurrection. 

If I wasn't supposed to be here, why did it feel so right?

I get the sense to look around at more than myself. I'm in a box. Half is translucent, bendy plastic. The other half is cardboard, patterned with dozens of white and brown birch trees. I'm not alone in the box, either. I'm sitting in a blue canoe, textured with stars, or maybe snowflakes? It was likely the latter, since a snowman with an enormous grin shared the boat with me. He was a delightful-looking character, but he had what I wanted. Behind him was a wall of accessories perfectly sized for someone like me. A dish, a teacup, and a lantern, but I was more interested in the sword. My hands were both bound to the sides of the boat, and if I was ever going to get to know what happened to me, I'd have to break free. If the snowman was also alive, I might be able to catch his attention. 

I started whistling, something I remembered doing a lot for some reason, but I couldn't place a time or reason. It was a low, haunting whistle, one that mimicked the sound of wind through a tall field of grasses. I dipped my voice up and down, trying to strike the right tune. A shrill squeal caused the snowman to twitch once... twice. His movements exploded and I could almost see the lights that opened his eyes and brought him into the world.

"Hello?" I called carefully once the snowman had settled into a steady rhythm of breathing. My voice was more even now, more confident and sweet.

"Hello?" He echoed back, still too startled to look anywhere else but up. 

"Are you okay?"

"I... I think so."

"Well whenever you're ready, can you reach and grab that sword for me? It's behind you."

"The blue one?"

I looked around quickly for a sword of any other color, but found none. "Yes."

The snowman, having sticks for arms, was easily able to remove one and hold it in the other, giving him more length to reach and grab the sword off the wall.

"What do you need it for?" He asked, his face twisting with suspicion.

"To cut my bonds," I explained. "I'm not going to use it against you. You can trust me."

He eased his expression and gave me the sword. The tool was unfamiliar in my hands but it was easy enough to sever my hands from the plastic ties around the canoe. Another one around my waist and head and I was now standing, free but still trapped. I started grabbing all the accessories off the wall. I tossed a sleeveless cape around my shoulders and fit the dishware and a compass into a brown satchel. I carried that as well as the lantern, already glowing with an unusual yellow light. The lantern illuminated a corner of the box closest to the snowman, shining on a small lizard-like creature. A salamander, mostly blue with reddish shapes on its back. I didn't see how it would be useful, but it was a certainly cute. I snatched it up, lifeless as it was, and used the sword to cut a hole in the box's plastic the right size for me to escape.

"Wait! I want to come with you." The snowman yelled.

I glanced behind my shoulder to see him with arms extended like a child begging to be held.

"I don't know where I'm going."

"That's okay. It's better than staying in here."

I couldn't blame him for saying that. A box was no place for someone with a life to be. I went over and began sawing through the wires that held his body into the canoe.

"What's your name?" He said.

I inhaled, searching for some ever-fading scrap of the past I could still grab onto. The name "Anna" kept getting pushed into my head, but I ignored it. That wasn't me. "Helen." I replied. Yes, that was right.

"That's a nice name. I'm Olaf." The snowman stuck out the stick-arm I had released to shake my hand, but I didn't take it.

"Is it really?" I said, not meaning to discourage him against that name, but it felt too... regular.  Like he had been told to say that, too.

"Well- I guess- maybe it isn't." 

"That's okay, take your time." I had time to spare now, since plastic swords and laminated cardboard were not the best of friends. 

"It's Wendell Eugene," He nodded, cementing this as the truth. It was another unusual name, but I liked this one better. It felt more real to life. "Gene for short."

"I'm... Helen Louise."

Our eyes met and we both smiled in a way that gave me deja vu. I looked away, now sheepish, and continued working at the wires. 

"Why do you want to leave?"

"Why do you?" I repeated.

"Because... we have to be somewhere."

I stopped. "You feel it, too?"

Gene nodded. "Yeah, it's like there's this calling. Not a voice, exactly, but I think it's best that I... I feel like we need to find out why we're here."

"I'm glad we're on the same page," I giggled lightly. "Let's get out of here while we're alone."

I pulled my arms back and thrust the sword forward, harder than I had yet, and let out a murmur of a war cry. I jiggled my hands around the hilt- it was stuck in the box.

Gene hobbled forward (his legs were so short and round, that was the only way he could walk), and wrapped his arms around my legs to allow more gravity. I jiggled the sword again. "Maybe pull this time?" He suggested.

I stuck out my chin and tugged, hard. The sword ripped away and we both fell back, me crushing Gene.

I leapt up immediately, hands to my mouth. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" When I saw how disoriented he was, and how empty the box felt now, I felt sick to the stomach I no longer had. "Where's the canoe?"

Gene pointed down his throat and said hoarsely, "I swallowed it."

"You swallowed it? How?"

"I got a big mouth!"

Okay, maybe he did, but not nearly as big as that boat was. The thing was nearly four times his own height, and now it had completely disappeared.

"I'll use the sword," I said, approaching him with the sharp end cautiously. "Stay steady and it won't hurt."

"Wait!" Gene cried. He flailed his arms out, and I was worried he was choking or having a panic attack. His snowy-white eyelids went further and further back, until all parts of his pupil were visible. With a sudden popping noise, the canoe came whooshing back out, a millimeter away from decking me right in the head. 

"Woah! Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I think I must have burped. That was weird, wasn't it?"

"Weird is an understatement," I murmured. "Maybe you're supposed to do that. Can you try it again?"

Gene sighed and pushed himself up, going back over to the canoe. He inhaled sharply, and the canoe went back into his mouth like he had sucked too hard on a straw. 

I clapped. This was a circus act if I had ever seen one. And that reminded me of something. "Try the sword."

Gene titled his head skeptically. "Sword-swallowing?"

"Yeah! It's plastic and so are you. It shouldn't hurt."

With a raised brow, he inhaled that, too. This was amazing! "Is there anything else you can do?"

Gene nodded, unsure. I started handing him things from my satchel. The dinner plate, the teacup, and the compass, but even those they were much smaller, none of them passed.

"Maybe you have a capacity of two?"

"No, that makes no sense. I think they have to be made of that blue ice plastic."

I looked around the box. Everything had already been packed away by me or Gene. The only thing left out was the little blue salamander toy that didn't seem to fit in anywhere. "This?" I cupped the little creature in my hands. He was certainly blue and shimmery like the other icy items. 

"Is it alive?"

"I haven't seen it move yet. Maybe it's too small to be sentient."

Gene poked it, and sensing no life, shrugged and had me hand it off to him. He pursed his lips and I felt the pull of air. My eyes sparkled with energy. Those eyes didn't expect to see the salamander burst to life, scuttle from Gene's hands, and yelp with fear.

It hopped onto me, where it crawled like a thousand bugs up my arm and under my sleeve, until it popped out the collar of my neck, where it nestled lovingly against my neck and sought shelter under my curtain of auburn hair. Both Gene and I were frozen and terrified the entire time. 

"Now, are you okay?" Gene asked.

"Apparently... it is alive. Like us." I stated, unable to move in fear that it would, too. 

"Let me see him. I think I'm good with animals."

"He's scared of you, you tried to ingest him!" I raised an eyebrow. "Wait, how do you know it's a he?"

Gene pointed to some hot pink text that was printed onto the birch tree pattern. "The set includes" and then went off to list all the accessories we had already gathered, "along with Anna, Olaf, and Bruni."

"Bruni is a traditional Norwegian name for boys."

"How do you know that?"

"How did we think these were our names before we even read this?"

Gene had a point. "Anna" wanted to be my name, and I had to look like an Anna now, but deep down, Helen was mine. Maybe remembering that was a curse.

"You're right. We're getting distracted. We need to leave this box," I picked up the sword and got back to sawing a hole big enough for us to squeeze through. "I should have... kept working on this... while you were... practicing... with the... boat." I grunted.

"Careful, Bruni's coming down."

Now that the salamander was calm, he tread much lighter and no longer reminded me of a bunch of creepy bugs. Using my arm as a bridge, he crept right to the edge of the sword, unbothered by its sharpness or icicle texture. His big blue eyes stared back at me as if asking permission. Half charmed, half confused, I smiled and nodded. 

Bruni gurgled happily and dashed down the rest of the sword, becoming a brilliant red color as he charged forward. He burst through the tiny slit I'd stabbed into the box, and it blazed into a hole that grew larger and larger. It smoldered with an unearthly heat, then died down and blackened when it was big enough for Gene and I to step out with ease. 

"Okay," I gasped, following the snowman and salamander. "You can swallow enormous things made of ice, he can literally set himself on fire, what can I do? Do I not have magic?"

Gene shrugged. "Magic is a strong word for it."

I looked back at the box that had been our home for, at most, a half an hour that I remembered. It may not be cozy, or preferable, but it was certain. Safe. I knew that I was a doll now, not knowing was I was in the past frightened me. As much as I wanted to find out who I'd been and where I was set to go, was I ready for the journey ahead? Surely it wouldn't hurt to stall a little longer.

"What else are you supposed to call this?" I asked, reaching back in for the canoe. "Think you can hold onto this until we have a use for it?"

"Yeah, I'll try not to get too excited. I think excitement makes me burp."

I laughed. "Thank you, Gene."

At first, it was hard to tell where we were. For a while it was all stumbling around in the dark, ducking rectangles and hopping over rectangles. Even the neon glow of the lantern I strung around my belt wasn't enough to light up this new area. 

I whistled in the same way I had to wake Gene, hoping that would drawn Bruni's attention. He was content in the darkness and stomped around the room like he'd been out adventuring before us. But he did turn back at my call, and noticed we lacked direction. The little guy puffed up his cheeks, pretending to be angry, and filled once again with fire. His tiny footprints made blisters of blackness on the floor, and that lent me my first clue. This was carpet. Warehouses didn't have carpet. 

Gene saw this, too. "Hey, are we in a-"

"Bedroom," I whispered, my voice as hot and tense as the amphibian we followed. "Bed. Right there."

A human, giant to us at six times my own height, turned around in their sleep and groaned. Even if there was no threat other than a nightmare, I knew that a living doll would be more than that in the eyes of a human. I pulled on Gene's arm and began to run, scooping Bruni up at the last second and suffering a burn I knew would never make my fingers look right again.

A closet door was straight ahead. It was one of those sliding closets, with a hole in place of a knob. I saw my chance and threw Bruni over my shoulder. He disappeared behind the hole. Gene looked at me in bewilderment, his mouth open in a silent gasp. 

"He'll be fine." I muttered, and immediately regretted it whenever I heard the human moan again. If they woke up, we'd be caught, and although I didn't know the consequence, I didn't want that to happen.

I heaved Gene upwards, too. He was much heavier due to the boat and sword he carried, but he too, went through the hole in the door with ease. Now the two of them were safe, but what about me? Surely there was no way to open the closet from the inside. I pressed myself flat against the door and held my breath.

It gave way behind me, and I tumbled in.

I stared up into the face of my rescuer. And they weren't Gene or Bruni.

To be continued,

Helen