Hey everyone, Kallie here! When Kami and I came up with the idea to do a monthly bookish food and drink feature for the blog, we knew we had to do a summertime theme for our first article. And what says summertime more than camping and ghost stories? We chose to give recipes based off of the book Spooky Campfire Tales. I’ll be giving you a fun drink recipe in this first half of the article, and Kami will be giving you some fun food recipes in the second half.
There are few things I like about summertime. I know that as I typed that a lynch mob was forming, but hear me out. I don’t like heat. I would prefer the cold weather when I can be wrapped up in a cozy blanket with my book. Mosquitoes. I don’t think I need to add anything to that sentence because I have literally never heard a single person say, “you know what? Mosquitoes are pretty cool!” There are so many people that are outdoors when it’s summertime, and I am not a fan of a lot of people.
Now, let me give you summer’s one redeeming quality. CAMPING. You get out of the house, away from people and you unplug. You get to sit by a fire and roast marshmallows. While there will be mosquitoes, you can always get some bug spray and citronella candles. And if you have chosen the right friends to camp with, there will not be an annoying dude playing Wonderwall on his acoustic while everyone is trying to relax and tell ghost stories.
You can take 87 books with you when you camp because there are no emails to answer. There is no traffic to deal with. There is only you, your friends, food and books. And one of the books you should probably take is Spooky Campfire Stories retold by S. E. Schlosser because duh, ghosts and spooks.
Each story is nice and short and to the point. More importantly, these folklore tales are spooky with a capital S. I loved the story Bloody Bones. It’s a tale of the friendship of a witch and her best friend, Raw Head the razorback hog and the vengeance of the witch when the hog is taken from her. It’s perfect to read aloud while you’re sitting around a campfire sipping on a Bloody Muddy Mary.
When I was working with these recipes, I kept camping in mind. I’m not going to give you a ton of precise recipes or a drink with 90 ingredients. You don’t need to bring measuring cups or some weird vegetable with you to your campsite. I also made every drink a cold one, because honestly, who wants a hot drink while they're camping? And everyone brings a cooler filled with ice camping with them, don’t they?
The Bloody Muddy Mary (alcoholic)
Fill whatever cup you have (probably a red solo cup) halfway with ice
Pour about 2 ounces of vodka onto the ice
Fill the cup the rest of the way with tomato juice
Add in as much horseradish as you want (I used about a teaspoon)
And of course get some hot sauce in there (the brand doesn't matter)
Add salt and pepper to taste
I like to put something fancy in my bloody mary’s, like a pickle or something. To each their own.
The Spooky Shandy (alcoholic)
Fill whatever cup you have (again, probably a red solo cup) halfway with ice
Fill half of the cup with an IPA (I used Hop JuJu by Fathead’s)
Fill the rest of the cup with a Peach Nectarine Sparkling Ice
Add a crazy straw and your set!
The Squeeze - Old Time Lemonade (non-alcoholic)
For this one, you need one lemon, cut in half
Squeeze the juice from the lemon into whatever cup you have
Put the rest of the lemon in the cup also (Yep, rind and all)
Fill the cup halfway with water
Top with ice, but don’t fill it up completely
Now add about half a cup of sugar
And when you think it’s sweet enough, add a little more sugar
Now stir it
Keep stirring
Definitely, drink this one with a crazy straw
The Killer Caffeine (non-alcoholic & pictured above)
For this one, I used a french press. But feel free to use any coffee (instant, pour over etc.).
Fill whatever cup you have halfway with hot coffee
Add a small spoonful some cocoa powder
Add a pinch of chili powder
Sweeten to taste
Add creamer to taste
(I stay away from dairy so I used almond milk, you can substitute any cream or milk for it)
Stir
Add ice to fill the cup
Sip and enjoy
Hey Friends, Kami here. When Kallie mentioned food to me, the next question that followed was where? We got to talking about the joy of bringing two of our favorite things together and wouldn’t you know it, with a little play on alliteration, Consuming with Kallie and Kami was a reality! I mean books and food; How can you go wrong?
The beautiful thing about food, beyond all the amazing flavors and colors and combinations, is the way it brings so many together. You can literally make friends, solve problems, and tell scary stories (which might lose you some friends, but eh...someone that doesn’t like horror is no friend of mine anyway!) all while tasting delicious things!
As Night Worms we like to keep with themes. And as your Summer Vacation packages arrive we thought we might help get you in the mood with some delicious camping ideas! Together Kallie and I got in the spirit of fright, ignited a nice campfire, and sat around it reading some good ‘ol fashioned Spooky Campfire Tales retold by S.E. Schlosser. One of my fondest and oldest memories is making s’mores and taking turns telling scary stories around a warm fire! I don’t care how old you get, s’mores is always; Some More, please! Here are a few recipes from my own collection I thought I’d share so you can make some Summer Vacation memories to last a lifetime!
The “Classic” For this one, you need
Graham Crackers
Milk Chocolate Squares
Marshmallows
The Grasshopper
For this one, you need
Graham Crackers
Milk or Dark Chocolate Squares
Mint Marshmallows
Now, what kind of scary stories version would this be if I didn’t give you some spooky recipes too?
The Eyeball
For this one, you need
Mini Nilla Wafers
Hershey’s Kisses
Small Marshmallows
The Halloween S’more
For this one, you need
Chocolate Graham Crackers
ANY Halloween Chocolate Bar (Hershey, Snickers, Twix, Peanut Butter Cup,etc…)Large Square Marshmallows
Heat Marshmallow and roll in orange-colored sugar sprinkles ENJOY!
Keep in mind you don’t have to follow these to a T! Substitution often leads to amazing new creations! Instead of graham crackers try cookies, saltines, rice crispies, or buttered crackers. Don’t like chocolate? Instead add peanut butter, cookie butter, Hazelnut, White Chocolate or peppermint. And never lose the power of your imagination!! Add Chocolate covered raisins, caramel, freeze-dried or fresh fruit, coconut THE POSSIBILITIES ARE LIMITLESS!!
Even if you can’t make it out to the spooky woods, keep in mind you can make s’mores on the GRILL by filling the graham cracker and wrapping it in foil. Leave 4-5 min or until the marshmallow is melted. Toaster Oven heat oven to 350°F. Top graham squares with marshmallow halves; place face up on a foil-covered tray and bake 2-4min, or until marshmallows are toasted. Place chocolate and remaining crackers on top. Microwave place graham squares on a microwave-safe plate, top with marshmallow halves; place face up and Microwave on HIGH for 8-10 sec or until marshmallows are melted. Place chocolate and remaining crackers on top.
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