Poppy's Lorax Party

My daughter turned 7 last week and after much conversation we decided on a pizza and movie party with optional sleepover. The next question was which movie. I knew I needed a movie so I could figure out the theme of the cake and food. I was so happy when she decided on the Lorax. There was just so much colour and fun things to work with. So off we went and found some fun stuff for invitations. 

Then I searched the internet for ideas. I immediately found a beautiful cake that I knew I wanted to make... Pinterest of course. And a few other Pinterest finds. All in all it was a wonderful party and the girls had a fantastic time. 

I love how the cake turned out. The cotton candy/fairy floss didn't last long. It was a very hot day. 

I found these on pinterest. They were very popular with the girls and super easy to make. Just a marshmallow dipped in white chocolate and rolled in sprinkles. 

Poppy cookies for my Poppy. This is just a simple sugar cookie with lemon icing. 

Cucumber truffula trees

I found a mustache template by googling "Lorax Mustache" and then cut it out with an exacto knife. We used these on the straws and on popcorn bags and also on the goody bags.

These cake pops later became the candle holders. I was worried the fairy floss would catch fire so I decided to put the candles around the edge of the cake. 

The cake pops were a little fiddly but basically they were plain cake pops dipped in white chocolate. I was lucky enough to find these cool straws at the dollar store. I used the same mustache template just shrunk down. I then placed parchment over the template and piped white chocolate with yellow food colouring. The eyes were dots of white chocolate and I drew the pupils with a food writer pen. I just "glued everything in place with melted white chocolate.

I made the "save the trees" banner with cardboard triangles and letters I printed from a word document. I think the font was Baskerville 300pt. I punched holes and threaded it on string. And the tissue paper pompoms (I thought they looked like the tops of truffula trees) are dollar store finds. 

These goodie bags were just orange paper bags I found in the party store. I used a Lorax pumpkin carving template and just printed it the size I wanted on yellow paper. We added googly eyes for fun.

We decided to do a quick take home craft so I found these paper pots and put together this little poem from Lorax quotes and printed it to attach to the pots. The girls planted pompom marigolds and zinnias.

This is the aftermath of hours in the baby pool, planting seeds, pass the parcel, pizza making, dancing, a movie, popcorn, milk shakes, slushies and cake. These kids were wrecked.

All in all this was a great party. The next morning we had fruit and crepes with nutella. Out of 10 girls 5 slept over. Everyone was picked up on time and we were exhausted. What an experience. I think maybe we will leave the sleepovers until they are a little older but we are very lucky that these are all wonderful kids. 

Asian Meatballs

These are in the Dinner Cup and even before the dinner cup they are a family favourite. So much so I even served them to my somewhat finicky extended family for my son's 2nd birthday. I have adapted this from a recipe I found in a magazine called Family Fun its a great magazine and has a really easy website with lots of ideas for crafts and recipes.

My take on it


Meatballs:

1 pound ground chicken or pork
2 green/spring onions you can also use a small white onion
1/2 cup cilantro/coriander leaves or a mixture of cilantro, mint and basil. Whatever you have on hand.

1 generous tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs (unseasoned) I usually use wholewheat
1 egg, lightly beaten

Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 or 5 slices fresh ginger 

Directions


To make the meatballs: Heat the oven to 400º F/200º C

Add the herbs and onion to a mini food processor and process them until it is very finely chopped.
Gently mix together all ingredients (hands are best for this), then form meatballs. I use a small ice cream scoop. But you can use a spoon and then gently roll in your hands. Wet hands will stop the meat from sticking to your hands.

Arrange on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until well-browned and cooked through.

To make the dipping sauce: In a small pot, stir all the ingredients together over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens a bit.
Remove the ginger. Serve in a little dish (to avoid double dipping each person gets their own)

If we are having just meatballs we usually have rice or chow mein on the side and always a vegetable stir fry.

I also put these in a coconut soup (recipe to follow). They are great hot or cold and taste like the filling in a pot sticker.