Sunday Simulacra - Version 7.6

Today's skulls were found in food form.

Darrell and Jamie Wells of St.Pete, Fl, found this Hot and spicy pickled skull. 

Noah Scalin found this skull in the eggs he was cooking for his wife.

Long time fan, Tom Adams found a skull lurking in his Wendy's Frosty.

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy. If you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.50

Food is definitely one of the most popular places that our readers find those sneaky little skulls hidden around us daily. These two are no exception...

Dawn Doty writes, "My kids are huge fans, so my daughter was thrilled when she spotted this skull while we were rolling out sugar cookies"....

...and Sarja Hasan found this tasty morsel of a skull in some soup.

Skullicious! I always dig seeing these food simulacrum, but it always makes me hungry. Speaking of which.... Thanks for sharing these, Dawn and Sarja! Don't forget to submit your skull simulacra to share with our readers each and every Sunday.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.40

Aubrey Thornock from Utah told us: "I found this skull today while eating breakfast in bed. My husband made crepes and I noticed this skull looking at me from my plate."

Ricky C says:

Don't think of them as crepes, think of them as really thin skullcakes.  Thank you for sharing this early morning riser with us.

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Healthy Vegetarian Eats

If you've been unfortunate enough to have oral surgery of any kind then you're familiar with having nothing to eat for a few days but the likes of pudding and meal replacement shakes. I tire of the same food excessively fast. After all the tomato soup and spaghettios-esque meals - I may never eat tomato-based products again. (Never say Never.)  By the end of week One I was watching an unappealing amount of FoodTV and I investigated a lot of food pins on Pinterest. I've been kind of obsessed. I really love food. Adam got some interesting meals out of it anyway.

Here's some yummy-looking items that I came across in my time spent glued to pictures of edibles. It just so happens they're all meat-free.

Broccoli Parmesan Fritters:
I love broccoli so I can't wait to make this. Click through for the recipe, and some serving ideas. Like topped with egg, garlic-lemon yogurt, or homemade ricotta.

Green Bean, Mushroom, and Caramelized Onion Tart:
I've never had a tart of any kind, and I don't actually like mushrooms. However, these pictures have sold me on this delicious looking recipe. Suggested as an appetizer or a light meal.

Portobello Mushroom and Kale Stroganoff:
I love the look of this way healthier version of the always delightful stroganoff. Looks easy to make which is always a plus no matter how experienced you are in the kitchen.

Find these recipes and more on my Food Pinterest Board.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.32

Today's skulls were found on vegatables.

Samantha Griff of Kirtland, Ohio, found this skull on a pepper from her garden.

Thea Brown of Richmond, VA found this skull in her salad.

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Healthy Eating Ideas

Today I want to talk about food. I love food. I really really love food. My measured stress levels are regularly lower when I know I'm about to eat. Food is what fuels your body, and if you choose the right things it's downright delighful. By choosing healthy items in a variety of colors, textures, and carb/protein levels - you can get more energy and better health just by what you eat.

Here's a few delicious looking ideas from me to you. Find these and more on my Pinterest Food Board.

Healthy Wrap:
1/2 cup chopped chicken, 3 Tbsp Fuji apples chopped, 2 Tbsp red grapes chopped, 2 tsp honey, 2 Tbsp almond butter. Mix and wrap in a Romaine lettuce leaf.

Cucumber Subs:
Really any sandwich filling works for this bread-free sandwich. This one includes turkey, dijon mustard and laughing cow cheese. 

Vegetarian Sweet Potato Burgers with Avocado:
This had me at sweet potatoes and avocado. Click Through for the recipe and lots of pics.

Grilled Ham and Cheese on Waffles:
This one might be questionable on health-appeal 'cause I doubt frozen waffles are winning many health awards. Still - I don't know why my sandwiches haven't been using waffles as bread since always. Click through for the recipe.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.31

Today's simulacra are from December 21, 2012... a day we will all remember for other reasons.


First up is our The Skullmaster who said:  "I was just stepping out of a car when I found this colorful fellow staring up at me!"

Next is Cozette McCreery in London, UK from Sibling, who showed us her breakfast. She explained: "This sweet (literally) "End Of The World Syrup" skull was found on a pancake on December 21."

Peaceful C says:

Thank you both for playing along with us and sharing your finds.  We may not have witnessed the end of days, but you did get some great shots to remember the day.  As we come to the closing of the year, may simulacra simile on you are we begin anew once more.

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Simple Healthy Breakfasts

Breakfast - the most important meal of the day. Yet most people have trouble getting to work on time - much less managing a healthy filling breakfast first. That being the case, lots of people skip breakfast completely or make do with something atrocious like donuts and coffee.

Here's a few simple healthy breakfasts to inspire you - all of which take about 30 minutes or less.

Baked Eggs in Ham Cups
These are super easy to make, and you can jazz it up or customize your cups easily by throwing in a few chopped veggies.

Berry Breakfast Quinoa
I love quinoa, and I love the idea of making it into breakfast food. This grain is high in protein, so it's spectacular for vegetarians.

Baked Eggs with Wilted Baby Spinach
This picture just looks delicious enough to make me want spinach for breakfast.

Steel Cut Oats Made Easy

Oats are amazingly healthy, filling, and delicious. If you have doubts - maybe you just haven't had the right oats yet. Here's some ideas that take as little as 2 minutes to prepare. Have fun with your oats and learn to love this nutritional powerhouse.

Steel Cut Oats with Banana and Walnuts

This is my favorite way to serve steel cut oats. A single serving size is 1/4 cup uncooked oats. Doesn't sound like much, but these oats are quite filling especially once you top it off with a chopped banana and 1 Tbsp. of walnuts. Click through for the basic recipe.

They generally take around 20 minutes to cook, but steel cut oats are extremely versatile. Cook time can be shortened or lengthened for more or less chewy/creamy oats. I like to cook mine in half water half milk for 30 minutes. Play around with it - change the fruit, change the nuts, throw in some ground flaxseed, try almond milk, whatever you can imagine.

The protein content is not equal in all steel cut oats - I use Bob's Red Mill for the most protein. These are also available in organic, instant, and gluten free.

If you don't want to slave over a pot of oats for 20 minutes - Overnight Steel Cut Oats might be for you. No slow cooker required. You can even divide it into jars for Oats-To-Go all week long.

Still too much? Completely Cook-Free Chai Oats might be your thing.

Strawberry Skull Tarts

Mark Gilliland of Irvington, NY created these skull tarts with his daughter during a recent baking lesson. The tarts are filled with homemade strawberry jam canned by his wife. Mark included a lot of great images to help you all make your own! However, the baking instructions and dough are something you'll need to figure out.

Enjoying one of the finished skull tarts.

It looks like they cut out skull shaped pieces of pastry dough, put them on a cookie sheet, put jam on the bottom dough skull piece, laid a top dough skull piece on top, and pinched the edges to contain the jam.

Using a fork, they pressed it around the edges to seal it. This helps the two dough pieces stick together better and prevents the jam from oozing out the edges.

With a knife, they cut the skull face details into the top layer of dough.

Then, the tarts need to bake. From my years of baking experience, the oven normally needs to be preheated to 365. As for time to cook, that varies depending on the creation. Baked goods with fillings sometimes take longer than non-filled baked goods, like rolls. This is due to the moisture. I suggest watching these bake, until they are golden brown and crispy.

After they were baked, they put them on a cooling rack. Since they have fillings, the tarts will be very hot! This is probably a good time to either make another batch, or clean up your mess.

After the tarts were cool, they put them on plates.

Finally, consume your skull tarts!

Now that I've figured out how to make these, I have a can of Pillsbury pastry dough and some strawberry jam just waiting to be made into tarts. Also, I love that Mark taught his daughter how to bake these. Reminds me of the cooking lessons my husband give my daughter. I cover baking with her.

Skull Pumpkin Cheese

Sonja Horstman of Downers Grove, IL "made this for a party. The recipe was for the Great White Pumpkin from Southern Living. I thought a skull would be more fun."

I love cheese. I'm like Wallace happily shaking my fists in love with cheese. When going to a party, I always look for the cheese...in fact I'm more likely to go to a party if there is a tray of cheese I can hoard in my belly. I also love pumpkin. This skull creation would have been mostly devoured by me...because it's cheese, pumpkin, and a skull all in one. I'm going to raid the fridge now...

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Set of Tierra Dulce Vegan Sugar Skulls

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thank you for participating!

Don't forget that you have until 11:59:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time TONIGHT, to be entered in our current contest giveaway for two sets of six edible vegan sugar skulls from Tierra Dulce Shop. There will be two winners! One set per winner. Follow the link to the original post HERE, or click on the ad in the sidebar.

You don't have to wait until the end of the contest to get some delicious sugar skulls. You can purchase Tierra Dulce's sugar skulls in their Etsy shop. If you are a fan of their Facebook page, you can find out where they will be selling their little sugar skull critters!

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Set of Tierra Dulce Vegan Sugar Skulls

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thank you for participating!

Don't forget that you have until 11:59:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time Wednesday, November 14, 2012, to be entered in our current contest giveaway for two sets of six edible vegan sugar skulls from Tierra Dulce Shop. There will be two winners! One set per winner. Follow the link to the original post HERE, or click on the ad in the sidebar.

You don't have to wait until the end of the contest to get some delicious sugar skulls. You can purchase Tierra Dulce's sugar skulls in their Etsy shop. If you are a fan of their Facebook page, you can find out where they will be selling their little sugar skull critters!

[CONTEST] Win a Set of Tierra Dulce Vegan Sugar Skulls

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thank you for participating!

Tierra Dulce Shop was formed by two sisters, Ana and Martha, with an interest in candies and sweets. Through some experimentation, they created vegan edible sugar skulls. Though Dia de los Muertos has recently passed, these delectable treats are available year round in their Tierra Dulce Shop on Etsy, Candy Babel in Portland, Oregon, and at various arts and crafts shows in Los Angeles, California. Ana and Martha would like to share their sugar skulls sweets by giving away six sugar skulls each to two Skull-A-Day fans!

PRIZE INFO: Each skull is handcrafted and decorated with a special blend of icing that is vegan and very delicious made all out of sugar. Each winner will receive 6 sugar skulls!

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us what your favorite sweet treat is.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL. Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You can NOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time Wednesday, November 14th, 2012. 

NUMBER OF WINNERS: Two randomly chosen winners

PRIZE SHIPS: USA and International

IF YOU DON'T WIN: You can purchase Tierra Dulce's sugar skulls in their Etsy shop. If you are a fan of their Facebook page, you can find out where they will be selling their little sugar skull critters!

Halloween Skull Cake

Christie Medaglia from upstate New York, "made this skull cake for my son's Halloween party in school." She explained, "My son loves everything skulls. I found a copy of your book in his art teacher's class room tonight at open house, and had to go to your website."

I have fond memories of my mom making all sorts of awesome cakes for different events. However, she never made a skull cake...well I don't recall any skull cakes. I hope Christie's son's class enjoyed her deliciously spooky skull cake. Also, we love knowing how people find Skull-A-Day. I also found Skull-A-Day through one of Noah's books, "Skulls".

Cut Potato Skull

Henry Ryder was cutting a potato, saw this skull form and thought of us. He said "I could do a more intentional one- but I liked the serendipity."

There should always be enjoyment with food. When I see artwork made with food, I'm curious if the maker enjoyed this food, and the creation, or if it was made because the meal was bad and out of boredom from not wanting to consume it. This potato skull seems to be in preparation for a larger meal. Perhaps the slices will join their ever skull like brethren, mushrooms.



“Countdown To Halloween”
16 more days and counting...

Jane's Grits Skull

Artist Matt Lively in Richmond, VA sent us this delicious looking skull.

Florence Jean C says:

I feel like Mel would have wanted this piece to be titled Ruby in her honor. Now this is a skull I wouldn't mind kissing. Thank you for your continued support of Skull-A-Day, we always love to see new work from some of our oldest supporters.

**and since it is Friday be sure to flashback to a piece Matt did to help support the Skull-A-Day community HERE.
 
“Countdown To Halloween”
26 more days and counting...

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.17

Today’s simulacra are so good you just want to eat them up.

First up is Ken Bricker from Eugene, OR who could not decide on what to call his find he suggested “Waterskelon” or “Skelemelon” for it.

Our next snack comes from Steve Davis of Madison, WI who wrote: “This delicious Wisconsin chocolate got a little spooky the other day when I took off the lid to reveal this subtle melty ice cream skull on the lid.”
 
 
Vending C says:

♪♪♪ Skulls glorious skulls!  Ice Cream and Watermelon! ♪♪♪  Thank you both for providing us with this wonderful bounty to satisfy our skully appetite. 

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Granola and Sunshine

I found this recipe for Homemade Granola over at I'm Organic - whose fabulous wonderful infinitely useful tote bags I own. They aren't paying me to say that, I just thought I'd throw that in there... because it's true. And I'm all about spreading the truth.

Anyway... I haven't actually tried this recipe yet. It looks really good though and I've wanted to make my own granola for a while. It's especially helpful for having a lot of wiggle room in the recipe. When you're allergic to nuts (like me) you have a much harder time finding recipes and pre-made items that you can eat.

If you try the recipe - let me know how it goes. I'm off to frolic in the sun while it's out. That's right. I said frolic.