Birthday party - thirteen

I find teenager birthday parties much tougher for me to organize than kiddy parties. All the ideas I find online for girl teenagers involve things that my girls really don't care for. So in case someone else out there is looking for ideas that don't involve pink fluffy unicorns, make up and such, this is for you.

Blueberry Mocktail - see below for details

We had a karaoke party! My daughter was very worried. "What if my friends don't want to sing?" I was pretty sure it was not going to be an issue and I was right!

We rented a machine from Kinder Geburtstag Events. They deliver to anywhere in Germany, but I'm sure that you can find such services everywhere in the world. And if not, all you need is YouTube, an amplifier, speakers and microphones. The Karaoke machine came with everything we needed and a "disco ball". The kids were a bit peeved that it was not one that could be hung from the ceiling, but I was very glad because I was dreading installing a mirror ball on our concrete ceiling! Its made up of LED's and you just plonk it down on a table (phew!).

We set the Living room up like a club. We put out tealights and a few cushions on the couch. As snacks we had pretzel sticks, peanuts, crisps and Gummi sticks (well we are in Germany). Of course none of this photographs well in the dark (you know this if you've ever tried to take pictures at a night club!) so I snapped a few clicks in day light.

To make things interesting I came up with a few mocktails (see below for recipes) and made a menu. It was made in A5 format and you can find it here. However, it is in German. To make it a bit fancy I printed it out (I don't have A5 paper so I had to print it out on A4 and then cut it to size - just in case: A5 is exactly half of A4), took some blank cards I had lying around and secured the paper with a rubber band. If I had had more time I would have tried using ribbon and maybe decorating the front of the card.

I bought some cocktail glasses and set up our kitchen counter as my bar. I had a lot of fun with this.

For dinner we had veggie burgers with fries (burgers are all the rave in Germany right now) and coleslaw and they made ice cream sundaes for dessert.

All of this is doable even if you have a busy schedule.

If you have a bit of time you could always make a birthday cake

Here are the mocktail recipes:

NOTE: It is advisable to always use organic citrus fruit and to wash them very well. The rind of many non-organic varieties are not suitable for consumption.

L.I.M.E

2 tbsp. Lime syrup, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/2 cup crushed ice, sparkling water (or soda), 3-5 leaves fresh mint, lime wedge

In a glass that holds 300 ml (preferably a cocktail glass) put the lime syrup in the glass making sure it does not run down the sides. Add the lemon juice and then the crushed ice on top. Add sparkling water to make up the 300 ml. Bruise (muddle) the mint leaves and put on top and garnish the side of the glass with a wedge of lime.

I put in a straw (we only use re-usable straws Kikkerland has some ) so that they could stir it themselves. 

Schlumpf (Smurf)

Slumpf is on the right!

1/2 tbsp. Curacao syrup, 1/2 tbsp. lime syrup, 1/4 cup crushed ice, sparkling water (or soda), Haribo gummi smirf on a cocktail stick, one cherry

In a 250 ml martini glass first put the curacao syrup in the bottom followed by the lime syrup. Add the crushed ice on top (you can use more ice if you like!). Make up with sparkling water and gently add in a Smurf on a stick and a cherry (unfortunately I could not find a cherries on a stem).

Mix after serving.

Kaptain Blaubär (Captain Bluebear)

1 tbsp. Blueberry syrup, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/4 cup crushed ice, sparkling water (or soda), 4-6 leaves fresh mint, 4-6 blueberries, lemon wedge

In a 250 ml martini glass carefully add the blueberry syrup and then the lemon juice. Add the crushed ice on top and fill up with sparkling water. Bruise (muddle) the mint leaves and the blueberries and put on top. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Mix after serving.

KiBa

1 cup banana juice, 1/4 cup cherry juice, 1/2 cup crushed ice, cherry, banana slices

In a cocktail glass that holds 300 ml glass add the crushed ice and then gently pour in 1 cup banana juice onto the ice through a funnel. Carefully pour in the cherry juice into the middle of the banana juice using the funnel. Add a cherry and garnish the sides with a few slices of banana. 

Sunrise

120 ml Mixed fruit juice (Multivitaminsaft if you are in Germany), 30 ml cherry juice, 150 ml Fanta, slice of orange, wedge of lemon, a cherry

in a glass that holds 300 ml add the mixed fruit juice (make sure it is deep orange and denser than the Fanta) and the cherry juice. Stir gently. Add the Fanta by gently pouring it down the back of a spoon. The aim is to float it on the top of the fruit juice. Garnish the glass with the  orange and lime and carefully drop in a cherry. 

Rosemary garlic focaccia

I am horrible at making bread. I think it is because my hands are too cold. However I'm not complaining because this means that its really easy for me to make pastry and truffles. But this focaccia comes out perfect every time. Nowadays I use the kneading hook on my kitchen machine, but when I first started making this I didn't have anything but my hands to knead the dough and it still came out well. So if bread is not your thing you should totally try this recipe out.

I traditionally make this focaccia to eat with my butternut squash soup and we have olive oil and salt on the side to dip it in, but it's great with a salad or just on its own as a snack. It's also very versatile. So although I make mine with rosemary and garlic you could top it with all the normal foccacia toppings (sun dried tomatoes, onions, roasted garlic and herbs come to mind).

Preparation time: 3 hours (includes rising time); makes 1 15" by 10" loaf 

Ingredients:

3 cups/12 oz/340 g	Flour (wheat or all purpose)
1.5 tbsp	Sugar
1 pkt.	Dry yeast
2 tsp.	Salt
1 tsp.	Garlic granules
1 sprig	Rosemary (about 10 cm long)
3/4 cup/175 ml	Water
1/4 cup/60 ml	Milk
1 tbsp./1/2 oz/16 g	Butter
1 1/2 tbsp.	Olive oil
	Rock salt
	Rosemary
2 tbsp.	Parmesan

Method:

In a large bowl combine 1.25 cups/175 g of flour with the sugar, dry yeast and salt. Put the water, milk and butter in a heatproof jug and heat in the microwave for around 40 seconds. Stir until all the butter has melted. Heat it a little more if it does not melt. You want the liquid to be around 130 F/55 C. Too much deviation either up or down will kill the yeast and the dough won't rise.

Add to the flour and beat either with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of a kitchen machine. Beat for 2 minutes on medium. Add garlic granules and finely chopped rosemary. If you don't have garlic granules you can add freshly made garlic paste. I don't use the garlic paste from the jar because I find it tastes weird, but it's a matter of taste and it can definitely save you time!

Once everything is combined add 1/4 cup of flour at a time and mix in. I keep using the mixer blade until it feels like it's strained then I switch to my dough hook. It you don't have a dough hook turn your dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead the rest of the flour in. Once all the flour is incorporated start kneading, either with your dough hook or by hand. Knead for 8-10 minutes until it's smooth.

Then find a large bowl and lightly oil the inside. You need to cover it with something. I would suggest clingwrap or a plate.  The dough will rise so if you feel like it will hit the top you should oil this too.

Allow to rise for 45-60 minutes.

Dust a 15" by 10" baking sheet with flour. This is a US recipe hence the size. Metric equivalent would be 38 by 25 cm or use a pan with an area of 950 cm². Of course since it is bread you can use any sized tray and just roll it out to the above dimensions. Put the dough on the baking sheet and using a rolling pin roll it so that the dough fills the pan. Now you need to let it rise again. Since I never have a food safe plastic bag big enough to put over the dough I cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and then put it in a big trash bag! Allow the dough to rise for a further 30 minutes.

Heat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius (convection oven 400 F or 200 C).

Now unwrap the dough and make indentations at 5 cm intervals with the handle of a wooden spoon or any other small round object (I use the handle of my rolling pin). Brush the top of the dough with the olive oil and sprinkle on the salt, chopped rosemary and Parmesan, or with whatever tickles your fancy!

Bake for 15 mins. or until top is golden.

Here is a printable version.