“I’ve got to do ‘the cube’ puzzle on you! It’s brilliant and it is spooky how accurate it is” my friend Ute said to me one night. We were having dinner at a crowded Thai restaurant and we were to adjourn to a quieter cafe for dessert afterwards. “Perfect for doing the personality puzzle’!” she said and then qualified her suggestion by telling me “I actually found it in a psychology journal, not a women’s magazine.”
So over dessert, she took out her red notebook and her pen with a flourish and started to ask me questions.
“First question: there is a desert. Describe the desert to me” she said.
I thought about the first image of a desert that sprang to mind. “Okay…well my desert is obviously sandy, there’s a big pool of water there and palm trees. The sun is shining but it’s not too hot and there’s plenty of water. There are some small hills but they’re not too steep” I answered.
She cleared her throat. “Second question: now there is a cube in your desert scene, tell me more about the cube-describe it to me, what is it made of and where is it?” she then said.
“It’s a jube on the ground! A small soft, red jube cube covered in sugar” I said recalling my Rubix cube jubes which made Ute laugh heartily.
“Okaaay third question: now there’s a horse there, what is the horse like?” Ute then asked me.
“Oh it’s a lovely white horse with a nice polished brown leather saddle and brown patches over its eyes so that it doesn’t get any sand in them” I said. “Tell me more about the horse” Ute prompted. “Well it’s a very well looked after horse with a sweet nature and it is next to the cube” I said describing a horse I had never seen in a desert I had never been to.
Ute surveyed my answers thoughtfully and let out a deep sigh. “Well the good news is that you’re not unbalanced” she said, holding the pen against her chin like a psychiatrist.
Ahem. Well perhaps her opinion would have changed after she saw these. Yes my lovelies, it’s coming up to Hallowe’en season and I’m so excited! Every October, I plan for my Halloween party and this year’s will be full of creepy and kooky fun. This year, we’re starting with bloody popcorn brains. I saw it on Pinterest and followed it all the way to the blog from which it came. It was a great idea, I had made popcorn pomanders a few years ago and they were so easy. These would be similar except we would be making two brain halves with a jammy bloody trickle of blood and clots down the centre. They were the opposite of pretty, which is something I revel in after trying to make everything pretty for the rest of the year. They’re surprisingly tasty too, especially with the jam down the centre and they have almost a sweet, spongy, chewy quality to them.
Oh and if you were wondering about your own answers to ‘the cube’ questions, write down the answers to the three questions about the desert, cube and horse on a piece of paper. Then scroll down to find the answers – they’re after the recipe below.
So tell me Dear Reader, did you do “the cube” test and was it accurate for you? And do you like doing personality tests and quizzes?
Bloody Popcorn Brains
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Degree of difficulty: easy
- 1/3 cup popping corn
- 100g/3.5 ozs white chocolate
- 50g/1.5 ozs. butter
- 210g/7ozs white or pink marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pink, brown and red food colouring
- oil for shaping
- 2 tablespoons plum, raspberry or strawberry jam (the lumpier the better for blood clots – who says that I am well adjusted?
)
To this
1. Pop the corn either in a frying pan or in the microwave (see here on DIY microwave popcorn). In a saucepan, heat the white chocolate and butter on medium heat until melted and then add the marshmallows and melt these stirring these constantly so that they don’t catch on the bottom and burn (I had the stove on 5 out of 10 for heat). You want this completely melted and lump free. Add in the vanilla and the colouring-I add in a little pink and some brown just to make it a less “pretty” pink.
2. Turn down the heat to low (1 or 2 out of 10) and stir in the popcorn and coat the kernels well with the marshmallow mix. Once coated, remove from heat and allow to rest for a couple of minutes while you prep the rest.
I know, they don’t look that much like brains…but wait until you paint the blood and blood clots on
3. Line a large tray with parchment and oil your hands and grab small lumps of the popcorn mix. Shape into half brain shape and then grab another similar sized lump and make the other half of the brain. Stick these together-they will stick easily when warm. Allow to cool and set.
4. Take the jam and some red food colouring and mix them together in a small bowl. Using a paintbrush, draw a blood line down the centre of the brain-place any fruit lumps in prominent positions.
The answers to the cube quiz are:
Question 1: Describe the desert.
Solution: the desert is how you see the world and life in general. And Ute tells me that she has worried about many a friend who describes a desert as bleak with no life or hope!
Question 2: Describe the cube
Solution: The cube is you. If your cube is in the air, you are a dreamer-on the ground and you are down to earth. The colour of the cube also tells you about your personality (black=elegant, authority, dark side; white=innocence, non judgemental, no strong opinions; red=dominance, love, attention seeker; yellow: playful, optimist, attention seeker; green: prosperity, compassion; blue=knowledge, calmness; purple=luxury, sophistication and brown=stability. A clear cube means that you are transparent and open to others-the opposite and you are a private person. The size of the cube corresponds to the size of your ego-a big cube=a big ego!
Question 3: Describe the horse
Solution: The horse is your ideal partner or current partner and how you behave in relationships. Which is good that I said nice things about the horse because Ute reports people describing their horse as stubborn, annoying or even on occasion, dead! The closer the horse is to the cube shows how distant you are in your relationship. If your horse is active then you want an energetic partner that travels a lot and if the horse stands still then you prefer a partner that is a homebody.
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
61 Comments | Add your own
Hahaha, awesome!
Cheers,
Rosa
How ghoulish, these are perfect for Halloween!
Ooooh these do look spooky and perfect for Halloween
I do love edible brains
These are a great Halloween idea.
The lumpier the better for blood clots, I don’t think I will ever look at jam quite the same way again
Bloody Popcorn Brains? Only you, Lorraine, are creative enough to come up with these. How I wish my son was still home–even at 22, he would love, love, love these for his favorite holiday.
“2 tablespoons plum, raspberry or strawberry jam (the lumpier the better for blood clots – who says that I am well adjusted?
)” – oh how this made me squeamish haha
I got confused with the cube quiz because you wrote “there is a deSert. Describe the deSSert to me” and I was like “Is this a Jenny Craig quiz? My foodie mind went straight to thinking about desserts hahaha
Ewwww, these look scarily realistic. Not afan of the personality quiz – too much like psychometric testing for a job.
Oh dear Lorraine, it is so spooky! I hope I don’t have nightmares …
Although very creative!
Hhaha i’ve never done or heard of the ‘cube’ test
Very interesting!
I’ve never really celebrated Halloween except when I was a kid i’d go Trickle Treating but this year I think I’m gonna try and make an effort to make some scary and funky looking goodies for friends and colleagues too
Ute writes with a pan? The desert becomes dessert? Are these classic examples of Freudian/Epicurean slips of the pen?
Sigmund, you might be right there!
THIS IS AWESOME!
What fun! I thought the two sides kind of looked like they were made from mars bar slice. Now I’m really hungry. I love popcorn! Bring on Halloween.
I have a friend who will absolutely love these for the party she is planning! They are so cool!
These look fantastic! Love the grueling feel you get from looking at it
Am laughing: according to your psych test I love life [true!], am stable [surely hope so!] and like an active partner [should think so!]
! Even if noone ‘fixed’ is on the horizon at the moment!! Halloween not being my proverbial cup of tea a’tall, a’tall, a’tall – daresay you’ll get peace from me before and during 
!
At least now if anyone asks me to do the cube test I know the right answers! These brains are fabulous looking and they will be so much fun when you serve them at your party. I’ve been seeing so many Halloween thingies on Pinterest. Who knew it was such an industry xx
Oh excellent – ever so slightly gruesome, but excellent!
Screamalicious!!!!!
Can I do it if I just have red food coloring?
Hi Anna! Sure! They might be even scarier with it!
So cool, but so gross at the same time- my daughter loooved it
She’s making popcorn as I type!
Hmmm, my desert was a bit bleak, but it was night, I wonder what that meant? I would much rather describe my favourite deSSert than deSert
the cube quiz sounds fun – and those brain popcorns are creepy – but you know I mean that in the nicest of ways – pinterest will be full of halloween stuff – will be fun for my first year on pinterest during this time
Oh wow, these are so funny and creepy
Despite me loving vampires, wizards, and fantasy in general, I don’t get into Halloween – brains make me squeamish and ghouls are scary
Eww in a good way! I’m glad my desert was pretty with a big palm tree, cool breeze and lots of water.
What a fun post!
I’m totally feeling the gorgeous Halloween spirit now – this looks stunning
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I love your Halloween posts!!! I’ve never ever done any of those tests – fun!
Heidi xo
I think my kids wont really appreciate “scary” food just yet for Halloween, but they would like this when they’re older. “wowza, that’s awesome mum cos I get to scare the s#@* out of my friends!” LOL!
Eeeek, that’s some scary (but awesome) stuff!
Haha I remember doing those cube test things when chain emails were all the rage in high school. Great fun!
I cannot wait to see your Halloween post. Will nibble on these in the meantime.
BEST. IDEA. EVER.
perfect idea for a halloween dessert!
Every year I wait for your Halloween creations and this one is tops! Hysterical and perfect! I love it. What’s your costume this year?
Hi Jamie! Thank you so much! Hehe the costume is going to be a bit of a surprise I hope. I hope that it’s waiting for me at home to try on!
Halloween time! I think they sound, and actually look, quite appetising
Goulish and fun. How do people think up these good ideas!!. the quizz is interesting, ..luckily I dont have a bleak outlook on life or a nasty nature and I will leave you with the sight of my draft horse standing on the beach beside a blue milk crate!!
haha love those, had to pin it to our halloween board! =D
By the way, how many does this make? I am planning some easy Halloween treats for the kids. They will love the clots.
Just too clever for words!
Hi Jammy! It makes about eight of the brains, depending on the size that you make them. I hope they like them!
Love the popcorn! Have a great day
These are awesome!
You really scared me with this one!!!
what fun… totally making this scary pop corn brain for halloween…
Love it!!
P.S I am so sorry for not being able to email you yet, will do it by tonite for sure, just last few days have been a complete roller coaster of madness….
When I saw the title I got a bit excited because even though we don’t ourselves celebrate Halloween, it’s so much fun to watch everyone get creative with their themed food. Brains get my vote!
OMG….you always like to make this king of horrible delicious thins for Halloween…!!!
With that, you reminded me your last year’s Halloween. That was my first year that I saw how you celebrate Halloween and I absolutely awed. I look forward to your this year’s creation!
p.s. sorry about MIA lately. hope all’s well with you Lorraine!
My mom always made popcorn balls for Christmas, but they’re much more fun for Halloween. xoxo Mum
How eerily ghoulish!! I am going to make these for our neighborhood kids. They are going to love it, lol! Marshmellow, whitechocolate and popcorn…Mnnnnn!!!
They really look like brains!! Scary!
What a lovely Halloween treat!
Hahah Lorraine these look so creepy but also sound delicious lol
gah brains. hehe they are so cute!
this is very clever and, more importantly, tasty! i love taking quizzes like that, but they’re rarely accurate.
OMG! These look positively ghastly yet tempting
They actually look scaringly realistic! AHH. How fun, a halloween party! Maybe I should have one this year..just so I can make many halloween themed goods
Haha I always love your freaky halloween creations
Wow, I love the “cube” game and these brains! After reading your answers to the questions, I had to really work to clear my head because sometimes I can be so open to suggestions. But, I’d say it was pretty accurate for me. The only surprise was the cube – mine was black/brown and polished. So I guess there’s some of the dark side? :/
These brains are too adorable and so creepy all at the same time. I laughed when I saw them and kind of shuddered at the thought of eating them. I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thanks for continuing to inspire me with your creations…
I love these brains! They look amazing. You mentioned that the recipe made about 8 brains. Roughly how big was each brain? And could these be made a day or two ahead of time?
HI Lea! The brains are about the size of tennis balls
And yep, they definitely can be made ahead of time, just store them in an airtight jar in greaseproof paper 
Post a Comment