Hallow's Eve Revelry

"When the bats like ghosts are gliding,
witches soar, on broomsticks riding,
jack-o-lanterns twinkle, grinning.
Our Halloween revelry will be just beginning!"

According to the verse on my collection of old Halloween postcards, at some time in American history Halloween was considered a time for fortune-telling - for fore-telling the future... your fate, your coming year, your true love...



Legend was that if you turned out all lights, and held a mirror in one hand, and looked in it with a candle in the other hand while walking backwards (sometimes while walking backwards down a flight of stairs!), you would see in the mirror a vision...

If you will but backwards go
Several rods or so –
With a mirror by the handle
And in your other hand a candle
You will surely meet your fate
Now’s the time – it’s ne’re too late!





For my part, I'm just happy to make costumes out of old furry jackets from the thrift store, make simple autumn food from the Organics to You delivery, and walk through the crispy leaves to the tea shop for Pumpkin Spice Tea...



Still, I won't be surprised to see the Goblins dancing if I walk out after dark!



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Sophia's Butternut Soup recipe

Roast two medium sized butternut squash in a hot oven - split the squash, remove the seeds, sprinkle with olive oil and a little maple balsamic vinegar; place in a pan and cook in the oven for 45 mins

Scoop out the cooked squash and mash it. You should have about 2 cups of squash, but I never measure things exactly - this is just approximate. In a heavy pan on the stove, add to the squash 1 cup cream, 1/2 cup milk, a dash of cinnamon and of salt, a tiny pinch of ground cloves, red pepper, and of nutmeg. Stir constantly while heating slowly. Do not boil. You may want to use a wire whisk to blend the ingredients.

You may also add very finely minced onions, leeks, and/or mushrooms, first sauteed in butter or olive oil.

Core two fresh apples and simmer with a small amount of water in a separate pan. When thoroughly soft, press through a sieve and add a teaspoon of brown sugar or honey and a dash of salt. It should be thick. Set aside.

Pour the squash soup into bowls. Place a scoop of the applesauce in the middle of each bowl. Sprinkle with a little more nutmeg. Some of my friends like it with a small spoonful of sour cream, or some grated cheddar cheese on top, too.

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Quiet Halloween and a Recipe

It was perfect weather for Halloween. The air was warm - unseasonably warm - but the sky was a ominous white/grey with dark clouds racing from one horizon to the other. The wind was tossing its hair petulantly and yellow, red, and burgundy maple leaves wove a Persian carpet on the streets and sidewalks.

At about 4, my bf and I took the dogs out to walk. It was just barely spitting rain - a few light drops as though the wind was lifting beads of water from the park fountain and breezing them into our faces. We saw several high-schoolers in costume and in couples. They seemed to be walking to a party downtown.

By the time we got home, the first trick-or-treaters were out. The first wave is always the babies, whose parents bring them out before it gets full dark. We saw a ladybug, and a green lizard in a stroller. One of my favorites was a tiny tiger - less than a year old. When they came up the steps to our door, the Mom whispered, "What do you say?" and the tiny tiger said: "Grrrrr! Grrrr!". It was mega cute.

My boyfriend had gone really overboard with the Halloween candy-buying. We had a huge basket full. I was sure we would be stuck with a million calories to hide on our thighs because last year we had only 2 or 3 costumed kids. But this year, everyone was out! The wind picked up, the porch lights went on, and crowds of ghouls roamed the streets. We were saved from the weight-gaining leftovers - hurray! Our basket was almost empty in an hour!

I made Chili and cornbread for our Halloween dinner. We had mulled cider with Courvoisier and pumpkin doughnuts. I gave the dogs doggie yogurt - apple & cheddar. We watched past episodes of The Vampire Diaries. It was great.

My Chili Recipe:



One Sweet Red, Yellow, or Orange Pepper (or all three)
One sweet Vidalia Onion
Fresh Mushrooms
2 cans dark red kidney beans
1 large can diced tomatoes (no spices pre-added)
Vegetarian meat subtitute or 85% ground beef or ground turkey or chopped chicken
1 package McCormack Original Chili Spices (if you don't have this you can use garlic powder, onion flakes, parsely, papprika, ground chili pepper, salt, pepper)
Olive Oil
Worcestershire Sauce

Saute the chopped peppers, onions, and sliced mushrooms in olive oil. Add ground meat (or substitute) and cook until done. Sprinkle with Worcestershire Sauce (about 1 teaspoon). (if you're Jule, add Grammie's Salt. If not - you can skip this step). In a large pot, mix beans, tomatoes, and Chili Spice mix. stir gently to mix. Add vegetables and meat to this. (I add one small can of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes to this because I like Chili with lots of broth, but most people like it dryer, so you can leave out this step). Simmer gently for a while so the flavours blend. (if you're hungry you can eat as soon as its hot. If not, you can keep it on low heat for an hour. I cooked mine in the Slow Cooker for an hour on high and an hour on low).

Serve with a spoonful of sour cream on top and with Cornbread that has Parmesan cheese added to the mix. Or serve with grated cheese on top and Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.

Happy Halloween!

I hope that everyone is being happy little witches and wizards today!!

My friend Nad sent me the most wonderful Hallow's Eve package in the mail:



This is the new Harry Potter sock yarn in the Hedwig Owl colourway! Hooray!!! I have a special idea for a pattern in my mind just waiting to attach itself to this yarn...

Isn't the tiny skein great? Its the Harry Potter colourway... and the wrapped package is a stack of music CD's of the group Harry and the Potters singing such rocking tunes as Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock and Luna Lovegood is OK.

Have a wonderfully spooky day and night, little batling friends! I'll be flying with you in spirit.