October 2008: Happy Halloween!

October has always been my favorite month! The air is cool & crisp and fireplaces are starting to crackle. But best of all…..Halloween falls at the end of this month. It’s hard not to love this magical day that brings out the youth in us all.

It’s a great night to party with your adult friends – heck, when I was in college we would go out trick-or-treating! But being able to introduce a youngster to his/her first Halloween is one of the best highs available. Decisions of the utmost importance must be made…..and those decisions are difficult with all of the choices nowadays. The kids are intent upon finding the best costume to wear while the adults are searching for the ideal treat to hand out. And everyone’s trying to find the perfect pumpkin for carving (be sure to save those seeds for roasting!)

Needless to say, many adults become just as excited as the kids as evening approaches. In fact, chances are they’ve spent some time & money to make their home look haunted for the night…..some adults will even answer the door decked out in their Halloween finest.

When selecting your pumpkins for carving, be sure to pick up a few extra…..they make great foodstuff! Everyone’s familiar with pumpkin pie, and many with pumpkin bread. For those of you wanting to experiment with the wonderful world of pumpkins, the following recipes are from “Foods of the Sonoran Desert and Their Many Uses” by Don Wells and Jean Groen. Permission to reprint the recipe has been granted by Wells/Groen Publishing, 1375 S. Mountain View Rd., Apache Junction, AZ 85219.

PUEBLO SQUASH PIÑON NUT SWEETBREAD
1½ cups FLOUR
1 cup PUREED PUMPKIN or SQUASH
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. BROWN SUGAR
2 EGGS, beaten until foamy
1 tsp. BAKING POWDER
1 tsp. CINNAMON
1 tsp. grated NUTMEG
½ tsp. SALT
¾ cup PIÑON NUTS
Preheat 350° oven. In bowl, mix dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix pumpkin, eggs, and butter. Combine. Stir nuts into batter. Put in greased 9x6 loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until done. Cool. Can be used with soups or can be made into dessert by slicing and putting yogurt or applesauce on it.

HOPI STEW
2 cups GREEN CORN shelled from cob
1 cup finely chopped BEEF or GOAT
1 cup chopped SQUASH
1 Tbsp. FLOUR
SALT and PEPPER to taste
Fry meat in lard until brown. Add squash and corn. Put enough water in to cover. When squash is nearly done, add a paste of the flour and a little water. Stir in and stir well. Cook an additional 5 minutes.