Halloween Brooklyn Style

 It's that time of year again, the time my neighborhood starts pulling out all the stops and decorating for Halloween. I found some new ones to share with you this year.

Some houses have pretty fall decorations.

Others go for the spooky.

Ooops - random finger.

Can't beat mother nature.

The ghost is back. You can't really tell from the photo, but he's about 12 feet tall.

This one comes from the neighborhood near where I work.

It's very elaborate.

A Halloween "Christmas" tree?

It's interesting to me to see how things change. IN some ways, Halloween is an easy way to track changes in the neighborhood. Places that used to go whole hog, now have nothing, but homes that were previously undecorated, now go all out. 

This building by my school used to have elaborate decorations for every season. They actually had a company that would come and do the decorations for each season. The new owners have not kept up the tradition.

And, despite it being Halloween, the Christmas lights have already gone up along one block!

Do you decorate for Halloween?

Halloween in Brooklyn

BOO!

Last week Mindy remembered that in the past I've posted photos of my neighborhood at Halloween.

That gave me an idea, so I took some new ones to share with you this year.

When did Halloween lights become a thing?

Some go for the simple, natural look.

Zombie lights

More lights.

When my girls were little, and we were heading off to the neighborhood parade, I always made a hearty pot of stew to have for dinner so we'd be well fortified.

Do you have a Halloween meal or is just another day in your household? I confess that this year I've been reminiscing about those sweet days when the girls were little and my family was all together.


And one more thing - with due apologies to Ruthie -

GO RED SOX!!!!!

It was a bittersweet World Series in my house, but I'm choosing to believe that my husband finally got to watch his beloved Red Sox win the World Series along with his father who never lived to see the end of the "Curse of the Bambino." There were rainbows shining over Fenway Park. I like to believe it was the Curry men smiling down.

Tex's Monster Cookies

November 1, 2016.

That means there are only 60 days left in this year! How did this happen? I mean, it seems like only yesterday I was putting Christmas decorations away.

Okay, so it wasn't yesterday, because yesterday was Halloween. So, since it wasn't just any ordinary Monday, I decided to do something special for those little monsters that frequent our doorstep more than just one day a year. And nothing fit the bill better than Monster Cookies. I mean, how can you go wrong with ingredients like this?

Actually, you can find several different versions of Monster Cookies out there, though a few things are constants--M&Ms, chocolate chips and oatmeal. This is my version, though you are certainly welcome to research other options to see which one you like best.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup (that's 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oats (I used old-fashioned, but you could also use quick oats)
• 1 cup M&Ms (I used the fall variety since it's what I had on hand)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
• 2 cups Rice Krispies (or equivalent) cereal

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the butter and shortening, then add the sugars and beat until fluffy.

Add your eggs and mix well. Now add the vanilla and stir that in.

Add the flour, salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon and mix until well blended.

From this point on, it's best to do the mixing by hand.

First, I folded in the oatmeal, pecans and chocolate chips.

Then came the M&Ms.

Stir that good before adding the Rice Krispies.

Fold again and again and again until everything is mixed together, then drop by large spoonful's onto a baking sheet. A large cookie scoop is what I used, but you could also use an ice cream scoop or even a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your scoops. If you're making a larger cookie, obviously you'll want to extend the baking time. Just be sure to do it in short increments and watch to make sure they don't burn.

Just look at all the good stuff inside these babies.

I love the pecans.

You can serve them warm,

Or package them in cellophane bags for trick-or-treaters.

Whatever the case, I can guarantee that monsters of all sizes are going love these cookies.

So how was Halloween at your place?

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and kids. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com.

Scary Food

This time of year, people seem set on scaring each other or themselves. Me? Not a horror fan ever since ManO and I went to see Halloween with a friend in college. The movie was bad enough. What we didn't know was there were other students hiding in the bushes across campus, ready to leap out and scare the dickens out of folks who were walking back from the theatre. Poor ManO was already deaf from the stereo screams during the movie. I think I about ripped his arm off on the way back to our dorms. Or maybe that was a bit intentional for other reasons. He's still my hero.

Now I have to admit, there are foods that scare me. Raw fish of any kind. Lamb chops (I'm afraid Lamb Chop the puppet will haunt my dreams.) Beets when I was a kid. ManO says brussel sprouts scare him.

This is how I look when I see calamari or ahi tuna - or rather I fear what I'll turn into if I eat it:

But there's something about scary food that also intrigues me. Not talking the veggie plate skeletons or the gummy worms coming out of Oreo dirt. I'm talking food that literally sends a shiver up my spine or is not what I'm used to or looks so different from what it tastes like that I have to think before plunging my fork in!

Take for instance, the new black burger from Burger King in Japan. You can read the article here. Too scary to post pictures.   I thought it was pretty. The burger and cheese may be black but not charred. Other folks said it scared them silly.

And then there is the black spaghetti noodles I found at my local Fresh Market. The amazing thing about these wheat-free noodles is they are the OPPOSITE of pasta. They have twenty-one, yep 2-0, grams of protein and barely any carbs. So you can feel free to create a meatless sauce and still have the protein you need.

You have to admit they are a little scary looking, like I cooked hair or something.  

But it is also the perfect base for an autumn veggie based sauce. I roasted some butternut squash but kept it stringy to fake ManO into thinking there was some meaty heft in his sauce.

Let's pause for this true confession: Love our farmer's market squash but had to go with organic due to a pinched nerve in my shoulder. No heavy duty chopping for me. And TAH DAH, I discovered roasting radically improves sometimes disappointing frozen veggie flavor and texture. That knowledge is gold!

A cup and a half of my favorite sauce, add in the roasted squash or pumpkin and let simmer til warm. If you prefer a slightly more savory version, just add parmesan on top! And it is delish!

ManO was pretty game and I was pretty game at creating stories to go with it. Kinda wished I had boys who would eat anything in the house so I could tell them it was worms or snakes or something.

Have you ever had a food scare you but ended up being delicious? How brave are you at trying new food?