Bug Bites

Plain round cookies, like sugar cookies or ginger snaps — for the bug bodies

Tubes of colored icing Small candies like red–hots or mini M&Ms for spots, eyes, etc.

Licorice or fruit–flavored candy strings for legs, antennae, etc. Use the icing and can- dies to turn cookies into a platefull of bugs to serve your guests. Don’t forget the ants!

Or save the fun to share with friends. Make or buy the cookies ahead of time and have guests help turn them into bugs.

Jack O’ Lanterns from start to finish

Contributed by
Pam Clark

Buy a pumpkin that is firm, weighs about 5 lbs., and appeals to you. Sketch out your Jack ‘O Lantern design and trace on to the pumpkin. The parts of the pumpkin that you want to carve should be filled in with black marker or black tempera paint. Do NOT carve yet.

Put the Jack ‘O Lantern by your front door or porch for all to view. Check pumpkin every day for any soft spots. If the pumpkin starts to soften, bring in your pumpkin and you’ll have to carve your Jack ‘O Lantern early. Always try to wait to carve your pumpkin until the night before Halloween to maintain freshness.

To carve the Jack O’Lantern, spread out a newspaper section and place your pumpkin in the middle. You may draw a line around the top of the pumpkin and follow with a knife safely and cut out like a lid. Take a large sturdy serving spoon and scoop out all the seeds and stringy material. Put them in a colander to rinse. Scoop out the rest of the pumpkin pulp, mash with a potato masher and put to the side for later use.

After you have hollowed out the pumpkin, you are ready to carve. Use a special pumpkin carving knife or a serrated knife to carefully carve your black marks of the pumpkin out. Smile at your Jack O’ Lantern when you are finished. Put in a votive candle or a small flash light and place outside for Halloween.

The pumpkin seeds should be cleaned with just water, patted dry, and spread out on a cookie sheet with just about a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkled with salt or your favorite seasoning. Roast in 325° oven for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly brown; stir and roast the other sides. You may eat seeds as a tasty nutritious snack.

The final step for your Jack’O Lantern is to make Pumpkin Soup. Fry 3 to 4 slices of bacon in a stock pot until crispy. Take just the bacon out and set aside. Saute’ one clove of pressed garlic, 1/2 bundle of chopped parsley, 1 Tbsp. cumin, and one half of a minced onion in the bacon drippings. Add a bay leaf and fresh ground pepper at the same time.

When the onions are almost translucent, add two large boxes or cans of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and add one large cubed potato and add all the mashed pumpkin pulp. Let simmer until potato is soft. Sprinkle bacon pieces on top and serve.