In season ... October

Tantalising Halloween Food!

This issue of Local Food and Drink’s ‘In Season’ online focuses on all things Halloween – being October and all. Our writer Laura always has a Halloween themed Birthday party due to her birthday being on 28th October. So Happy Birthday Laura! (We won’t say how old you are, don’t worry.)

In Britain many people are increasingly going to Halloween parties and wear spooky costumes. A traditional English Halloween supper is "Mash o' Nine Sorts." The classic Halloween vegetable soup consists of potatoes, carrots, turnip, parsnip, leek, peas and cream. It is a Halloween custom to serve the soup to unmarried guests with a ring hidden inside. Whoever finds it will be married next. To try this recipe yourself this Halloween click here.

Halloween cakes and Toffee apples are extremely popular Halloween sweets. Toffee apples are apples with a thin layer of hard toffee. They are fixed on a stick. To make your own Toffee apples (but hopefully not have to visit a dentist afterwards) click here.

The traditional Halloween cakes are based on a recipe from the North of England. In the North the 31 October is also known as ‘Cake Day’. For some Halloween cake goodness click here.

Pumpkins – how could we forget them at this time of year!? We have tried to grow our own pumpkins in the Local Food and Drink garden – however it didn’t go too well. They are only just flowering and the pumpkins are about 10cm long by 3cm wide....looking more like lemons.

If you have had more success (or bought some) then why not crave them up for Halloween – using the insides for a tasty soup or other pumpkin greatness. Click here to Pumpkin Carving 101. Then use the insides for one of these tasty pumpkin treats – click here for pumpkin recipes galore.

Have a great October and
enjoy Halloween.