As promised, here are the girls in full regalia.
We do the same thing every Halloween. At dusk we meet our neighbors and travel the cul-de-sac together. The older, childfree couples ooh and ahh, and give special treats to the kids, and call one another out to check the costumes. On the next block, our friends give Bacon a beer. All of us eat snacks before trick or treating that cul-de-sac. Back at our friends’ house, the party is still going on. Bacon has another beer. We talk a while before walking home. By this time, Coco’s candy bag is too heavy for her to carry, and both girls take off parts of their costumes because it’s hot in San Antonio on October 31. Cherry and Coco dump their candy sack on the table, eat all they can, and pick 20 pieces to keep for tomorrow. I buy everything that’s left for $10.00 per kid. In the end, it’s cheaper than paying the dental bill.
For dinner I make Halloween Soup.
Halloween Soup
1 small sweet pie pumpkin (Split in half, deseed, and cook in a pan, rind-side up for 1 hour in a 350° oven in an inch of water. Scoop the flesh out into a crock pot) or 2 cans pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
4T butter
2 cans chicken broth
1T honey
½t cinnamon
½t nutmeg
½t kosher salt
Combine and cook all day on low in the crockpot. Before serving, blend and add 1 can fat free evaporated milk. Stir. Do not boil after adding the milk or it will break. Garnish with a lump of brown sugar, and serve with slices of crusty bread.
CRISPLY SPOKEN 