Halloween Eats!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays — right after my birthday and Thanksgiving, of course! I love the monsters and witches and goblins and candy. But I also love the deeper meaning of Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. It's a time to honor our ancestors and remember those we've lost.

Also, Halloween gives me an excuse to wear witchy gear to work (not that I really need an excuse!). I wore my tiny witch hat with a "Don't Be a Basic Witch" tee from Target. My friend/Crosstown Arts co-worker/professional makeup artist Nicole brought her face paint to the office and painted all of our faces.

Here's Nicole working on my co-worker Porsche's face. Crosstown Concourse held a Trunk or Treat event this afternoon on the plaza, and Porsche headed that event up! Such a fun day!

After work, I went home and put Maynard's shark costume on him for our walk. He's had this thing for years, and he's almost too fat for it.

But you're here for the food, right? My breakfast wasn't so pretty, but it was pretty tasty. I call this Eye of Newt Pumpkin Protein N'ice Cream & Maple Oats. I made banana soft serve with added pumpkin puree and Vega One vanilla chai protein, and it turned the most awful shade of green (with flecks of orange where the pumpkin didn't incorporate). That was served atop hot oats with maple syrup and ground flax seed. Witchy food doesn't need to be pretty, right?

For lunch, I finished off the rest of the can of pumpkin puree with a quick Vitamix Pumpkin Bisque. I used one cup of pumpkin puree, one cup veggie broth, 1/2 cup almond milk, and a little garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and smoked paprika and put it all in the Vitamix on the Hot Soups setting. Perfection! And it only took a few minutes.

I also had a homemade Veggie Dog with my soup. Every year for years, my me-maw hosted a Halloween party at her house, and we made hot dogs (veggie dogs for me!) and passed out candy. She stopped hosting a couple years ago when she had an injury and just never started the tradition back up. But I still have to have a hot dog in her honor. This was a seitan-based pepperoni sausage from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook — served with sauteed bell pepper and onion, kraut, and dijon on my witchy plates!

Every year on (or around) Halloween night, I host a Samhain Feast of the Dead with my dead friends and family. I set put pictures or mementos of everyone so they have a place at the table. This year, I made Isa's Spaghetti & Eyeballs from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook. The eyeballs are tofu "meatballs" topped with almond ricotta and cherry tomatoes. So good!

I had a small side salad on the side, plus some red wine.

You can't celebrate a holiday without dessert, right? I had a can of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Rolls left from last season. The can said they were expired, but I figured dough couldn't really go bad in a can. So I baked them, and they were perfect. Expiration dates are usually overly cautious anyway. I rarely follow them.

Hope y'all had a fun (and delicious) Halloween!