Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a real foodie holiday, isn't it? There is something so primal about a holiday celebrating the time of harvest, and paying respect to Mother Earth, the circle of life and death, the fragile interconnection of all things, and delicious seasonal foods and drinks, of course.

Last Saturday, Daiku and I threw a party, and asked our friends to come in costume!

He went as the Unabomber, complete with manifestos to hand out to guests.

I went as Jim Jones, complete with Kool-Aid (i.e. sangria) for everyone to drink. (How did both of us manage to go as sociopathic men with aviator glasses? Sometimes the stars align, I guess...)

Here are Trac and Bridget. Bridget came as Freddy Krueger, and Trac came as...

...a Freudian slip. She's wearing a slip...

...and it's a Freudian one. Isn't this the most wonderful idea for a costume? (Anyone recognize the scene illustrated above? C'mon, let your inner Freud nerd shine!)

Here's one of our tiny little Jack O'Lanterns... am I a freak because I grow attached to my pumpkins and can't bear to cut into them? (Celine, do you recognize the eyes and mouth?)

I was so excited about this- Bridget made LindyLoo's bloody finger cookies!! I'd been wanting to eat these since seeing them on her blog last year. They were really good- and we even had a little playful fighting over who would get the last index finger and the last pinkie! (Ok, the fighting was between our youngest guests, but you get the idea...)

Daiku made some Autumnal sushi: sweet potato and radish (dyed pink with beet juice) with black and white (wild and sushi) rice or green rice. The green rice was a variety that we came across last month called "green bamboo rice" that we'd never seen before. It retains its jewel-like tone even when cooked. Pretty cool. At some point, I realized that we were assuming a huge amount of veggie love on the part of our guests to be serving them sushi made with cooked radishes dyed with beet juice! But no worries, these were all gobbled up. They totally looked like tuna rolls, too.

Some sourdough mini calzones, half with a tofu feta/spinach "spanakopita" style filling, and the other half with a spicy tomato sauce/broccoli combination.

Mini phyllo cups filled with chocolate mousse, some topped with raspberries (lovingly preserved from our raspberry picking adventures). The chocolate mousse is from the recipe in "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World"- I replaced the soy milk with soy nog for an extra holiday-flavored kick. Take it from me- you don't need cupcakes to make and enjoy this mousse! It's so incredibly rich, and feels decadent, although its main ingredient is silken tofu.

And there was so much more, so I decided to create the above mosaic. (Click on it to enlarge) Can you find...

• sweet 'n spicy toasted nuts? (made with brown and maple sugars, cayenne, chili, cinnamon, oregano and cumin, inspired by this recipe at 28 Cooks)
• a Middle Eastern carrot dip, served with fresh-made sourdough bread and toasted coconut? (thanks to Emilie for recipe)
• Jack O'Lantern in front of the fire?
• pomegranate seeds? (served to be reminiscent of Persephone in the underworld)
• a table decorated with freshly fallen leaves from the backyard?
• various naughty things being done with finger cookies?
• Celine's insanely addictive cheesy quackers made with whole wheat flour? (or maybe they were ghosts...)
• a trio of dips, including tofu feta, feta/spinach, and kalamata olive/fig?
• Trac's mini pumpkin bundt cakes and pretzel/chocolate spiders?
• crudités and other foods with creepy crawly spiders over them?

Overall, it was a really fun night, and I want to thank all our guests for coming and for your wonderful costumes and good cheer!

Some observations: the soundtrack to the movie The Gift is very spooky and perfect for a Halloween party. Hellraiser? Awesome movie to have running silently in the background during said party. And cranberries in sangria? Pretty damn good!

I hope everyone has a happy and (forgive me, I have to say it) spooktacular Halloween!

Happy Halloween!