The cake mix aisle in the supermarket has decorations

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 20, 2004 by Capital-Journal

ANN WILLIAMSON/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

The cake mix aisle in the supermarket has decorations like these used by Kathy Bohnhoff, of Topeka, to turn her her favorite fudge recipe into a Halloween treat.

Frighteningly cheap fun

Cookbook author shares tips for frugal party

The Capital-Journal

If you have blown the budget on goodies for the mob at the door on Halloween night, Tawra Kellam has some ideas for how you can still have lots of fun.

Kellam wrote her "Not Just Beans" cookbook while she was living in Manhattan, and since moving to Wichita she has added a list of shorter titles to her repertoire, including "Halloween on a Dime."

"It can be much less expensive and a lot more fun to devise your own chilling creations," Kellam says.

The kitchen and bathroom are full of things that can be turned into costumes. For instance:

Fake blood --- Mix 2/3 cup white corn syrup, 1 teaspoon red food coloring, 2 to 3 drops blue food coloring to darken and 1 squirt of dish soap (helps blood to run well).

Abrasions --- Dab brown, red and black eye shadow on area. Apply blood over area with cotton balls. Use comb to gently scratch area in one direction. Apply cocoa or dirt over wound with cotton balls.

Look old --- Cover face with baby powder. Draw dark lines on your skin for wrinkles. Smooth edges to blend. Cover again with baby powder. Add baby powder to your hair to create gray hair.

Face paint --- Mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon water, 1/ 2 teaspoon cold cream and food coloring in an old muffin pan. This amount makes one color.

Fake wound --- Mix 1 tablespoon Vaseline with 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring. Blend with a toothpick. Stir in a pinch of cocoa powder to make a darker color. Separate a two-ply tissue and tear a 2- by 3-inch piece and place at wound site. Cover with petroleum jelly and mold into the shape of a wound. The center should be lower than the sides. Fill the center with the red petroleum jelly mixture. Sprinkle center with some cocoa. Sprinkle a little around the edges of the wound to make darker.

Kellam also has lots of ways to use what comes out of the pumpkin when you carve a jack-o'-lantern.

Learn more at www.notjustbeans.com, where you can learn how to throw a Halloween party for $25.

Other recipes

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Boil seeds in water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Sprinkle with salt or seasoned salt. Place a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees . Stir after 30 minutes. Bake 1/2 to 1 hour more or until crunchy.

Squash seeds may also be used.

SOURCE: "Not Just Beans"

Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2....cups sugar

2....eggs, slightly beaten

1/2....cup oil

1....cup pumpkin

1 3/4 cups flour

1....teaspoon baking soda

1/4....teaspoon baking powder

1....teaspoon salt

1/2....teaspoon cinnamon

1/2....teaspoon cloves

1/2....teaspoon nutmeg

1/4....teaspoon allspice

1/3....cup water

1/2....cup raisins (optional)

Mix sugar, eggs, oil and pumpkin in a bowl. Add dry ingredients and water in order given. Mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins if desired. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or longer if needed. To test doneness, put a knife in the center of the bread. If it comes out clean it is finished.

SOURCE: "Not Just Beans"

Other easy Halloween party treats:

Haunted Popcorn Hand --- Place two or three pieces of candy corn - -- look for the larger size corns --- pointy side first into the fingers of clear plastic gloves, the kind that come in home hair coloring kids, also available in bulk at the supermarket. These are the fingernails. Then fill the glove with popped popcorn. Tie at the wrist with ribbon, yarn or twine.

Bug Brew --- You'll need clean, empty wide-mouth jars. Think Ball canning jars or jars that spaghetti sauce comes in. Fill with chilled green Gatorade and a handful of plastic bugs and worms. In spidery handwriting, print "Bug Brew" on a label and stick on each jar. (Double-face tape works well on glass.)

Spooky Spider --- Purchase cinnamon rolls or bake a batch of the packaged variety. Store-bought will already be frosted; the packaged kind comes with icing. Sprinkle with black sugar sprinkles (or dark brown chocolate jimmies). Secure a black gum drop with a toothpick for the head. Use candy to make eyes; white yogurt covered Raisinettes work well. Cut eight licorice legs 3-4 inches long. Poke holes in both sides of the roll and press licorice legs in them.

RIP Cake or Cookies --- Pick up a store-bought cake or cookies and can of vanilla or lemon frosting. Tint orange with food coloring and ice cake or cookies. Decorate with plastic spiders and cobweb design drawn with tube of black gel icing.

SOURCE: Scripps Howard News Service

For those with more time to cook:

Deep Dark Fudge

1 1/2....cups sugar

1....jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme

1....can (5 ounces) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)

1/4....cup ( 1/2stick) butter or margarine

2 cups (12-ounce package) dark chocolate chips