If You Like Shopping

Halloween is knocking on the door! And your tummy starts to “talk”. The traditional food used also for decoration – the pumpkin – has become the label of the holiday somehow. Among all the canned fruits and vegetables the pumpkin is the best source of Vitamin A. No matter that its orange color is the bearer of the health usefulness, it is one of the reasons that you can not write an ode to it – there is no rhyme fro orange in the dictionary. It is nice to know though that the pumpkins on Halloween can be spotted in white, blue and green as well. Halloween is the best selling candy holiday thanks to “trick or treat” traditions. Another piece of “food” that will “trill” your children no matter that is not a bearer of Vitamin A. Trick or treat for UNICEF starts in 1950 in Philadelphia when a group of young children together with their pastor collected 17 dollars for the children in need overseas. They gave then to UNICEF and a tradition had been born. According to UNICEF: 1 dollar protect one child from polio, 1 dollar immunizes one child against measles, 2 dollars provides Vitamin A for 66 children for a year, 2.46 dollars provides school supplies for one child for a year, 9 dollars provides a pack of 200 water purification tablets.

The traditional food though is the barm back – an Irish fruit cake. Also known as barm brack, barn brack or baírín breac. At Halloween, barmbrack is used to tell fortunes for the coming year. A pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a coin and a ring are all baked inside the bread. The one who gets the pea will not marry. The one who gets the stick will have an unhappy marriage. The piece of cloth fortells poverty, while the coin indicates riches. And finally, the finder of the ring will be wed soon.

Here is the recipe of it, if you want to try it and be traditional this year

You need:

• Strong black tea — 2 cups

• Dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants, candied peel, etc.) — 2 cups

• Milk, lukewarm (110-115°F) — 1 cup

• Active dry yeast — 1 (1/4-ounce) package

• Sugar — 2 teaspoons • Flour — 3 to 3 1/2 cups

• Sugar — 1/4 cup

• Ground cinnamon — 1/2 teaspoon

• Ground cloves — 1/2 teaspoon

• Nutmeg — 1/4 teaspoon • Egg, beaten – 1

• Butter, unsalted, softened — 1/3 cup

• Salt — 1 teaspoon

Step by step:

1. Place the tea and dried fruit in a bowl and let soak for at least one hour, preferably overnight. 2. Mix the yeast, warm milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar together in a small bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. 3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and spices. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture, beaten egg, butter and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients and bring the dough together. Add a little more flour if the dough is too wet or a little more milk if it is too dry. 4. Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth but still a little sticky. 5. Drain the dried fruit and knead a little at a time into the dough until all the fruit has been incorporated. 6. Remove the dough to a large, lightly buttered bowl. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm corner until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 7. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and punch down to deflate. Knead lightly for 2-3 minutes. Form into a ball and placed in a buttered 8-inch cake pan. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise again until doubled in size, 30-60 minutes. 8. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until top is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to a rack and cool. Serve with a spread of butter and a cup of tea.

Halloween was originally called All Hallows’ Eve which means the evening before All Saints’ Day. "Hallow" is an Old English word for "saint". This was shortened to Hallowe’en and finally to Halloween. It is nice to keep the whole traditional preparation for Halloween. Here are some ideas below for your yard so to complete the whole Halloween fuss and encourage your children’s enthusiasm.

CATCH THE MOOD OF HALLOWEEN

To drawn into HALLOWEEN you have to make your whole day special. If your work do say “time is money” but your heart hears “money can buy me the best HALLOWEEN costume this year” – you can combine both in wearing a simple, but effective piece of jewelry. Please see my favorites, suitable for all occasions.