Food

When those little ones come calling on Halloween, treat them to some easy-to-make homemade goodies. After all, nothing says love like something homemade.

When I was a youngster, a favorite treat at Halloween was popcorn balls. My mother looked forward to the holiday of the "spooks" and always made her special popcorn balls for the kids in the neighborhood. No, not your ordinary popcorn balls. Hers were made with sorghum syrup and that taste is hard to duplicate. It's one they will remember years later when they are escorting their grandchildren as they "trick or treat" on Halloween.

During the past few years, we have heard a lot about different kinds of trail mixes. The following recipe is from the Hershey Food Corporation. This delicious trail mix combines a rich chocolate flavor (from unsweetened cocoa) with vanilla milk chips, oat and wheat cereals, raisins and almonds. This can be made in the oven or in the microwave. It is described as "an easy-to-tote, easy-to-eat" treat. Perfect for Halloween.

For a non-sweet treat, serve up some Witch's Sticks. These are simply cheese straws shaped like knobby canes and sprinkled with poppy seeds.

Hershey's Vanilla Chip Trail Mix
Makes about 11 1-2 cups snack mix

1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups toasted oat cereal rings
4 cups bite-size crisp wheat squares cereal
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup golden raisins
1 2/3 cups (10 ounce pack) vanilla milk flavored chips

Heat oven to 250 degrees. In small bowl, stir together melted margarine, cocoa, and sugar. In large bowl, combine cereals and almonds; stir in margarine mixture. Toss until ingredients are well coated. Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely; stir in raisins and vanilla milk chips. Store in airtight container in cool, dry place.

Sorghum Popcorn Balls

1 1/2 cups sorghum syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
About 4 quarts unseasoned popped corn (best if popped in an air popper)

Combine the syrup and sugar in a large, heavy skillet (a 12-inch iron skillet is best). Cook over medium-high heat,stirring often, until it "spins a thread" when small amount is dropped from spoon. Remove from heat and stir in margarine. Drizzle over popped corn. Butter your hands before handling the hot syrup-coated popcorn. Shape into balls. Wrap each popcorn ball in plastic wrap and tie an orange or black ribbon on each.

Witch's Sticks
Makes about 40 witch's sticks

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Poppy Seeds

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Combine the cheese and margarine and mix well. Stir in the flour and salt. Mix well. Shape into knobby canes and place on foil-covered cookie sheet, spacing about 1" apart. Press a few poppy seeds into each "cane". Bake for about 20 minutes or until dry and just a little light brown around the edges.