Halloween Around the Mid-Shore
by Mary McCarthy
I am a bit of a Halloween freak. Here's a picture of my Centreville 1881 Addams-family-looking Victorian at Halloween. The ghosts in the windows were drawn (on painters' dropcloths) by local artist Brian Draper, who I worship!
Some local folks have attended my Halloween parties- adult costume galas held in my neighborhood once a year, though I have to admit to this year's being a bit smaller (I hate the recession!). The competition for costume prizes is fierce, to say the least.
Many of the articles I write professionally are Halloween oriented. I am even Hallo-crazy enough to have my own Halloween website, Creative Halloween. This year, I am excited to announce I put together a Halloween book called Adult Halloween Parties in honor of the groan-up parties I've had at my house over the last decade. So if you are looking for food, decor, drinks, costume or other Halloween ideas, I hope you'll check out the book.
So what are some ways to celebrate this most spooktacular of seasons around the area? Well, I recommend visiting Adkins Arboretum for any of their fantastic fall events. The haunted trail is awesome! If you don't mind traveling just a bit (under an hour)- I wholeheartedly suggest taking a trip up to Middletown, Delaware to visit Frightland. I went this past weekend and came home hoarse from screaming in fear! It is a TON of fun- not for the faint of heart or young of child though! Also they have a carnival with carnival food including cheese fries. Cheese fries. Need I say more?!
Oh, and you are more than welcome to come by my house on Halloween night! We have around 300 trick or treaters, many from pretty far away. I am still trying to figure out how to pay for the full size candy bars, but beg steal or borrow, they'll be there! I still remember the house that gave out the full size candy bars when I was a kid, and I am happy to be 'that house' now! I love when the kids call me the "Queen of Halloween." Every town has one, I guess. It's a lot of pressure, but making Halloween fun for kids (when unfortunately CERTAIN schools don't even allow it anymore) is something I love doing.
The local cable TV station is teaming up with the Eastern Shore Ghost Hunting Society to come by and film my house where they'll be looking for some Halloween spirits (although I told them most of my favorite Halloween spirits come in a martini glass!). It will be fun to see if they find anyone haunting the place other than myself.
Happy Haunting, folks!
Mary McCarthy (marymac)
blog: Pajamas and Coffee
New Cookbook Introduces Healthy Persian Cooking
by Erin Mawn
I suppose every nationality takes immense pride in its food; each St. Patrick’s Day my father insisted on having a traditional Irish dinner complete with corned beef, potatoes and cabbage. As a self-described ‘foodie’, one of my joys in life in trying new foods. When I was young I visited Australia and actually tried shark meat, kangaroo meat (it’s equivalent to Americans eating venison) and the pride of the Aussies: Vegemite. In college I went to England, and I was more than happy to go out each night to a different pub and try the fare. However, rather than spending all the dough to travel to a foreign country every time I want to try a new food, I have learned to look for local venues that offer interesting dishes. My newest experience though, is a do-it-yourself one.
Persian cuisine, or the cuisine of Iran, is deliciously diverse and also very health conscious. Many of the dishes use rice as a staple ingredient, and almost all of them have fruits and vegetables either as main ingredients or as sides. I realize that most people would have no idea how to begin cooking a Persian dish, and so to make the process easier, here is the book to lead the way: Simply Persian Cuisine. The book is presented in a very straight forward manner, so that anyone, even those whose free time is at a premium such as working mothers or college students, can pull together a healthy and delicious meal.
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