Spiders, Eyeballs and Worms: A Home Made Halloween!

It's no secret that I love Halloween.  We had a lovely, smallish dinner party this year and I wanted to serve my old friends to my new friends:

These guys are so easy to make.  Just melt chocolate chips (I use a whole bag) in a large (I have a four-cup) Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave on like fifty percent power for a minute at a time, whisking or stirring after each minute.  I add about two tablespoons of non-dairy milk to make it melt evenly and make it a little smoother.  When the chocolate is melted, pour in a bunch of chow mein noodles (mine were vegan as far as I could tell) pretty much to the top of the cup. Stir them carefully with a spoon until they are all coated with chocolate:

Then I used a spoon to gently load my large, Oxo cookie scoop with chocolate noodles.  Press them into the scoop a bit to stick them together.  Then pop them out onto wax paper on a cookie sheet.  Then use your fingers or a fork to arrange the noodles to look like legs and add your eyes!  I used those cinnamon red-hots that you can get in the baking aisle, but you could use any kind of small eye-shaped candy.

You can also mix in coconut! After I made a dozen spiders, I still had chocolate noodles left over, so I mixed in some coconut and pressed some on top and made "eyeballs:"

Chill all your spiders and eyeballs in the fridge for a little while to let them set.  It doesn't take very long.

I also made a Baked Ziti with Basil-Cashew Ricotta and Marinara Sauce. The "worms." It was delish:

That's Aleppo pepper (a Turkish variety) sprinkled on top.  

To do the Basil Cashew Ricotta, use the base recipe for Cashew Ricotta here, then use one full cup or more of packed basil leaves instead of the 1/4 cup called for in my recipe.  Pulse the cashews and garlic, then add the basil leaves with olive oil and pulse some more, like you are making a pesto, THEN add the tofu and other ingredients to the processor.  Once you cook and drain your pasta, mix all the ricotta into the pasta while the pasta is still hot so it melts nicely and mixes in thoroughly.  I also add my marinara sauce at this time.  It also has a little Daiya Mozzarella layered in there.  Bake at 350 or 375 to heat through (about 30 minutes).

Halloween is a nice way to end MoFo.  It eases the pain a bit.  Have a great Halloween everyone!