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Not today, Death.
Somewhere in the transition from the sacred Celtic festival of Samhain to its modern incarnation, Halloween has become a sugar holiday. Instead of showing our brave faces to the creatures of the night and giving death a respectful but strong ‘not this winter, mate,’ we invite ill health and early death to step a bit closer.
For the most part, I’m cool with that. I love dressing up the goddesses and listening to their piping little voices get a little more confident each year as they call “Trick or treat!” I love that Australia is finally catching on to the awesomeness that is Halloween. Houses are being spookyfied (that’s totally a word) and local businesses are slowly answering the demand for Halloween themed crafts, activities, and decor. There’s a lot to embrace!
Next year we’re planning to adopt a Switch Witch to deal with the excess lollies. We’ll let them pick out their favourites and then the rest will be traded to the witch for books, toys, gift cards or whatever cool thing I come up with by then. Oh but candy makes a joyful childhood, Miriam!
Mmhmm, so I’ve been told. But Eostre (pagan Easter) is only six weeks before Halloween, the kids are still working their way through their egg baskets. Pumpkin pies are at Costco demanding to be eaten. We have two November birthdays complete with snacks and cupcakes galore, and then there’s Litha and Christmas just around the corner. Their childhood simply does not need a bucket of Halloween candy added to the mix.
Besides, Switch Witch has all the fun adult opportunities of Elf on the Shelf with none of the creepiness. Winning.
Whether or not you love junk food, you’re going to need some real food at your Halloween celebration too, and I have just the thing. I particularly love this dish because my children enjoy eating it. And it’s a salad. Yes, you read that right. Step this way for a salad your children will actually want to eat!
Whenever I serve this dish, even if it’s to adults, I like to give a little spiel as it is revealed:
Enter the midnight forest my pretties. Eat your way down through the canopy of leaves to reveal the secret jewels hidden within. What mysteries await in the dark? With this fork as your weapon, journey forth and see!
Ingredients
Exactly what goes under the canopy depends on what is in season and what my budget is looking like, so if some of these items are a no-go for you, sub them out with other dark coloured produce. I don’t have everything on this list in the salad every time I make it.
- Purple or red kale, the darker the better.
- Blackberries, blueberries and/or raspberries
- Pomegranate seeds
- Cucumber (Lebanese)
- Purple cabbage
- Tomato (chopped small, or halve some cherry tomatoes)
- Radish, sliced thinly
- Red onion
- Red or black grapes
- Snow peas
- Red capsicum/bell pepper
- Black beans
- Pepitas or pine nuts to garnish
Method
- Make your produce wash (vinegar water or salt water are two good options) and chuck your berries and grapes in. I’m going to assume you’ve either already washed the other things or you don’t generally wash your produce.
- Strip your kale, then throw it in another bowl with either vinegar or lemon, to help break down the leaves and make them edible.
- Peel the pomegranate and chop everything else up. The smaller you cut it the more likely kids are to eat it.
- Rinse the berries and leave them to dry.
- Drain and rinse the kale. You want to get any bugs off during this stage.
- Massage the kale. Yes, really. Scrunch that shit up. Rub it down. Crush it with your almighty hands… and then rinse it again.
- If you own a salad spinner, dry the kale. If you don’t, bash the colander against the sink and swear at it. I’ve had success both ways, don’t feel pressure to buy a salad spinner.
- Put everything except the kale in a big bowl and give it a good mix, then portion it out. (Or if your husband gets upset about you making too many dishes for him to wash, assemble each salad carefully in individual bowls.)
- Cover each bowl with a layer of kale so that nothing is visible underneath.
- Sprinkle on the pepitas or pine nuts if you’re feeling fancy.
Done! If you don’t eat naked salad, this pairs really well with strawberry vinaigrette or honey dijon. For the kids I give their kale a drizzle of maple syrup (half a tablespoon does the trick.)
Happy Halloween, Witches xx
