Howling at Halloween
Halloween is … children, cool and crisp autumn evenings, costumes and makeup, carving pumpkins, hoards of candy, witches and ghosts, and superstition. But where did Halloween come from?
Halloween developed from ancient Celtic new year festivals. The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in Ireland, Britain and northern France.
Their new year began on Nov. 1. A festival that began on the previous evening (which became known as All Halloween, or Halloween) honored Samhain, the Celtic lord of death.
The celebration marked the beginning of the season of cold and darkness. The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their homes for the night. From these Celtic celebrations came customs like trick-or-treating, bobbing for apples, dressing up in costumes, carving jack-o’-lanterns and fortunetelling.
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Trick or treat
Trick-or-treating got its name from costumed Halloween callers who would play tricks on the home owner if they did not get a treat.
Jack o’ lanterns
Carving jack-o’-lanterns evolved from an Irish legend about a miser named Jack who was banished from heaven and hell, and roamed the countryside with a turnip containing a lit coal.
Fortunetelling
Fortunetelling methods began in Europe hundreds of years ago. Objects such as a coin, a ring and a thimble were baked into a cake or other similar food.
It was believed that the person who found the coin in the cake would become wealthy. The one who found the ring would marry soon, and the person who got the thimble would never marry. Other techniques that are more well-known are card reading and
palmistry.
Witches and ghosts
Many believed witches met on Oct. 31 to worship the devil.
Many people also thought ghosts roamed the earth on Halloween.
Today, most people do not believe in ghosts or witches, but they have remained symbols of our modern day Halloween.
Source: World Book Encyclopedia.
Dear TEAM: Wanting a recipe for bagels. – H.B., Lestock, Sask.
Dear H.B.: Bagels are loved by many. You can eat them anytime of the day. Here is a recipe from Company’s Coming – Bread, by Jean Pare, that I have tried and liked. Note: There are many tasty variations.
Bagels
1 teaspoon 5 mL
granulated sugar
3Ú4 cup warm water 175 mL
1 1Ú4 ounce active 8 g
dry yeast
2 large eggs 2
2 tablespoons 30 mL
cooking oil
2 cups all-purpose 500 mL
flour
1 tablespoon 15 mL
granulated sugar
1 3Ú4 teaspoon salt 9 mL
1 1Ú2 cups all-purpose 375 mL
flour
Poaching liquid:
4 quarts water 4 L
2 tablespoons 30 mL
granulated sugar
Topping:
1 large egg, beaten 1
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds, to coat tops
Stir first amount of sugar in warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast.
Whisk in eggs and cooking oil. Beat in first amount of flour, second amount of sugar and salt until smooth.
Work in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto floured surface.
Knead eight to ten minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with tea towel.
Let stand in oven with light on and door closed for 1 to 11Ú2 hours until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down. Divide into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into 10 inch (25 cm) rope. Cover remaining portions with damp tea towel while rolling and shaping each rope. Bring the ends of rope together, overlapping slightly.
Pinch end to firmly seal. Place on floured baking sheet. Cover with tea towel. Let stand in oven with light on and door closed for 15 minutes.
Poaching liquid: Bring water to a boil in large saucepan. Add salt. Reduce heat to medium to keep water at a slow boil. Slip bagels into water, three or four at a time. Poach for one minute. Turn. Poach one minute.
Remove bagels to well-greased baking sheet.
Topping: Brush egg on top of each bagel. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake in 400 F (205 C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Place on racks to cool. Makes 12 bagels.
Whole wheat bagels: Use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. Replace 2 tablespoons (30 mL) liquid with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) each of honey and mild molasses.
Raisin bagels: Add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) ground cinnamon and 1Ú3 cup (75 mL) dark raisins with dry ingredients.
Pumpkin power
Pumpkin fresh or canned is packed with beta carotene, an antioxidant that’s reputed to help ward off numerous health problems including heart disease, cancer and cataracts.
Delicious ways to scare up a little extra beta carotene in your diet is to try pumpkin muffin, quick bread, cookie and other recipes.
A half cup (125 mL) of canned pumpkin purŽe has 16 milligrams of beta carotene. Daily recommendations, based on current research, are six to 15 mg.
If you thought pumpkin was only to carve and eat, think again. Pumpkin is making headlines in the skin-care industry.
Recent research has shown that pumpkins contain amino-aquanine, an anti-aging compound that helps repair damaged collagen and elastin.
In addition, pumpkin seed oil has high concentrations of salicyclid acid, a skin refiner, and the leaves and pulp have anti-inflammatory benefits.
Currently, skin-care products and treatments containing pumpkin are available only in a small number of salons.
Dear TEAM: My granddaughter wants to know how to get grass stains out of her favorite jeans. I suggested she try toothpaste. It helped some, but didn’t remove the stains completely. – M.F., Botha, Alta.
Dear M.F.: Other suggestions to remove grass stains from clothing are:
- Rubbing with molasses, letting set overnight, and washing with soap, not detergent.
- Rubbing white chalk on clothing before washing.
- Using methyl alcohol (test the fabric first).
- Rubbing detergent into the stain and using bleach safe for the fabric.
