Hello October

The Season Of The Second Harvest 

Celebrating the bounty of late crops like squash and apples, it’s a time of abundance, and preparation for winter, reflecting upon history prompting gratitude for the food we have.  The second harvest festival is usually celebrated on the Sunday nearest to the Harvest Moon, and this year it falls on 1st October.

Witch’s Delight – A Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie to haunt your taste buds this October

This Halloween, conjure up the perfect treat with our spellbinding Maple Pecan Pie. Whether you’re hosting a haunted house or simply indulging in a cosy night in, this pie is the perfect companion for a frightfully delightful feast.

Ingredients:
Crust: 200g plain flour, 100g butter, 1 tbsp icing sugar, 1-2 tbsp water

Filling: 400g pureed pumpkin,150ml double cream, 100g brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger,
1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping: 100g pecan halves

Instructions:
1) Combine flour, icing sugar, and butter in a bowl. Rub together until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add water gradually until a dough forms. Chill for 30 minutes. Roll out, line a 9-inch pie dish, and blind bake at 160°C fan for 15 minutes. Remove beans and bake 5 more minutes.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together all of the filling ingredients. Pour into the pre-baked crust. Bake for 45 minutes until the filling is set with a slight wobble in the centre. Cool completely.

3) Melt butter in a pan, stir in maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Coat pecans in the syrup, then spread evenly over the cooled pie.
Let the pie cool before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for an extra treat.

How To make fake blood

Create a Halloween horror scene straight from your kitchen cupboards with this easy fake blood recipe.

Ingredients:

Golden syrup, Flour, Red food colouring, Cocoa powder. Optional extras: water, dried onion, cornflakes, peanut butter 

Instructions:

1) Mix together golden syrup and flour in a roughly 4:1 ratio, leaving it as lumpy as you like.
2) Add a few drops of red food colouring and stir.
3) Gradually add cocoa powder to darken the colour. If the mixture gets too dry, add a bit of water to reach the desired consistency.
4) Dab on as needed—be cautious, as it can stain! Or you can swap in ketchup, cherry juice, or beetroot juice. For extra effect, experiment with adding peanut butter for a gooey texture or dried onion and cornflakes for an enhanced effect. 

Have fun experimenting and creating your spooky scenes! 

Halloween, a spooky time of year

The tradition of using conkers to deter spiders in October stems from an old wives’ tale. Some believe that placing conkers around your home keeps spiders at bay (although there’s little scientific evidence to support this).

October is derived from the Latin word “octo,” meaning eight. It was originally the eighth month in the Roman calendar before January and February were added.

October’s full moon is known as the “Hunter’s Moon.” It was traditionally the time for hunters to gather provisions for winter as the moonlight provided more time to hunt.

The worlds largest pumpkin, according to the Guinness Book of Records, weighed in at a massive 2,749 lbs! Click here to take a look

Murder Mystery Night at the Cottons

We look back at the Halloween fun homeowners had in at our community in Ramsbottom.

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