Halloween Recipes

Here are the Pumpkin Pancakes and Black Bean Soup recipes I promised on my Halloween post (our family tradition is to have these things for breakfast and dinner on Halloween but we have them a lot of other times too!).

Enjoy! (and if you missed yesterday's post on sisters, click on over - you won't want to miss it)
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Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups milk (add little more at the end if the batter is too thick)
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (cooked mashed pumpkin or canned pumpkin)
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour (or one cup white flour, one cup whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
(optional – add chopped walnuts or pecans)

Directions
1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with maple syrup or apple butter.

Makes about 24 pancakes.
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Black Bean Soup a.k.a. Ghoul Goulash

(Loosli Traditional Halloween Dinner - and a soup we eat year-round)

4 16 oz cans of black beans (or 8 cups cooked-from-dry black beans - see how to do this here)

2 cups chicken broth

2 small onions or one large one, chopped

2 tsps crushed or minced garlic

2 16 oz jars of chunky salsa (mild, medium or hot – will determine how spicy the soup is – can use 2 15-oz can of petite diced tomatoes and 1-2 cans of diced green chilis instead of salsa if desired, may want to use more onion if not using salsa)

8 tsp lime juice or the juice of 4 limes (optional)

4 tsp ground cumin

½ crushed red pepper (optional – adds heat)

Directions:

1. Place 1 can of beans with liquid from can (or 2 cups of cooked beans and ½ c of liquid they cooked in) as well as the chicken broth in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Coat large sauce pan or soup pot with cooking spray or a bit of olive oil. Heat over high heat and saute onion until tender.
3. Add blended bean mixure, remaining un-blended beans (with liquid), salsa, lime juice, cumin and crushed red pepper (if desired). Mix together.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve garnished with plain yogurt or sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, crumbled totilla chips.

Makes 8-10 servings