Happy Halloween!

Nothing is more fun to make than theme lunchboxes. Many of them are questionable in terms of wholesome ingredients, but if you look around on the Internet, you'll find many that are both nutritious and fun.

Here is what my kids requested: Deviled egg "eyeballs," roasted cauliflower "brains," and an onigiri jack-o-lantern. For the eggs, smooth the yolk with a wet finger, then add a slice of pimento olive for the pupil and a few threads of saffron for veins. (Saffron and eggs taste wonderful together, btw!) Usually I pack two egg halves in each lunch, but three eyes seemed more appropriate for Halloween, don't you agree? The onigiri is a ball of brown rice patted with grated carrot, with cut-up nori for the face. The kids like more nori, so I sent more in a side container.There was room left in the box, so a few chunks of hakurei turnip tightened everything up nice and snug.

Mom, make it stop staring at me! Deviled eggs, onigiri, turnips, roasted cauliflower.

The kids also helped me make marshmallow slugs, adapted from Martha Stewart's marshmallow peeps tutorial. (Once you get to the site, hover your mouse over the "ingredients and equipment" tab to find the recipe.) Marshmallows turn out to be one of those things that are surprisingly easy to make, yet people think you must be a genius. This recipe is notable because it uses no corn syrup, if your kids don't tolerate it. We use organic evaporated cane juice. You can also make marshmallows with agave or honey, if you prefer.

Sluggy goodness!

La Segunda tinted the sugar herself to just the perfect shade of chartreuse, and we used an old ZipLock bag with a corner cut off to pipe the slugs. Martha gets kudos for those bunnies and chicks--slugs are WAY easier to pipe! Work fast, before the marshmallow sets up. Once you have piped them all and sprinkled them with sugar, lightly drag a bamboo skewer along the head to pull up blobs for the slug horns. Let them sit for about half an hour to firm up, keeping a constant vigil to discourage ducks, chickens and other slug-eating predators, then store in an airtight container.