Hi Everyone,

It's Halloween tonight and the newspaper said that there will be a full moon tonight, the first one on a Halloween night in 46 years! There won't be another full moon on Halloween till 2020, yikes!! I will be 65 years old, will I be up to what I am doing tonight?

I heard on the news today that the best thing to do this Halloween season is to sit outdoors and set up your candies on a table or such, this will ensure an extra measure of safety for our young trick or treaters and they don't have to go to doors to ring doorbells. Sooooo......

Mom and I are dressing up as gypsy women with lots of costume jewelry around our necks and bracelets as well as a colorful skirt to wear and a bandana on our heads!! We will set up a table with the candy bowl and underneath the table, a brown paperbag filled with lighted lanterns, up and down the walkway we will set up luminaries and bundles of kindling in between them for that "spooky gypsy campground look"!!

We have decided since DH is inside watching the world's series and we are outside "laboring", we will order in pizza. But I will have a punch bowl filled with Spiced Halloween Iced Tea and slices of Gypsy Banana Bread for the weary parents who accompany their little ghosts and goblins!!

Here are the recipes!

Happy Halloween to All!! Gina

Gypsy Banana Bread
recipe makes 1 loaf

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 large eggs
3 bananas, very ripe mashed
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 c. shredded moist coconut

Beat the sugar and shortening til very creamy. Add eggs one at a time, banana and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and soda and salt and add to banana mixture beating till well combines. Stir in by hand the coconut and nuts.

Pour into a grased 8 inch loafpan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from pan and glaze.

Glaze:
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
enough milk to make a thin glaze
Whisk together til smooth and pour over loaf.

Spiced Halloween Iced Tea
makes 3-4 quarts

5 tea bags
4 c. boiling water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. pineapple juice
1 c. peach nectar
juice of 3 lemons
juice of 3 oranges
orange or lemon slices
fresh mint leaves

Pour the boiling water over the tea bags and cinnamon sticks. Steep for 20 mts. Strain into gallon container. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the fruit juices and 8 c. cold water. Refrigerate til serving time. Serve in a punch bowl with ice cubes floating and mint leaves scattered in.