There's a certain amount of pleasure I take in Halloween, the free pass to eat all kinds of candy.  From the mini peanut butter cups to the black and orange Oreo cookies, there are many delicacies at Halloween that all revolve around a lot of sugar.

When I was a kid, eating Halloween candy was about as good as it gets.  All that forbidden stuff that we emptied on the floor, sorting out the very healthy (but undesirable at that age) boxes of raisins, the red delicious apples, the little sacks of peanuts in the shell --- those were put aside in favor of the big candy bars, the whopper-sized bubble gum, the gummi bears and the sticky lollipops.  So much simple pleasure...and so much sugar!

I try to abstain from being candy-obsessed on October 31, and dutifully buy bags of candy that I don't particularly care for, so I don't eat it before the trick-or-treaters do.  However, I usually mix up a batch of pumpkin-based cookies with a penuche frosting that satisfies the sweet craving.  I'm finishing off a loaf of pumpkin bread, so spicy and evocative of the season.  Once November 1 rolls around, it will all be about toasting delicious pumpkin seeds, and wishing I had more of them.

However, how sweet is too sweet?  That's the question I hope to answer when I prepare a recipe I saw on a blog recently:  candycorn topped nanaimo bars.  Nanaimo bars are three layers of lusciousness:  a chocolate-coconut base, a middle filling made with vanilla pudding and powdered sugar, topped with rich dark chocolate mixed into a ganache delight.  The recipe I plan to try in a few days substitutes melted candycorn for the topping.  You mix it with powdered sugar and a few other things, and refrigerate till firm. 

Does that sound so sweet it makes your fillings hurt?  I have had very few treats in my life that qualify as too sweet.  I'll let you know if this is one of them!

Are you a seasonal eater?  That is, when it's warm outside and the sun is shining, are you tossing together a salad and sipping a homemade smoothie?  Or do you eat "outside" the season, enjoying a big fresh salad or even a grilled hot dog when the rain is blowing sideways and you're huddled under a comforter?

I'm of the seasonal eating option.  Now that it's well into fall, and the first strong winds and rains have come our way, the leaves have turned crimson and gold, and I'm turning on the heat indoors, I begin to crave different foods.

The other night, it was beef short ribs.  I picked up a package, intrigued by the many mentions of short ribs recently.  They need a long, slow cooking, braised in liquid and seasoned enough to bring out their deep, rich flavor.  I added them to a slow cooker (formerly known as a crock pot), covered with beef broth, some red wine and a wee bit of olive oil.  I chopped up an onion, peeled an orange, and used just the peel, plus some soy sauce and a dollop of balsamic vinegar.  Mixed this in, along with some forthright spices (freshly ground pepper, some black sea salt, fresh thyme), and several coins of fresh ginger.  Naturally, we needed vegetables for this stew, so I checked my frig and found some baby carrots, a few potatoes I chunked, plus some broccoli. 

All this went into the short rib creation, and I cooked it on high for about four hours.  The aroma was rich and filled the entire house.  I then put it in the frig and finished it off in the oven for another hour the next day.   The meat was fork tender and loaded with flavor.  The best part of the dish was that it was pretty much the entire meal.  I could have added a green salad or another vegetable, or some warm sourdough bread, but I didn't.  I was needing a big, hearty, flavor-loaded meal, and that's what I got.  (I had to do my cooking in two steps, but it certainly could just be done entirely in the slow cooker.  Use your food thermometer to determine when it's done, and then let it simmer until the meat falls right off the bone.)

I got so inspirerd by this foray into fall cooking that I began to think of other cravings the dark days inspire:  things like baked apples, a fruit-dotted rice pudding, homemade meatballs with spaghetti sauce, and naturally, all things pumpkin.  But that's a tale for another blog entry!  What's your favorite fall meal?

Mt. Vernon Food Pavilion is pleased to partner this fall with Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (SDVSAS) in an innovative promotion:  Purple Light Nights.

Today through October 31, customers will be offered the opportunity to support SDVSAS in its Purple Light Nights.  October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the sale of purple light bulbs throughout the community is meant to increase awareness of the problem of domestic violence and its impact upon families.

For $3, or two for $5, customers can purchase a purple light bulb at Food Pavilion.  The goal is to have all residents shine a purple light on every front porch, hang a string of purple lights in every business window, and send out the message that domestic violence has no place in our community.

The purple lights remember those who have lost their lives to domestic violence, support those who are survivors, and bring hope to those still living with abuse.

Please join us in supporting Purple Light Nights.  Staff from SDVSAS will be on hand over the weekends to help sell the bulbs and provide information.  For details on the organization, which provides free and confidential services, go to www.skagitdvsas.org