Trick or Treating up on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation plus a Yummy Recipe

A work in progress.  I started out to make trick or treat bags with these designs but it is too big.  I guess a wall hanging???  Any other ideas? 

You may think to yourself, "So what's the big deal, we all do it."  But no, not like it's done up there!!!!  The first time Halloween rolled around when I lived in Owyhee in the teacher's compound I was told to be sure and have enough candy.  I asked about how much that would be, having lived on a ranch where only the hired man's kids ever came to our door.  No one could tell me but just said lots and lots!  OK, so I went up to Boise and got lots and lots of bags of candy to hand out, thinking we could always eat the leftovers, hehehe.

I love these designs and I need to use them somehow!

Halloween fell on a school day that year and my first clue (which I wasn't prepared for) was when all the elementary school kids (we were a combined school and the elementary was attached to the high school) came to our classroom doors in costume with their trick or treat bags!  I was not prepared at all for that but my students were, so it worked out.  This was not the "official" trick or treat event, however!  Before school let out we were informed that trick or treating would start at 6PM in the teacher's compound.  I kind of chuckled at that, thinking how precise can you get, especially when we always operated on "Indian time".

Maybe some treasure bags for Micah's girls????

 As the 6PM starting time drew near I noticed cars pulling up all around the compound and parents and kids standing around practically looking at their watches every few minutes!  Other teachers were setting up tables and chairs outside their doors along with some decorations.  The compound was 8 duplexes surrounding a rather nice courtyard with picnic tables.  We were all within "yelling" distance of each other and there was a lot of banter about getting prepared for the onslaught and setting our watches for accuracy.

Individual wall hangings?

At 6 PM on the nose--not a minute earlier--Parents and children poured into the compound and started making the rounds!  We saw all ages from babes in arms who had no teeth yet, to our own high school students, to parents with their own trick or treat bags!  Some made the rounds two or three times!  We had no time for bathroom breaks, phone calls or anything except doling out candy!  I had gotten chocolate so I had requests for more for little sisters and brothers, cousins, etc. even though I am sure they were all going around too!  I realized I would run out so had to be pretty stingy with some of them toward the end.  At precisely 7 PM the compound emptied out and they all moved on to New Town!  We never saw another kid the rest of the night!  What an experience--and this happened every year.  Most of the trick or treat bags were pillow cases.  The older kids would hit us, New Town and then drive 96 miles up to Mountain Home, ID, and fill up their pillow cases there!  Candy is a huge addiction there, for sure!

This is called Halloween Tweet and I love it!

Here is the recipe.  I saw an article in Martha Stewart Living magazine that said instead of eating your kids trick or treat candy, here are a few more adult recipes that mimic the flavors you loved as a kid.  This one really took my eye and I tried it last night and it is wonderful!  It is reminiscent of Whoppers--you know, malted milk balls.

Malted-Milk Creme Brulee

Ingredients

Makes 4

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons malted-milk powder
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
• Salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chocolate and malted-milk powder; stir until chocolate melts and powder dissolves. Whisk together yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.
2. Whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Strain into a large measuring cup.
3. Arrange four 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan. Divide custard evenly among ramekins, leaving 1/4 inch at the top.
4. Place roasting pan in oven, and fill halfway with boiling water. Bake until custards are set, 60 to 70 minutes. Remove from oven and from water bath. Let cool. Refrigerate until cooled, about 2 hours.
5. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon sugar onto each custard. Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of each custard, and move flame back and forth until sugar caramelizes and is deep golden brown, or broil until sugar caramelizes. Sprinkle each again with 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and recaramelize with torch or under the broiler.
6. Baked custards can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Caramelize tops just before serving.

From Martha Stewart Living, October 2010

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Malted-Milk Cremes Brulees - Martha Stewart Recipes

A few notes:  This is kind of pricey but well worth it!  It is easy to make and you do not need a small kitchen torch to make the topping.  Just put them under the broiler and stand there watching until the sugar caramelizes.  I really loved the idea of a second coat of sugar, the crunchy topping typical of creme brulee was great!

I also did not have any milk chocolate but did have a few Hershey bars leftover from our somemores events this summer so I used them instead and it was good!

Just a side note on Whoppers.  When I was about 10 or 11, my parents had a New Years Eve party for the neighborhood families.  All the kids were upstairs playing games while the parents played cards.  Sue and I decided to have a contest to see if we could eat a whole bag (I think it was about a pound) of Whoppers or some kind of malted milk balls.  I ate so many it made me sick and could not eat Whoppers for many years after that.  Nevertheless,  the creme brulee tasted wonderful to me.  

There it is.  Trick or treating at its best.  Everyone have a safe and fun time.  I doubt we'll even have 1 little one this year.......