You might not think of seaweed when you think of Halloween, but in fact it’s a fabulous secret ingredient. Surprisingly versatile in both sweet and salty recipes, a little seaweed can go a long way to sneaking in some extra nutrition to an otherwise sugar-heavy holiday.We like to get the kids involved with plenty of home-made Halloween treats, where their creative cooking spirits can run wild. “Don’t play with your food!” might be the mantra of parents everywhere but not in our house, where making faces, monsters, ghosts and other creatures with food is a time-honored tradition.
Rice Ball Monsters
Simple rice balls (sushi rice + seaweed crumbles) or Jumeok Bap form the basis for these not-too-scary savory treats. Prepare as directed but instead of traditional balls, hand-mold into shapes that suit your spooky creations. Keep a couple sheets of nori on hand to cut into shapes for the details – or use craft specialty hole punches, which actually work great with seaweed!
- Pumpkins – Take slices of smoked salmon and place on top of rice ball. Then cut out a spooky face with seaweed and cut a small celery stalk as the stem.
- Ghosts – Shape white rice into an oval, then pinch one end into a triangle for the ghost tail. Nori cutouts make the face with roe for the cheeks.
- Mummy – Shape white rice into a rough sushi shape, and drape strips of nori across the top to look like mummy wrappings. Tiny red eyes made from a sliver of bell pepper or pimentos peek out from behind the bandages.
- Black Cat – Cut a circle from the seaweed sheet decorate a face with mayo.
- Frankenstein - Shape the rice into a rectangle and take sheets of seaweed to cut out the hair and face. Cut small ends of the celery stalk to make the ears.
Add Seaweed to Treats
Did you know that seaweed and chocolate go great together? Try adapting your favorite brownie, cookie or shortbread recipe to add in a bit of umami. What about Seaweed Nice Cream?
And of course, bags of popcorn in pumpkin-shaped treat bags remains a popular to-go party favor – why not mix it up with some Sweet & Salty Seaweed Popcorn for an unexpected flavor surprise?
And don’t forget dinner - pizza is a Halloween classic. Whip up a couple batches of our Gluten Free Seaweed Pizza Crust ahead of time, and you’ll be ready to “decorate” a few ‘zas too!
So whether your Halloween is spooky or sophisticated, don’t forget the gimMe - your shortcut to magical tasty good times!
