Ghost Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

Pumpkin cupcakes are another Halloween treat I took to my little one's school along with the witch finger cookies. I made the cupcakes with pumpkin cake batter studded with chocolate chips, and finished them with swirls of ghost-shaped frosting.

The ghost cupcakes were a complete success – 20 kids finished 36 treats. I think it's partially because the witch finger cookies were too scary-looking for 1^st graders. I noticed a little girl looking for a smiling ghost and not a frowny-looking monster. Note to self: next year, make less creepy-looking Halloween treats!

Pumpkin Protein Drink Recipe

I think if he could, my husband would drink pumpkin pie. He already inhales it every Thanksgiving! So this pumpkin protein drink is about as close as it gets to making his dreams come true. It's an ultra easy breakfast to make when you're on the go, and it’ll get you in the mood for the soon-to-be holiday season.

The drink is packed with vitamins, protein (I added soy protein) and calcium, making it markedly healthier than the real deal, and perfect for vegetarians like my husband Lulu.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Recipe: How You Should Be Starting Your Monday

The weather has been getting chilly here in the Bay Area, and it’s really starting to feel like fall. With Halloween and Thanksgiving coming very soon, I thought I'd make a breakfast dish that captures the tastes of autumn. To accomplish this I served oatmeal flavored with pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ground ginger and maple syrup.

Oatmeal is great at any time of the day. In fact, it’s our favorite evening snack. It's a quick and easy way to fulfill our late-night cravings. There is literally an unlimited number of ways to flavor oatmeal, making it a perfect palette upon which to test out ingredient combinations.

Stuffed Dates with Pistachios

Mascarpone stuffed dates with pistachios is a versatile and easy no-bake dish. It makes a great dessert, appetizer or snack. On top of that, the dessert is so easy to assemble my 6-year-old little sis-in-law can do it!

I used Deglet Noor dates because the texture is firm and thick without tasting overly sweet. This makes them perfect for appetizers. For a sweeter version, you could use Medjool dates.

To make the dish, I pitted the dates and filled them cannoli-style with mascarpone cream. Crushed pistachios add texture, flavor and color. I placed the stuffed dates on a bed of thin butter almond cookies to enhance the presentation and make them easier to handle.

Prickly Pear Juice Recipe (Cactus Fruit)

Prickly pears are the fruit of the nopales cactus plant. They're named for their pear-like shape and size. The texture and aroma of the fruit is very similar to grainy watermelon, with a mild sweetness. The seeds from the prickly pears look the same as the ones from kiwis.

This weekend, my father-in-law (I call him Daddy), my husband Lulu and I were sitting on the swing in the garden. Daddy noticed the fruit on the cactus plants in the corner of our garden. When we got closer we realized that the prickly pears were fully ripe. Daddy got so excited that I didn't have time to run and get leather gardening gloves; he just picked the fruit with his bare hands. Poor Daddy! I had to spend quite a bit of time to remove all of the almost invisible hair-thin spines.

We were able to gather a fair amount of ripe fruit. Even though the fruit is quite bland, the flesh has a very rich color. I used some for making vinaigrette and with the rest I made little cocktails with raspberries. I placed fresh raspberries in the freezer and used them as ice cubes to chill the drink. If you can get your hands on some prickly pears at your local market, give them a try. They're a wonderful treat.