Ingredients

• 4 yellow peppers
• 400g cooked wholegrain rice
• 60g reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas mark 5.
2. To carve, cleanly slice the top from each pepper and set aside to use as lids. Remove the seeds and white bits from the inside. Use a sharp knife to carve a face out of one side of the pepper.
3. Fill each pepper with 100g cooked rice and top with some grated cheese.
4. Replace the pepper 'lid' and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pepper is tender and the edges are turning a little brown. To keep them upright, stand the peppers in a muffin tray.

Ingredients

• 120ml half fat crème fraîche
• 1 tsp cumin
• Handful of chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 medium pumpkin
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 8 cauliflower florets, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 100g mushrooms, diced
• 50g spinach, roughly chopped
• 200g cooked basmati rice

Method

1. Mix all the spices with the crème fraîche and leave the mixture overnight.
2. Hollow out the pumpkin and bake the pumpkin shell in the oven for 30-45 minutes at 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas mark 6, until softened.
3. Dice up the flesh and once the shell has been cooking for 20 minutes, add this to the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
4. Whilst the pumpkin is cooking, heat a saucepan over a medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the cauliflower, onion, garlic and mushrooms and fry for 8-10 minutes.
5. When the pumpkin flesh is cooked, add it to the other vegetables along with the spinach.
6. Get the crème fraîche sauce out of the fridge and stir into the vegetables for 10-15 minutes until warmed through.
7. Mix in the cooked rice and spoon the mixture into the pumpkin shell to serve.

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 85g icing sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp skimmed milk
• 175g plain flour
• 1 tsp fine espresso–style coffee powder
• 50g cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 100g dark chocolate
• Chocolate sprinkles
• Coloured writing icing

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas mark 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale, then add the yolk, vanilla and milk and mix well.
3. Sift the flour, coffee, cocoa and salt into the bowl, then mix together to make a soft dough. Shape the dough into a circle, wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
4. Dust the dough all over with a little flour, then roll it between two large sheets of baking parchment, to the thickness of a £1 coin.
5. Remove the top layer of the paper, stamp shapes with a 8cm bat cookie cutter (or another shape if you'd like). Make sure to re-roll any trimmings to get the most out of your dough.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until the biscuits feel sandy and smell rich and chocolatey. Cool on the parchment sheets for 5 minutes, then lift the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.
7. To decorate, melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave. One biscuit at a time, brush chocolate over the bat ears and wings with a small paintbrush, then cover with chocolate sprinkles. Tap off the excess. Pipe faces onto your bats, then leave to dry.

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin (500g)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 tbsp tahini paste
• 400g can chickpeas, drained
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced
• 8 breadsticks

Method

1. Cut the top off the pumpkin, about two-thirds of the way up. Remove the pumpkin seeds, then scoop the flesh out of the bottom and the lid.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas mark 6.
3. Cut the pumpkin flesh into pieces and put in a roasting tin with the garlic and olive oil. Season and bake for 45 minutes until very tender. Leave to cool.
4. Tip the pumpkin into a food processor with any juices from the roasting tin and the garlic. Add the lemon juice, tahini paste and chickpeas. Season with salt and blend to a paste.
5. Serve with the peppers and breadsticks.

Ingredients

• 200g strong white flour
• 200g strong wholewheat flour
• 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
• 250ml warm water

For the topping

• 300g passata
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 70g grated mozzarella
• 7 black olives
• Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
• Handful basil leaves

Method

1. Mix the white and wholewheat flour with the yeast and a pinch of salt in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, or combine in a bowl.
2. Pour in the water and mix to a soft dough, then work for 1 minute in a processor or 5 minutes by hand.
3. Remove the dough, roll out on a lightly floured surface to a circle about 30cm across. Place the dough onto oiled baking sheets.
4. Mix the passata with the garlic, oil and a little seasoning. Spread over the dough to within 2cm of the edges.
5. Scatter with the mozzarella. Halve the olives and tomatoes. Put one half of an olive on the pizza to make the spider's body. Cut the other half of the olive into little legs and arrange them around the spider bodies. Add the cherry tomatoes.
6. Leave to rise for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 240°C/220°C Fan/Gas mark 9.
7. Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes until crisp and golden around the edges. Scatter with the basil to serve.

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• Food colouring of your choice
• 1-4 tbsp of vinegar
• 3tbsp of mayonnaise
• 3tbsp red pepper, chopped
• A handful of tarragon sprigs, finely chopped
• Black sesame seeds, to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Put the eggs in a single layer in a pan and add enough water to cover them by 2cm. Bring to the boil, then cover and turn off the heat. Leave for 12 minutes. Drain and cool completely in very cold water, then drain again. This may take several batches.
2. Add the food colouring of your choice into a bowl or container that will hold the eggs. Use 1 tsp food colouring and 1 tbsp of vinegar per 700ml of water. Use several bowls or containers if neccesary.
3. Gently tap the eggs all over using a spoon or knife to crack the shells without removing them.
4. Add the eggs to the bowls/containers with the food colourings, submerge them in the liquid and leave to soak for at least 3 hours, or ideally overnight. If you can't submerge them fully, turn the eggs every hour so that they stain evenly.
5. Drain, rinse and peel the eggs, then halve them and put the yolks into a bowl.
6. Add the mayonnaise to the yolks and mix in 3 tbsp of the chopped pepper and the tarragon. Add a splash of food colouring if you want a frightening filling!
7. Spoon the yolk mixture back into the whites, then sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Ingredients

• 8 lolly sticks
• 8 apples
• 400g caster sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• Red or black food colouring

Method

1. Push the lolly sticks into the stalk end of each apple, making sure it is firmly wedged in. Put a large piece of baking parchment onto a wooden board.
2. Add the sugar into a large saucepan and add the lemon juice and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around, but don’t fully stir.
3. Add the golden syrup and allow the mixture to bubble (be careful it doesn’t boil over) until it reaches 150°C on a sugar thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, test the toffee by dropping a small amount of the mixture into cold water. It should harden instantly and, when removed, be brittle. If it's soft, continue to boil.
4. When it's ready, drip in some food colouring and swirl to combine. Turn off the heat.
5. Working quickly, dip each apple into the toffee mixture, ensuring full coverage. Lift out and allow any excess to drip off before putting on the baking parchment. Repeat with the remaining apples. Gently heat the toffee again if you need to.