Sweet Potato Costumes

With Halloween being so close, I started thinking about costumes today. Specifically, Sweet Potato Costumes. Every year, quite a few little pumpkins come to my home to say “trick or treat” and beg for candy. I have seen a baby with a very cute peapod costume, and I have even seen a kid dressed as a tomato. With this in mind, I began an internet search to find out if anyone has ever produced a Sweet Potato Costume. The closest thing that I found was this Sweet Potato Mascot outfit, but with a cost of over $1000, I think it would be better to make your own. Maybe you can adapt one of those cloth pumpkin costumes. If anyone has ever made a homemade sweet potato costume, I would love to see it!

While we are on the topic of Halloween, I have to mention that other thing that this holiday is famous for...Sweet Treats! Here is a delicious candy recipe from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission. It is super easy to make and oh so good. It has a wonderful fudge-like texture and is a lovely orange color – perfect for Halloween. Why don’t you try some at your Halloween party. I can almost guarantee that somebody will want the recipe, so you might want to make a few copies.

SWEET POTATO CANDY
Ingredients:

2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon butter or margarine


Preparation:

Put sugar, milk, butter, and salt in a large pot. Cook over medium heat to soft-ball stage. Remove from heat and allow to cool until hand can be held comfortably on bottom of pot. Add sweet potatoes and beat until mixture loses its gloss. Add pecans, mix well, and pour into buttered pan. Cut into squares when cool.

Yield: 18 squares