Ingredients
Directions
Make the Bats Blood Hummus: Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove beet greens and rinse under cool water. Peel the beets and cut them into wedges. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until fork-tender. Alternatively, you can steam or boil the beets until tender.
Once the beets have cooled, drain the chickpeas and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the garlic clove until it is minced. Add the roasted beets and pulse until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the food processor, then add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, miso and cumin. Puree until smooth. As the mixture is blending slowly pour in the ice water 1 tbsp at a time, as needed, to achieve a smooth and creamy consistency, set aside.
Make the Green Witch Finger Almond Sticks: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, add the flax meal and water. Stir together until combined. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the almond meal, spirulina powder, spices, and water, mix well, and then stir in the flax egg. Mix until well combined and a crumbly dough has formed.
With clean hands, form the dough into a ball and place it on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. In this step, you are going to shape the dough into 4-inch rods. Using your hand, scoop up about 1 ½ teaspoons of dough, gently rub your hands together with the dough in between your palms, and apply steady pressure until the dough takes shape. If the dough begins to stick, coat your hand with a flax meal to help absorb the moisture. As the dough expands, shape the dough into a rounded rod until you’ve achieved about 4 inches or is roughly the size of your finger, and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat this step until all the rods are formed.
Once all of the rods have been made, using the back of a spoon handle make a small hollow indentation at the tip of the rod and gently press down. It should resemble a “nail bed” then gently press one whole slivered almond piece on top to resemble the “nail” of the finger. Repeat this step until all the rods have one almond piece pressed into the top. Scrape a small fork to make “skin creases” lengthwise down the “finger” to create ventilation as the almond sticks bake. Makes approximately 10–12 almond sticks. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Make the Mini Jack-O-Lanterns: With a small paring knife carefully cut off the top of the pepper. With a small spoon carefully scrape the inside of the pepper, taking care not to break the pepper in half. Once the inside is removed, with the same paring knife, place the pepper flat side down, holding with one hand while the other carefully cut out triangle eyes, nose, and a jagged simile. Then gently remove the cutout pieces with a toothpick or the tip of a knife to expose the negative space. Feel free to get as creative as you’d like with the facial expression. Repeat this process until you have a collection of mini jack-o-lanterns.
Assemble your charspookerie (charcuterie) board: Place the hummus in a bowl, arrange the almond sticks on the board, the “mummy eyes” (olives) in a small bowl, and place the mini bell peppers in any open space on a wooden charcuterie board or your favorite serving platter.
Chef's Notes
Substitutions
Substitute fresh beets with 1 tablespoon of beet powder.
Substitute miso paste with ¼ teaspoon of salt if a small amount of salt fits into your dietary lifestyle.
Use any green powder (spirulina, matcha, chlorella, or a blend of greens!) you love to make the almond sticks.
Substitute sesame seeds with hemp seeds.
Substitute mini bell peppers with celery sticks. To make them more festive, halve a whole pitted kalamata olive and secure them to either side of the celery stick using a cocktail skewer to create Veggie Frankenstein Monsters.
Prep Ahead
Prepare the hummus and crackers ahead of time. To make this recipe more efficient, as the beet is roasting begin making the crackers to reduce your overall preparation time.
Storage
Store almond sticks in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one month, in the refrigerator for up to three months, or in the freezer for up to six months.
Store the remaining charspookerie ingredients in separate airtight containers for up to 5 days.
Ingredients
Directions
Make the Bats Blood Hummus: Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove beet greens and rinse under cool water. Peel the beets and cut them into wedges. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until fork-tender. Alternatively, you can steam or boil the beets until tender.
Once the beets have cooled, drain the chickpeas and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the garlic clove until it is minced. Add the roasted beets and pulse until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the food processor, then add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, miso and cumin. Puree until smooth. As the mixture is blending slowly pour in the ice water 1 tbsp at a time, as needed, to achieve a smooth and creamy consistency, set aside.
Make the Green Witch Finger Almond Sticks: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, add the flax meal and water. Stir together until combined. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the almond meal, spirulina powder, spices, and water, mix well, and then stir in the flax egg. Mix until well combined and a crumbly dough has formed.
With clean hands, form the dough into a ball and place it on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. In this step, you are going to shape the dough into 4-inch rods. Using your hand, scoop up about 1 ½ teaspoons of dough, gently rub your hands together with the dough in between your palms, and apply steady pressure until the dough takes shape. If the dough begins to stick, coat your hand with a flax meal to help absorb the moisture. As the dough expands, shape the dough into a rounded rod until you’ve achieved about 4 inches or is roughly the size of your finger, and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat this step until all the rods are formed.
Once all of the rods have been made, using the back of a spoon handle make a small hollow indentation at the tip of the rod and gently press down. It should resemble a “nail bed” then gently press one whole slivered almond piece on top to resemble the “nail” of the finger. Repeat this step until all the rods have one almond piece pressed into the top. Scrape a small fork to make “skin creases” lengthwise down the “finger” to create ventilation as the almond sticks bake. Makes approximately 10–12 almond sticks. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Make the Mini Jack-O-Lanterns: With a small paring knife carefully cut off the top of the pepper. With a small spoon carefully scrape the inside of the pepper, taking care not to break the pepper in half. Once the inside is removed, with the same paring knife, place the pepper flat side down, holding with one hand while the other carefully cut out triangle eyes, nose, and a jagged simile. Then gently remove the cutout pieces with a toothpick or the tip of a knife to expose the negative space. Feel free to get as creative as you’d like with the facial expression. Repeat this process until you have a collection of mini jack-o-lanterns.
Assemble your charspookerie (charcuterie) board: Place the hummus in a bowl, arrange the almond sticks on the board, the “mummy eyes” (olives) in a small bowl, and place the mini bell peppers in any open space on a wooden charcuterie board or your favorite serving platter.
