Reptiles can have a reputation for being creepy and cold and slimy and I get it - they just don't look as adorable and cuddly as puppies and kitties! But there are some seriously cool reptiles out there so while I realize I'm not going to turn each and every one of you into a reptile lover, I hope to at least help you see how amazing they are and deserving of our respect and protection.

This crazy cupcake actually started with an ad from Walmart. The ad popped up online and it showed chocolate cupcakes with orange and green "slime" oozing out of the middle. The slime was simply made of dyed vanilla pudding and it looked so cute and Halloween-y I couldn't resist. Since Hispanic heritage month just ended and Dia de los Muertos is coming up in a couple weeks, I thought a Mexican chocolate cupcake would be good to use. So then I started searching for Mexican chocolate cupcake recipes and came across this: Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese frosting. I honestly don't even know how I found it. It wasn't one of the results in my original search. It somehow just popped up while I was reading through other recipes but as soon as my brain read "dulce de leche cream cheese frosting" my stomach went "yes, please!!" But I still wanted the surprise "slime" element so I rummaged in the pantry and found a box of pistachio pudding mix, which, being green, I thought would be perfect. And that's how we ended up with this weird not really Halloween-y at all on the outside cupcake with bright green pudding on the inside. It's like the Frankenstein's monster of cupcakes, a random mish mash of ideas and flavors! 

Anyway, here's the process:

Step 1: Make dulce de leche the day before you want to make cupcakes. It's actually SUPER easy to make at home. Just take a can of sweetened condensed milk, put it in a slow cooker, and cover with water - make sure it's completely submerged (you don't have to remove the label, but I chose to so I wouldn't end up with soggy label bits in the slow cooker later). Put the lid on the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours. Once the time is up, carefully remove it from the hot water using tongs and place it in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes. Once the can is cool enough to handle, open it, transfer the deliciousness to a jar, and put it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Oh, and make sure you taste a little - I mean, quality control, right? 

Step 2: Bake the cupcakes according the recipe. Here is it again: Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese frosting

Step 3: While the cupcakes cool, make the pudding according to package directions.

Step 4: While the cupcakes cool and the pudding chills, make the Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese frosting.

Step 5: Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, cut out the middle of each cupcake using a sharp pointed knife. 

Step 6: Spoon chilled pudding into the middle of each cupcake while the kids watch and argue over which has the most pudding because maybe that one just looks like it has more because the hole is smaller...

Step 7: Pipe frosting over the top of the cupcakes and add sprinkles or decorations if desired. (Yes, my frosting is droopy. I didn't have heavy cream and decided to experiment and see if half and half would work ok since it's half cream...fyi, half and half only half works, I think I should've seen that coming...but the frosting is still DELICIOUS!)

If you like the concept don't want to mix bold flavors, stick with vanilla pudding and color it green or orange. At the very least, you must try the Mexican chocolate cupcakes with dulce de leche cream cheese frosting. I'm pretty sure it is now my favorite frosting and I will find other flavor cakes to make it with. Oooh, maybe an apple spice cupcake? I have apples and half a batch of dulce de leche left...stay tuned...

October 17th is Black Poetry Day, celebrating the work of Jupiter Hammon - the first black published author - and the contributions of all the black poets who came after him. So I thought it fitting to feature the book "Change Sings" which was published last month and is written by poet and activist Amanda Gorman. Amanda read her poem, "The Hill We Climb" this past January at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, making her the youngest inaugural poet in United States history. 

Freshly plucked and frozen monster eye nestled in a bed of whipped swamp slime with a sprinkle of cave-cured earwax (aged 9 months).

I randomly decided that I should create gourmet descriptions of my creepy Halloween dishes and this is my first creation! I presented this to Lil C and Squidgy and they didn't bat an eye when I told them what it was but just picked up their bowls and walked away. However, Lil C did pause halfway to the table, turned and asked, "But, what is it really??"

Read on to find out how to make your own creepy ice cream sundaes at home!

- Vanilla or other mostly white ice cream (I used chocolate chip cookie dough and just made sure no big cookie chunks were showing)

- Raspberry jam

- Starburst candies or gummy Lifesavers

- Chocolate chips

- Whipped cream (homemade or store-bought)

- Gold or yellow sugar sprinkles

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Using an ice cream scoop and your hands, create an ice cream sphere about the size of a clementine. Place the scoop on lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have your desired amount of eyeballs.

2. Scoop a tablespoon of raspberry jam into a bowl and add water, a teaspoon at a time, until the jam is drippy and pourable. Use a small clean paintbrush to draw 6 squiggly "veins" going down each eye.

3. Place Starburst candies in the microwave for 5 seconds to soften slightly - you will need 1 candy for every 2 sundaes. Cut each Starburst in half, then knead each piece and form into a flat disc. Push a chocolate chip, pointy side down, into each candy disc and gently press onto the top of each ice cream eyeball. Alternatively, you could use gummy Lifesavers instead of Starburst.

4. Place baking sheet in freezer for at least 30 minutes to let the eyeballs firm up.

5. Just before serving, squirt a spiral of whipped cream into the bottom of each serving bowl. (I made homemade whipped cream and added a few drops of green food coloring, but you can use regular whipped cream).

6. Using a large spoon or spatula, remove the ice cream eyeballs from the baking sheet and place them on your whipped cream nest. Finally, sprinkle the whole thing with gold or yellow sugar sprinkles.

Viola! Now you have perfectly creepy and delectable monster eyeballs! Enjoy!