Edible moulage makes fun Halloween treats

Jeanne Cleary and Kaaren Harris wouldn't suggest that you eat the simulated bodily fluids they make to jazz up the simulation training in Ridgewater College's nursing program.

However, they do have some edible suggestions for gross-out recipes for Halloween.

Some of the simple suggestions are listed here. They have posted a number of recipes on the blog on their Web site, www.sickkitchen.com

Some easy things to do with latex-free gloves:

n Place a piece of candy corn, craisins or Black Crows in the fingertip of each for "fingernails" and fill the rest with popcorn or caramel corn. Tie or tape the glove shut. Slide plastic party favor rings of spiders and bats on the fingers. The hands can be used as party favors or used as place markers at a table.

n Fill gloves up with water or punch, tie shut and freeze on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. At party time, carefully peel off the gloves and let the hands float in the punch bowl.

Harris has a Jell-O mold shaped like a human brain, a gift from Dr. Fred Hund of Willmar. A combination of peach Jell-O, a drop of a green food coloring and a can of evaporated milk makes a nice, brain-colored treat. Some red decorating gel can be used before serving to highlight some veins.

Harris also has a mold shaped like a human heart, a Valentine's Day gift from her family. Red Jell-O is called for here, of course, maybe with a little evaporated milk.

Similar molds are often available in stores at Halloween time and are also available on the Internet.

Here is a recipe Harris's grandson Tevis adapted from a book he read.

TJ's Eyeballs

Ingredients:

Powdered sugar doughnut holes (mini doughnuts work too.)

White Life Savers

Chocolate chips

Red decorating gel

Directions:

Place a small gob of red gel on the Life Saver and glue it to the doughnut hole. Take one chocolate chip and put the pointed end in the center of the Life Saver. That makes an eye with a dilated, fixed pupil. Use the gel to make veins around the Life Saver and it will look like a bloodshot eye.