This year, I felt like I could spotlight any kind of food at all in this annual post and achieve the goal of featuring food trends through a spooky or seasonal lens, if not perhaps prophetically.
I mean, just about any 2020-centric dish, ingredient, or cooking method is going to end up in some sort of Apocalyptic Cookbook at some point. But, the foodies of the world have persevered through this nightmare with the belief that food and revelry are still important parts of our crumbling society, and therefore the WriterJax October Food round-up lives to see another delicious day.
This time around — the ninth! — I discovered that homestead recipes are still alive-and-well, in Zombie-filled environments and otherwise. I learned that plant-based diets are not only more mainstream than ever, but also lend themselves well to Swamp Thing-themed spreads, and that the colors of the season — blood red, vampiric purple, Soylent Green — still add the perfect pop to any party splatter.
Bleed on for the Top Four.
I Always Feel Like My Pie is Watching Me
We’ve seen some creepy cakes through this exercise before, but so-called spooky pies are an unnerving decadence of their own.
Sporting crusts that range from cute to cutaneous, I caught wind of this trend on Reddit, and the first permutation I saw looked a lot like Leatherface. The terror can be turned down by opting for a jack-o-lantern, mummy, or spider-web pattern (like these at Tiny Pies), or the art-quotient amped up through the use of cake pans and pie patterns (check out these tutorials at Pies Are Awesome.) That said, the original cherry-pie version is the best, as it bakes to look like delicious, undead flesh. Yummy.
The Impossible Hulk
Green Monster Burgers — also known as Green Warriors, Supergreen burgers, or simply Green Burgers — are gaining popularity year-round, and not just in the Greater Boston area.
According to the National Restaurant Association, plant-based proteins, eco-friendly packaging, and scratch-made recipes are among the top 10 food trends for 2020, and this has pushed Green Monsters to the forefront of many a menu. Essentially, we’re talking about any blend of green plants and vegetables formed into a patty — sometimes, paired with an equally viridian bun. There are both vegan and vegetarian options for the ‘meat,’ with ingredients including peas, broccoli, kale, or mint, and as we saw with the blackening of all things in 2017, there’s more than one way to turn a burger-bun green: spinach, avocado, and matcha appear to be three popular methods.
Sit, Ube — Sit!
Snacktime, Bloody Snacktime
This severed brie hand is a personal favorite, however the Charred Blood Orange Tart was a Food Network star, and blood-orange syrup on everything seems like a no-brainer.
October Food Posts, 2012 – 2019
https://writerjax.net/2019/09/30/huzzah-the-2019-weird-food-round-up/
https://writerjax.net/2018/10/05/weird-october-food-2018-the-diy-edition/
https://writerjax.net/2017/10/03/octoberfood/
https://writerjax.net/2016/10/11/halloween-food-2/
https://writerjax.net/2015/10/01/halloween-food/
https://writerjax.net/2014/10/04/the-fearsome-five-2014s-weird-october-food-post/
https://writerjax.net/2013/10/21/gee-your-food-looks-haunted-2013-edition/
