Write to Jack O'Lantern

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Letters To (and From) Jack O'Lantern Who knew you could write to a pumpkin! Well, of course, I'm not actually a pumpkin, and I'm not so much of a writer either, but I do love to hear from folks. I spend my time trying to figure out how best for TinkerTank to work with people out there in the not-so-frozen real world. So please drop me a note, it gives me something else to do. Besides, we all got tired of hearing Santa talk about how many great letters he gets, so we want some too! If you have a plain old question about me or halloween, check out the FAQ, 'cause it may already be answered. And if you want to know more about me, give my bio a quick read.

You can always email me at jack@tinkertank.org

Thanks - Jack O.

Dear Jack

My mother wants to give out pencils instead of candy for Halloween, and I don’t want her to do that because it is l-a-m-e, lame. What can I tell her to stop it, and hand out real candy instead, which is what you’re supposed to do at Halloween?

Connor G

Connor –

The truth is, it’s not lame for your mom to hand out pencils. Have you asked her why? I’m guessing she’s just concerned for the health of the kids in your neighborhood, and she’s right that too much sugar is bad for both your body and your teeth. And everyone needs pencils for school, so I don’t think it’s a problem.

Look, I was trick-or-treating with some kids in Seattle last year, (I try to be on the ground somewhere each year on Halloween), and they got so much candy it was ridiculous. So I’m not too worried about an occasional pencil. You may even understand her some day.

Dear Jack

What’s your favorite kind of pie?

Kaeley S.

MMMMMM, Kaeley.

Believe it or not, my favorite kind of pie is Grandma Celia’s Hickory Nut Pie. Here’s the recipe:

1 Cup of chopped nuts

1-1/2 Cup of whole milk

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

½ sugar

3 Tablespoons of sugar

Vanilla, nutmeg, cloves and allspice to taste.

Mix together all the dry ingredients AND the nuts, until everything is evenly coated. Put this into a pie crust. Then mix together the milk and eggs, and slowly pour it into the nut-filled pie crust.

Bake at 325 until the custard is firm (but a little jiggly in the middle) and the crust is golden brown.

Hickory nuts are hard to find - impossible here at the North Pole - so I often substitute a mixture of walnuts and pecans.

I do like pumpkin pie a lot too. And it’s good all year round. It’s even kind of good for you, seeing as pumpkin is a squash and all.