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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2000)
The demonic origin of 'Jack* revealed ■The truth behind the candle-in-the-pumpkin shows devilish beginnings Pumpkins are magically trans formed into Jack O’Lanterns for Halloween. We bake them into pumpkin pie. Tales of terror have also used pumpkins to create an eerie atmosphere. So how did the pumpkin become associated with Halloween? Well the answer is in the tale of an unfortunate i soul named Jack. M According to Irish folk- / lore, a man named Jack, m well known for his drunk- m enness and quick temper, w got very drunk at a local K pub one fateful All Hal- ylll lows Eve. As his life began W to slip away the Devil ap- » peared to claim Jack's soul. i| Jack, eager to retain his w life, begged the Devil to let B him have just one more % drink before he died. The % Devil agreed. Jack was short of money and asked the Devil ij if he wouldn’t mind assuming ' the shape of a sixpence so Jack could pay for the drink and after the transaction the Devil could change back. Seeing how the Devil is quite gullible in almost all of these folk tales, he agreed again to help Jack out and changed himself into a six pence. Jack immediately grabbed the coin and shoved it into his wallet, which just happened to have a cross-shaped catch on it. The Devil, now imprisoned in the wallet screamed with rage and ordered Jack to release him. Jack agreed to free the Devil from his wallet if the Devil agreed not to bother Jack for a whole year. Again, the Devil agreed to Jack's terms. Realizing he now had a new lease on life, at least again Jack, not too eager to die, dis tracted the devil by pointing to a nearby apple tree. Jack convinced the Devil to get an ap ple out of the tree and even of fered ways. For a time Jack was good to his wife and children and be gan to attend church and give to charity. Eventually, though, Jack slipped back into his evil ways. The next All Hallows Eve, just as Jack was heading home, the Devil appeared and demanded that Jack accompany him. Once t o oist Devil his help him get the apple. The Dev il, fooled once again by Jack, Climbed into the tree and plucked an apple. Jack took out a knife and carved a cross into the trunk of the tree. Trapped once again the Devil howled to be released and told Jack he would give him 10 years of peace in exchange for his release. Jack, on the other hand, insisted the Devil never bother Jack again. The Devil agreed and was released. Almost a year later Jack's body , unable to keep up with Jack's evil ways, gave out and Jack died. When Jack tried to enter Heaven he was told that because of his meanness he would not be al lowed into Heaven. When Jack at tempted to gain entry into Hell, the Devil, still smarting from years of humiliation, refused Jack ad mission. However, being the kind demon that he was, the Devil threw Jack a piece of coal to help him find his way in the dark of limbo. Jack placed the piece of coal in a turnip, which then became known as a Jack O'Lantern. Each All Hallows Eve, if you look closely, you can still see Jack's flame burning dimly as he searches for a home. The use of Jack O'Lanterns as festival lights for Hal loween is a custom that de scended from the Irish who used carved out turnips or beets as lanterns. On Halloween, these lights represented the souls of the dead or goblins freed from the dead. When the Irish emigrated to America they could not find many turnips to carve into Jack O'Lanterns but they did find an abundance of pumpkins. Pump kins seemed to be a suitable substi tute for the turnips, and have since become an essential part of Hal loween celebrations. This report was featured in Halloween Magazine. You can find more stories at www.halloweenmagazine.com The culinary genius of leftover pumpkin guts By Tammy Rome Healthy Instinct You’ve carved that pumpkin into a gruesome Jack-O-Lantern and now you have a gooey clump of or ange flesh in a bowl on your kitchen counter. Please don't tell me you already sent it down the garbage disposal! You’re probably wondering, “Why, I can’t do any thing with it?” Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong! Anything you can make with canned pumpkin you can make healthier with fresh pumpkin. Just substitute 2 cups of fresh pumpkin for any recipe calling for a 16-ounce can of pumpkin. Just in case you’re stumped, here are a few ideas to get you started. Baked Pumpkin Seeds - Remove pulp and string, then rinse the seeds well. - Place in a single layer on an un greased cookie sheet - Preheat your oven to 325°F and bake for 15-20 minutes or until seeds are dry and light brown (for crispier seeds, bake 30-40 minutesj - Salt to taste (also great without salt) - Use as a healthy kid snack or stain with food coloring and use to dec orate jack-o-lanterns, costumes, other treats, etc. Your imagination is your only limit! Pumpkin Fruit RollUps - Chop pumpkin and cook in saucepan until soft. Use as little water as possible. Puree in blender or food processor until the consis tency of thick applesauce. - Add 1 cup honey and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice to mixture. Mix well. - Spread puree on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper (tape wax paper down so it won't curl over the pumpkin), leaving a 1-2 inch border around the edge. - Preheat oven to 275°F and bake for 30-35 minutes. Turn off oven and leave door closed, letting the pumpkin dry 8-10 hours. - When cooled to the touch, roll up and cut into 1-inch wide strips. Seal in Ziplock bags and serve as a yummy, inexpensive alternative to commercial Fruit RollUps! - OR leave flat and use Halloween shaped cookie cutters to cut into fun holiday shapes. Tammy’s Famous Pumpkin Pie 2 eggs 2 cups fresh pumpkin 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. cloves 12 oz. evaporated milk *Spices are best if freshly ground rather than store-bought. Pour into Flaky Pie Crust. Heat oven to 425°F, bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake 40-50 minutes. Pie is done when knife is insert ed into the middle of pie and comes out clean. Flaky Pie Crust 1/3 cup plus 1 tbs. shortening 1 cup flour 1 tsp. salt 2-3 tbs cold water Blend shortening, flour and salt together. Add cold water and mix well with CLEAN hands-utensils just don’t do as well. Roll dough out with rolling pin (well-covered in flour) on a flat, floured surface. TIP: a cold rolling pin works best, so I keep mine re frigerated at all times. Place glass pie pan on top of dough and then turn both over at the same time. Pat into place. Pinch off excess dough, then pinched dough all around pan edge for a “fluted” look (keeps you from hav ing a thick, heavy crust on the edges). Do not bake crust alone unless using for chocolate, lemon meringue, etc. To bake, use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust, heat oven to 475°F and bake 8-10 minutes. Have a happy, healthy and safe Halloween! /fowled GR/a Breakfast served all day 30 W. 10th open 7-6 Mon.-Sat 485-4944 Don’t have any more DOCK BUCKS"? Don’t have a cow man... Come to EMU suite 300 010518 CONSCIOUS PRODUCTIONS presents REGGAE’S FIRST Grammy Award winner Michael Rose of Black Uhuru APPLE GABRIEL, ROCKER T, Papa’s Soul Kitchen, Big B & Ras Cool at TOP OF THE WORLD (1-5 Exit 199 Eugene, Oregon) Saturday, Nov. 11 show at 8pm • All AGES • Hotel rooms available Tickets on sale now @ House of Records, all FASTIXX outlets. 1-800-992-TIXX DANCE HALL, RAGGA, ROOTS, SKA, DUB REGGAE IN THE HOUSE A.K.A. House Of Records 258 E. 13th
