I recently came across The School Secretary from the Black Lagoon at our school’s Scholastic Book Fair. I had to laugh as a few of the school secretaries are my friends. Most of them aren’t scary like in the book, though I think some PARENTS would disagree with me.

(Really, most school secretaries are nice. Their offices are NOT the “room of doom.” They’re just a little grumpy. I would be too if I had to deal with all those kids and the principal. Eesh!)

The Black Lagoon series of books by Mike Thaler are perfect for Halloween time, especially for kids ages seven to nine who like to complain about the “awful” school nurse, teacher, principal, vice principal, custodian, substitute, bus driver, cafeteria lady, gym teacher, music teacher, etc.

Visit Mike’s website to see what new books are coming out. He also has the Black Lagoon Adventures series of chapter books for more advanced readers.

Now for a pumpkin recipe from The Pumpkin Nook. Pumpkin Pie Fudge anyone? (IT’S AWESOME!)

Pumpkin Pie Fudge
Yield: approximately 4-5 dozen pieces

These make nice hostess gifts for Halloween or Thanksgiving. (Place fudge in a baggie first. Then put them in a decorative bag or container.)

Ingredients:

1.   1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2. 2/3 cup evaporated milk (I accidentally used sweetened condensed milk – wasn’t reading closely – and it worked out very well)
3. 1/2 cup mashed pumpkin (canned)
4. 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
7. 1 package (12 ounces) vanilla flavored baking chips (experiment with chocolate and butterscotch chips)
8. 2 cups miniature marshmallows
9. 1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
10. 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Using butter or margarine, lightly grease the sides and bottom of a medium saucepan.
2. Place the sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in the saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 12 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking chips and marshmallows until melted. Then stir in the nuts and vanilla.
4. Pour into an 8-inch square pan that has been lined with foil and greased. Chill mixture until set.
5. Cut into small squares to serve. Cover and store in refrigerator.

I made a triple batch and put it in a large Pyrex platter (the one I cook the turkey in each year). I ended up with eight 24 oz. GLAD containers of fudge. The nice thing about tripling the recipe was that it used exactly two cans of sweetened condensed milk – a good thing since I can eat that stuff with a spoon and didn’t want leftovers.

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