I never think of Halloween until the last possible moment and then I end up with no costume, no plans, and no food ideas. I think it’s my form of rebellion after living in San Francisco for so many years (many of them in the Castro).

I don’t want EcoSalon readers to suffer the same fate so I scoured the web for ideas that involve good food without artificial colors, flavors, or other food additives. You’ll find plenty of tasty treats, a fun cocktail idea, and some general green party tips.

Enjoy a safe, healthy, and green Halloween!

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks helpfully compiled links to all of her Halloween inspired recipes last fall. And there are some good ones here. Caramel apples with all-natural ingredients, toasted pumpkin seeds with creative flavor profiles, and a roasted pumpkin salad that sounds fantastic. Heidi’s recipes are always vegetarian and use all natural, healthy whole foods, so you can’t go wrong.

Because wasting anything edible (including pumpkin seeds) is not green, you’ll definitely want to use this recipe for all-natural Pumpkin Seed Brittle from Alton Brown via The Daily Green.

Martha can always be counted on for the most creative ideas. Here’s a “bleeding heart” martini that uses pickled beets in place of olives. Try some Fair Trade Vodka instead of gin, if you’re so inclined. Or check out Peak Spirits. A small, artisan distillery that produces organic vodka and gin.

Finally, for general green party tips for Halloween or anytime, have a look at these tips from Danny Seo via Epicurious.

Image: Ack Ook

As I sit at my desk, staring out into the yard, I notice that the slant of the light is unmistakably fall-like. Despite the warm weather, I know that the leaves are falling, and the light is fading, as the sun sinks lower in the sky.

These thoughts lead me to fall foods. The first ingredient my mind lights on is cinnamon. It being late afternoon, my body and mind are in the doldrums. The thought of cinnamon immediately makes me wish I had a strong cup of coffee and a big fat slice of some barely sweet, moist, nutty coffee cake.

Before I know it my fingers are flying all over the keyboard searching out recipes from my favorite sites.

So coffee cake, my friends, is the theme of this week’s recipe round up.

Happy Baking!

You can always depend on Simply Recipes for simple recipes that work. This Apple Coffee Cake is no exception.

From Ina Gartne via The Food Network, here’s a pretty classic sounding Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

And finally, from Martha Stewart, we have Aunt Patty’s Coffee Cake. I don’t know who Aunt Patty is, but her coffee cake looks like it rocks. I’ll have to get over my distaste for buying instant coffee granules for this one!

Image: Vanessa Barrington

I love that everyone I know is canning and pickling this summer. It’s such a great way to preserve the harvest for later and it’s so gratifying to put up your own food.

Pickles are great for beginners because they are high enough in acid that they don’t need to be pressure canned and may even be made in small batches and simply refrigerated.

Pickled vegetables are versatile as snacks, delicious on sandwiches and can be chopped up in summer salads. And if you have any left you can always put them out at Thanksgiving on a relish tray full of goodies you made yourself.

Here’s a sampling of tasty pickles from around the web.

A little sweet, a little tart, bread and butter pickles are great on sandwiches and served with creamy goat cheese. This version from Smitten Kitchen looks like a winner.

Pickled okra is a classic Southern table pickle. I turn to Martha for her version.

Dilly Beans are great for snacking and in Bloody Marys. Here’s a recipe from Food in Jars, which is, incidentally, one of my favorite canning resources on the web.

Image: The Bitten Word

I don’t know what it looks like under your kitchen sink, but mine is jammed-packed with recycling bins, garbage bags, cleaning supplies and old plastic grocery bags, waiting to be reused. It’s one of those spots in the house that could never be big enough. That’s why the new double duty dish soaps from Martha Stewart Clean and Earth Friendly Products caught my eye. Each one does two kitchen jobs, which means I have to cram one less product in the cabinet.

Martha never ceases to impress with her brilliance, so it’s no surprise that the dish soap from her new eco-friendly cleaning products line is a must-have. While you wouldn’t want to use most dish soaps to wash your hands frequently because they’ll dry out your skin, this one is free of sodium lauryl sulfate and other harsh ingredients and it comes in an easy to use pump bottle. The formula is more than 99 percent plant and mineral-based. And the true Martha finishing touch? The label peels off easily so you can leave a simple clear bottle on your counter in place of both your hand soap and your goopy dish soap bottle – how does she always manage to think of everything?

Earth Friendly Products Ecos DuoDish

Have you ever used hand dish washing soap in your dishwasher? Bad idea. But this double duty dish soap innovation from Earth Friendly Products is made to work for both hand-washing and the automatic dishwasher without causing problems. The 100 percent natural and biodegradable formula is scented with essential oils. Earth Friendly Products promises streak-free, spot-free and grease-cutting results!

For the record, I am not a person who is interested in crafts. Whether it’s gluing seashells onto homemade greeting cards, scrapbooking, or painting acorns for a nature-themed centerpiece – none of it appeals to me on any level. If someone handed me a hot glue gun I would use it to attach myself firmly onto my couch so I could watch an entire Top Chef marathon without pesky blood relatives trying to steal my spot in front of the TV.

But I was forced to rethink my position after reading a recent interview with Martha Stewart. In that firm and slightly scary way of hers, Martha described crafts as a way to recycle; she pointed out that a shirt used for a crafts project is a shirt that will not end up in the trash bin. After reading this eye-opening piece I decided to reconsider my stand on crafts – perhaps I could learn to look at them as part of an eco-friendly lifestlye instead of mind-numbing impediments to happiness.

I began looking for creative ways to reuse some of the items cluttering up my home, but I surprisingly found few craft projects that called for broken swim goggles, take-out menus or outdated video game systems. An exhaustive search of Martha’s website turned up absolutely nothing that would transform dead batteries, ancient underwire bras or old VHS tapes into decorative knick-knacks. In fact, it soon became clear that attempting an artsy activity of any kind would force me to become an environmentally insensitive consumer, as I would have to go out and purchase all sorts of non-biodegradable supplies: glitter and stencils and paraffin and crepe paper – even something called rick-rack, which turns out to be the frou-frou cornerstone of the arts and crafts industry.

Further consideration led me to calculate the other effects a craft project would have on my carbon footprint. Driving to the crafts store would have to be factored in, as well as the countless times I would open and close the refrigerator door as I used food to avoid actually doing anything crafty. Landfills would be directly and adversely affected by the many tissues I would use and discard, as I wept quietly from boredom and craft-induced feelings of inadequacy. The numbers began to add up, especially when weighed against the relatively minor eco-hit I would incur from turning on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I also had to consider the very real fact that every single craft project I read about made me want to stab myself in the eye with a calligraphy pen.

In the end, I decided it would be better for the planet – and for me – to abandon this endeavor. I applaud Martha Stewart for her creative recylcling efforts, but I have come to realize that if God wanted me to do crafts, He would not have invented reality television.

Each fall, the color experts at PANTONE publish a report highlighting the “it” hues for the following spring, setting the standard for fashion and home décor. This spring’s report contains a blend of bold, statement-making colors and more subdued shades.

Since re-designing every few months to match the latest color trends doesn’t jibe with our eco aesthetic, we’re all about choosing colors that lend themselves to mixing and matching season after season. And PANTONE’s Eucalyptus – an olive-tinged earthy-beige inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe – fits that criteria to a T.

If you’re in the market for an eco-friendly rug, we’ve rounded up several options that incorporate this versatile shade. 

Faux Bois by Martha Stewart with FLOR (pictured above)

FLOR products are not only recyclable, but they are made with recyclable or renewable materials. This Faux Bois design (on the right) draws inspiration from a classic wood grain to create an elegant and eye-catching design.

Feizy Kayla Ivory Rug

This hand-tufted wool uses colored sheep in place of chemical dyes to create a simple, yet contemporary pattern. Its scattered wheat design would add a warm, welcoming accent in a bedroom or living room.

Surya Eco 2005 Rug

Cream, eucalyptus, and chocolate brown get a mod makeover as part of Surya’s eco rug collection. It’s hand-tufted with 100 percent New Zealand wool.

Modern Circle Design Shag Rug

Another mod option, this geometic shag rug is part of Target’s eco-friendly collection. It’s also stain-resistant, fade-resistant, and soil-resistant.

Fern Paprika Scheme Rug from Pure Inspired Design

Pure Inspired Design specializes in eco-friendly furniture and home accessories, so this hand-tufted rug was a shoe-in. It’s part of their Paprika scheme, so you can also buy buy pillows, curtains, and furniture in the same color family.

I’m always looking for ways to burn calories while living life off the elliptical.

A Swiss friend tells me her mother always did core exercises while driving. I’ve tried those crunches behind the wheel, as well as kegel tightening during pregnancy and stretching the burgeoning turkey neck with a series of juts and releases of my chin in slow traffic. The neck thing is a bit pathetic. I’m certain passersby think I’m a crazed soccer mom with a terrible tick.

Truth be told, I prefer lifestyle burning in the seclusion of my own house, including the kitchen, where I’m totally willing to work for food.

Here are a few ways to burn while your churn, spin, scrub and whisk. Get your kids into the act, as well, for family fun and fitness. Even Martha Stewart would agree the eco-kitchen workout is a good thing.

1. The Salad Spin Arm Rotation

We tend to get lazy relying on the prewashed lettuces at the market. My husband reminds me that’s how cases of salmonella have occurred from bags not really washed so well. Instead, wash it yourself, and spin in a good eco fiber spinner, such as the nifty bamboo bowl from Cooking. You will tone your biceps (say goodbye to that jiggly upper arm flab) and gain wrist strength from the crank or pull cord. Your reward will be a healthier salad with low calorie dressing. Opt for lettuce like arugula which takes extra effort to dry. Spin away, sexy mama!

2. Floor Scrub Cardio Boost

Get down on your hands and knees, you, and start scrubbing away the extra pounds that piled up while you were lazy using that mop. Benefits include having a floor clean enough to eat off of. And, you probably will just grab a bite from the fridge while you are on the floor, since you will be too exhausted to get up and eat lunch. I once heard a Weight Watchers leader (a nutritionist at Stanford) say scrubbing the kitchen floor is how she builds up her cardio endurance. Use a safe product, like Earth Friendly Floor Cleaner or BILO wax/polish to help get the job done, along with reusable towels instead of disposables.

3. Refrigerator Wipe Down Lunges

You don’t have to bend over backwards to clean the shelves of your refrigerator, but you can do some nice lunges removing the compartments and getting them as spanking clean as this Energy Star appliance from the Eco Fridge company. Your friends will envy your sense of order and your shapely thighs. You can also stretch the calves and toe muscles reaching those higher shelves. When you’re done, eat an orange. You deserve it.

4. Washing and Drying by Hand

I remember so well doing dishes by hand in my college apartment sans a dishwasher. I was so slim. Wait, I also ran about four miles a day. Anyway, the old wipe-on, wipe-off saves lots of water and energy and gets that heart pumping. Heck, you can work up quite a lather scrubbing those pots, sister! Whistle while you work and burn even more C’s. Try using a green dishsoap, like the fragrant Nancy Boy, and organic flour sack towels for wiping like this set from Williams-Sonoma.

5. Hunt and Gather and Make From Scratch Marathon

Try following Martha’s example of making an entire meal by scratch, from the harvesting of organic veggies and fruit from your yard (think slow simmering casseroles in the crock pot or homemade pies) to the kneading of your bread and preparation of your own delicious pasta or free range meat dish. It’s a lot of work but you never heard those pioneer women kvetch, did ya? Invite the kids to help because they love to cook and need exercise, too.