Brew up ‘blood’ on Halloween

Creep out your kids and gag your guests this Halloween by brewing up beakers of “blood” and purple ooze for them to drink.

Both drinks have serious gross-out factor, but are easy to mix and can be made with or without alcohol, depending on the age of the goblins who will be slurping them.

For even more impact, be sure to have “blood” dripping off the rims of your drinking beakers. For the dripping blood, you will need glucose or corn syrup and red gel food coloring.

Purple Ooze

1 cup grape soda

1/2 frozen banana

1 cup Cool Whip or similar frozen whipped topping, thawed slightly

1 1/2 ounces vodka (if not using, substitute additional grape soda)

1/8 teaspoon purple or violet gel food coloring

In a blender, combine the grape soda, banana, Cool Whip and vodka. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. The drink will be thick and frothy. Add the food coloring and blend until the mixture is a deep purple. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3 servings

Nutrition per serving: Unavailable.

Blood Beverage

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon frozen lemonade concentrate

1 tablespoon frozen cranberry juice concentrate

1 1/2 ounces vodka (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. When pouring into glasses, do so slowly to prevent any bubbles on the surface from going into the glass. This preserves the look of the “blood.”

Yield: 2 servings

Nutrition per serving: Unavailable.