Autumn may be the most beautiful time of year. Red, orange, and golden leaves decorate our surroundings, creating late afternoon light shows, and cool breezes bring us relief after the heat of summer. For children and students returning to school, autumn is a time to make a fresh start and begin new projects. It is also the season of the harvest, when we give thanks and celebrate all that life has provided us with. Here’s some advice to help you make sure animals have an autumn to be thankful for as well.

Back to School

Halloween Traditions

Less Fright and More Fun for Your Companions

Handing Out Vegan Candy

Cruelty-free Fall Recipes

Back to school

If you have school-age children, don't be impatient if your companion dog or cat seems to be demanding more attention from you in September. He or she got used to having the whole family at home during the summer vacation, and may be lonely for her friends. Give your companion some extra ear scratches or tummy rubs every once in a while, or just talk to him or her as you go about your daily routine. Also, keep your companion in the house when kids leave for school so that he or she isn't tempted to follow children or buses.

Halloween Traditions

The Halloween celebration has its roots in Celtic practices. For these ancient inhabitants of Ireland, October 31st was New Year’s Eve, or Samain, which marked the end and beginning of the Celtic year. On that day, it was thought that the spirits of the people who had died that year would rise to roam the Earth for one night. One of the beliefs associated with this holiday is to leave food on doorsteps as an offering to appease the souls of the ghosts. Over the years, the day has become a holiday for children, who dress up as the undead and go door to door asking for candy. In North America, the meaning of the holiday has broadened such that Halloween is now a day for just about anything scary or unusual. Many people choose to celebrate it more lightheartedly by dressing in cheerful costumes rather than creepy ones.

Less Fright and More Fun for Your Companions

Halloween’s a scary holiday, that’s the whole point. But for your companion animals, the fear can be much more real than it is for you or your children. These tips will help keep the terror at a minimum and ensure a safe Halloween for your companions.

• Remember that your companion dog might not realize the difference between "fun" scary and "threatening" scary. He may become agitated or frightened by the unusual sounds and costumed strangers that keep banging at the door. Your companions may even become aggressive and try to protect you. Even if your dog or cat isn't afraid of Trick-or-Treaters, remember that many children are very afraid of dogs or cats. Whether it’s the animal or the child that could get upset, it’s best to avoid stressful situations by keeping your companions safely in another room, away from the front door.
• With the door opening and closing so much for Trick-or Treaters or guests, be especially watchful for escaping cats and dogs.
• If you are hosting a Halloween party most companion cats and dogs will do better if they have their own quiet room to stay in for the night. Make sure your companion has food and water, and visit throughout the evening to let her know everything is fine.
• Choose where to display Jack-o-lanterns carefully. If they are knocked over they can start fires and curious animals run the risk of getting burned while investigating.
• Balloons, streamers, and other Halloween decorations can harm your companion animals if chewed or swallowed so be careful to keep them out of reach.
• If you come across any black cats on Halloween, be kind and remind children to do the same. Superstitions may say otherwise, but a black cat is just as unlikely to harm you as any other cat.
• Your companion may ask you to share some of the candy you’ve been handing out with her, but resist those big, hopeful eyes. Sugar isn't good for dogs, and chocolate can be toxic. If you like, give your dog or cat a treat that’s made especially for animals, but keep all goodies out of reach and remind children not to share their haul.
• Don't leave your pet out in the yard on Halloween. Vicious pranksters have been known to tease, injure, steal, or even kill pets on this night.
• If your companions aren’t comfortable being dressed up don’t force costumes on them just because you think they look cute. You would want the same respect yourself.
• If you’re certain that your companion loves wearing a costume, you should still make sure he can walk, see, pant, and relieve himself comfortably while wearing it. If you’ll be taking him outside, stick reflective tape on his costume so he can be seen by motorists.
• If your companion dog must come Trick-or-Treating for some reason, keep her on a short leash, away from other animals or children that she doesn't know.
• Don’t fasten costumes on your companion with rubber bands. If mistakenly left on the animal, the bands can quickly burrow into her skin.
• Don't leave animals out in the yard on Halloween. There are plenty of stories of vicious pranksters who have teased, injured, stolen, even killed animals on this night.
• Also, if you share your home with all-black or all-white coloured dogs and cats, keep them indoors and watch them carefully in the days leading up to Halloween. A disturbingly high number of animals of these colours disappear around the holiday. Do not give any animals away to supposed good homes at this time of year. Believe it or not, there are some cruel people out there who will "sacrifice" black, white, or black and white animals in their Halloween "ceremonies!"

Handing Out Vegan Candy

Halloween is the biggest candy event of the year, so it seems like a good time to find out what the sweet stuff is made of and educate your neighbours, too. Animals shouldn’t have to die just so we can satisfy our sweet teeth, so be sure to hand out vegan candy. Just check ingredient lists. And don’t worry, you’ll find that many candies are fine for vegans, including Twizzlers, Swedish Fish, and Nerds.

It’s easy to make sure you buy dark chocolate without milk in it, but many ingredients are less obvious and don’t sound like they’re from an animal at all. Here are some animal ingredients to look out for in candy, as well as in other snacks and foods:

Casein – A lot like whey, this stuff is made from curdled milk.

Gelatin - Used to firm up or add some jiggle to fruity candies and snacks, you may have thought gelatin was related to jelly. But unlike the fruit pectin that holds jellies and jams together, gelatin is made by boiling animals’ skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones.

Honey - Honey is sweet, but the bees that make it often die when it is harvested. When a bee stings, the entrails attached to its stinger are pulled out, which kills the bee. So when bees try to attack the intruder who takes their combs, they die. Beekeepers are able to take the honeycombs anyway by wearing protective clothing and by “calming” the bees with smoke from a smoldering fire.

Lard - Lard is just another word for the fat that comes from pigs’ bellies.

Pepsin - This is a clotting agent that’s collected from pigs’ stomachs and used to make some cheeses and vitamins.

Rennet - This is an enzyme taken from the stomachs of calves (baby cows) and used to help make cheese clot.

Stearic Acid - Often added to chocolate and vitamins, this fatty substance is collected from the stomachs of slaughtered pigs or from cows, sheep, or dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters.

Cetyl Palmitate - Look out for this additive in margarine, which you probably assumed was just made of vegetable oil. Cetyl palmitate refers to the waxy oil that comes from sperm whales’ heads or from dolphins.

Urea - Urea comes from urine and other bodily fluids. It’s often used to "brown" baked goods, like pretzels.

Cruelty-free Halloween treats and Autumn Delights

Pumpkin Muffins

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Sugar and Spice Almonds

Pumpkin Mousse with Gingerbread Crumbs

Autumn Chocolates

Unusual Avocado Salad

Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 6 jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins.

• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. ginger
• ¼ tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (either fresh or from a can)
• 1 Tbsp. soy yogurt
• ½ cup soy milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp. molasses

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease jumbo muffin tin with vegetable shortening or non-stick spray.
• Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl with a wire whisk.
• In another bowl combine the remaining ingredients with a whisk. Pour the wet mixture into the dry one and combine.
• Fill each tin 2/3 of the way with batter. Bake for 27-30 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. If you make smaller muffins bake only 15-20 minutes.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds (from 1 medium pumpkin)
• 5 Tbsp. sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 ½ Tbsp. peanut oil

Preparation

• Pre-heat oven to 250 F.
• Remove and wash seeds from pumpkin. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet. Bake for about one hour stirring occasionally.
• Combine 3 Tbsp. of the sugar, the salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne in a bowl.
• Heat peanut oil in large skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar. Cook until sugar melts and seeds caramelize (about 45 seconds).
• Transfer the seeds to the bowl with the spice mixture and coat them well.
• Let cool and store for up to a week in an air-tight container.

Sugar and Spice Almonds

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 cups whole raw almonds
• 3 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or spread a small amount of oil with a paper towel.
• In a small dish, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, set aside.
• In another bowl, combine the almonds with the corn syrup until the almonds are evenly coated; sprinkle on the sugar, stirring to make sure it gets mixed in evenly.
• Spread the coated almonds on the greased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until bubbly, and the almonds are browned; remove from oven.
• Allow to cool on the baking sheet, stirring to prevent sticking and to separate the nuts. Store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Mousse with Gingerbread Crumbs

Ingredients

• 1 10 oz. box soft silken tofu
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 cups solid-pack pumpkin (a 29 oz. can)
• 8 gingersnaps, crushed with a rolling pin.

Preparation

• Place everything except the pumpkin and gingersnaps in a blender, and purée until smooth. Add half the pumpkin and purée again.
• Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and beat in the remaining pumpkin until the mixture becomes uniformly creamy.
• Cover tightly and chill for several hours or overnight to let flavours combine and deepen.
• To serve, spoon into decorative bowls and sprinkle with gingersnap crumbs. Serve immediately, so the crumbs won't turn soggy.

Autumn Chocolates

Ingredients

• Dark vegan chocolate
• Dried cranberries
• Walnut pieces

You can use as many or as few cranberries and walnuts as you like, as long as you have enough chocolate to cover them all.

Preparation

• Melt chocolate in double boiler.
• Fold in cranberries and walnuts until they are coated in chocolate.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto wax-paper covered baking sheets or boards and put in a cold room or in the refrigerator until hardened.

Unusual Avocado Salad

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 4 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. chopped olives
• 1 Tbsp. crushed walnuts
• 5 coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 tsp. mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Preparation

• Sprinkle avocado slices with 2 Tbsp. of the lemon juice.
• Mix 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice, olives, walnuts, coriander, and mustard in a small bowl.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, then beat in the olive oil.
• Fan the avocado slices on a plate and drizzle with the sauce.