As November Nears, A Bento of Scorpio Foods and Flavors

According to the very entertaining and informative "A Taste of Astrology" by Lucy Ash (Knopf, 1988)Scorpio, the sign presiding over this Halloween period of falling gem-colored leaves, remembrance, and deepening Autumn shadows has traditional food assocations that include cayenne, garlic, peppers, pine nuts, eggplant. Other food lore sources associate pumpkin, pomegranate, almonds, and star anise with Scorpio. This bento incorporates all of these foods and flavorings:

The details: farmer's market peppers filled with pine nuts, organic beef, garlic, scallion, diced stuffed grape leaves, cayenne, and ground chipotle pepper. Rounding out the bento: pumpkin with red onion, ginger, cloves and almonds plus roasted eggplant topped with Greek yogurt and pomegranate seeds.