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This Halloween, what better way to one-up your friends than mixing up some batter, swapping out your light bulbs for ultraviolet replacements, and showing off some glowing baked goods?

And, if you follow the advice of Steven Johnson and Martina Zupanic, these treats won't leave you feeling regretful the next day about your eating choices.

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Martina Zupanic and Steven Johnson are the founders of Luma Bites. Martina Zupanic/Luma Bites hide caption

itoggle caption Martina Zupanic/Luma Bites

Martina Zupanic and Steven Johnson are the founders of Luma Bites.

Martina Zupanic/Luma Bites

Zupanic, the chef in their relationship, lives in Croatia. She likes to avoid processed and sugary foods, cooking most of her dishes from scratch, whether it's chips or pasta. Her recipes reflect those interests.

"Croatians eat very healthy. We use a lot of oils; we use a lot of natural stuff," says Zupanic. (Minnesota-based Johnson handles the business side of things.)

A few years ago, the two food entrepreneurs say, the idea to create homemade, glow-in-the-dark recipes dropped in their laps, literally.

"We were watching a movie," says Zupanic, eating chips on the couch. When she dropped them in the dark, she thought, "It would be great if we could have chips that glow in the dark."

The idea grew from there, and what started out as fun for the couple evolved into a business partnership, called Luma Bites.

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The Luma Bites team made this tapioca dessert in my honor (alas, I did not get to sample it). You can see what the cake looks like under normal light (lower left) and under an ultraviolet light (top and bottom right). Martina Zupanic/Luma Bites hide caption

itoggle caption Martina Zupanic/Luma Bites

The Luma Bites team made this tapioca dessert in my honor (alas, I did not get to sample it). You can see what the cake looks like under normal light (lower left) and under an ultraviolet light (top and bottom right).

Martina Zupanic/Luma Bites

The most popular trick to make your treats glow, they found, uses tonic water instead of normal water in Jell-O. The tonic water naturally glows under an ultraviolet light, and using it in Jell-O gives the wobbling delight an eerie sheen. But Zupanic didn't want to follow that trend.

She wanted to make food from scratch, unprocessed and without artificial ingredients, that would achieve the same glow. So she turned to her cupboard and began mixing oils, using trial and error.

To get the effect, the pair says, you have to make food with the right chemistry. Tonic water, as they'd seen, glows because it contains quinine, which fluoresces under ultraviolet rays. Fluorescent molecules — those that absorb ultraviolet light and then re-emit it to create a glow — are also found in white paper, bodily fluids like blood or urine and tooth whitener. Common food products that can glow include vitamin B2, honey and even mustard.

Zupanic had a black light from her daughter's birthday party and used it to gauge how well her food glowed. Most of it didn't. "Ninety-eight percent of the food" in her early experiments "went to waste," she says. "I had to repeat it so many times."

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The glowing pearl pudding under a UV light glows yellow with yellow honey. Alison Bruzek/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Alison Bruzek/NPR

The glowing pearl pudding under a UV light glows yellow with yellow honey.

Alison Bruzek/NPR

Finally, after years of trial and error, Zupanic has devised several dishes that glow. Her menu ranges from ice cream to crepes to meatballs to mashed potatoes to cevap rolls, her specialty. They all sound like normal food, but Zupanic and Johnson say people are still wary. After all, the link between radiation and things that glow in the dark is pretty well embedded in pop culture.

"We need to make people familiar with this," says Zupanic. "They don't have to be afraid of it."

Luma Bites launched a Kickstarter, now defunct, to spread awareness about its glow-in-the-dark food recipes. The couple are currently looking for investors to open a restaurant in the U.S. that uses their proprietary techniques.

So while they didn't want to give away all their secrets, they did create a new recipe for The Salt to try and share with you, dear readers.

Spoiler: it's delicious.

Alison's Glowing Pearl Pudding

by Luma Bites "glow expert" chef Martina Zupanic

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons tapioca pearls

1/8 cup milk

2 cups water

1/8 cup honey*

1/4 teaspoon vanilla sugar

1/8 teaspoon lemon peel zest

Place tapioca pearls into one cup of cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain. Place one cup of water to boil and add honey. After the honey has melted, add vanilla sugar. When dissolved, add tapioca and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally. After about 20 minutes, add milk and lemon peel zest, and continue to cook on low for an additional 10 minutes. Place pudding into a mold or bowl to let cool down. Serve with chocolate drizzle or chocolate "spider" decorations. For gluten-free pudding, make sure to use a brand that guarantees gluten-free products. Create a totally dark space and — using black lights — enjoy your glowing dessert!

*Tip from Steve: The dessert will glow white if you use black locust flower honey. Yellow honey will make it glow yellow, and different brands will glow differently. Creamed honey won't glow as much.

glow in the dark foods

Halloween

recipes

Until Wednesday, the front door of Canada's main Parliament building, Centre Block, was often left unlocked. Taken as a metaphor for the nation as a whole, many think the attack in Ottawa will change that approach to security.

In the assault, a soldier was killed as he guarded the National War Memorial and a shootout left the gunman dead inside Canada's parliamentary complex.

NPR's Jackie Northam, a native of Canada, summed up the shock that many Canadians are feeling as she reported from Ottawa for Morning Edition today:

"I think the attack is going to be a real wake-up call for Canadians, especially here in Ottawa," a city she describes as "not exactly sleepy, but quiet."

The Globe and Mail notes: "Except during certain events, tourists and the public are generally free to wander the large green lawn in front of the Centre Block, and explore the parking lots behind the various buildings. On sunny days in the summer, the lawn is generally full of people playing soccer, throwing a Frisbee, or attending a yoga class."

"You can see where it would be a pretty easy target," Jackie says. "So, for something like this to happen is pretty out of character. The city mayor says they've only been five murders so far this year."

The motive for the attack, reportedly carried out by 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was not immediately known. Media reports have suggested that the attacker was a recent convert to Islam, had recently become "radicalized" and had wanted to travel to Libya to study.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports: "Canadian Forces officials are assessing whether heightened security is necessary at bases across the country."

"While the incident is under investigation, we will continue to collaborate with our government of Canada partners to assess the current security environment and are evaluating the need for additional security measures at Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) installations," said Gen. Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, in a statement.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a televised speech to the nation Wednesday night, vowed that "Canada will never be intimidated," but he also promised "to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts ... to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats and keep Canada safe."

Canada had already raised its terrorism threat level from low to moderate in the days before the attack. And two days before the assault on Parliament Hill, two soldiers were targeted in a hit-and-run by a man described as a recently "radicalized" Muslim. One of the soldiers was killed.

On Thursday, addressing the House of Commons, Harper the government will expedite plans to give more powers of detention and surveillance to security agencies.

"They need to be much strengthened, and I assure you, Mr. Speaker, that work which is already under way will be expedited," he told lawmakers.

Speaking on the CBC program As It Happens, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police deputy commissioner, Pierre-Yves Bourduas said the breach of security at Parliament is troubling.

"Today's event will crystallize in the mind of Canadian citizens that we live in a transformed world," Bourduas told CBC, adding that Parliament is still a public institution and that "[within] a democracy people will have to decide what kind of parliament do they want."

Despite Canada's easygoing reputation, the country is not a complete stranger to violence, hijackings and terrorism.

In the 1980s, Canada saw a number of incidents involving Sikh separatists, including the high-profile 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi via London Heathrow. A total of 329 people, including 268 Canadians, were killed. In the 1960s and '70s, anti-Castro forces carried out several attacks on Cuban diplomats.

canada parliament shooting

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

In early October, blizzard conditions in Nepal killed more than 16 foreign trekkers and 17 locals, most of them lightly-dressed porters who were carrying the trekkers' gear. The tragedy calls attention to the dangers of trekking — and the risky life of local porters.

At 42, Rane Tamang knows the trekking business well. From a poor village in central Nepal and with little formal education, he started work as a porter 25 years ago, lugging 90 pounds of gear up mountains. He moved up to serve as an assistant cook and now alternates between cook and guide.

The Two-Way

At Least 20 Trekkers Die In Blizzard, Avalanche In Nepal's Himalayas

The blizzards hit the Thorung La Pass, the high point of the popular Annapurna Circuit. Tamang has crossed the pass over 30 times. "The storm struck so fast, what could the porters do?" Tamang explained during an interview in Katmandu. "Many were walking alone, without experience, and that is why I think many of them died."

In Nepal, tourism is key to the economy. Of 750,000 tourists each year, about a third trek the Annapurna Circuit. There are over 1,000 registered trekking agencies, but in a country with massive underemployment, there is also an underworld of freelance guiding and portering.

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Rane Tamang, left, and Padam Ghale. Both men started out working as porters in the mountains of Nepal. Tamang is now a guide and cook. Ghale owns a trekking company. Donatella Lorch for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Donatella Lorch for NPR

Rane Tamang, left, and Padam Ghale. Both men started out working as porters in the mountains of Nepal. Tamang is now a guide and cook. Ghale owns a trekking company.

Donatella Lorch for NPR

Porters on Annapurna earn about $11 a day, a respectable sum in a country where the per capita income is $2 a day. So there's a lot of competition for jobs. Plus, many trekkers now go on their own and use mules and yaks to carry gear.

And it's not a year-round occupation. Trekking season is October-November and April-May. Tamang last year worked four treks. This year he finished a trek to Annapurna and leaves soon for a 30-day trek near Kanchenjunga in eastern Nepal.

Many Nepalis who work in the trekking business began as porters. Tamang's son, Bilbahadur, 26, is a porter. His boss, Padam Ghale, 60, owns Shambhala Trekking but started as a porter, making his shoes from old tires. Ghale still guides today.

In Nepal, portering, though grueling, is a route out of poverty — and not just because of the pay. Many porters hope that their clients will sponsor them for English classes, business training or mountain-guiding classes.

The government requires that registered companies insure their porters. Many also provide them with sleeping bags and warm jackets for high altitude. But there is no safety net for freelancers, who often trek in sandals and flimsy windbreakers.

Hundreds of trekkers cross Thorung-La every day, attracting freelance porters and guides who troll for clients at both ends of the pass. If they disappear in a storm, no one will know.

Ghale, who was once snowed in on the pass, says good guides are essential for survival. "You don't leave shelter in a storm," he warns.

Last October, Tamang and Ghale took a group of five French trekkers to Makalu Base Camp. They arrived under blue skies but by nightfall and for the next three days, it snowed. They spent hours shoveling off their tents. With clear weather but snow to their chests, Ghale decided to forge a trail through the blanket of deep snow that had buried all landmarks. A normal three-hour trek took 14. Porters lost their sneakers and wrapped their feet in plastic bags. Tamang and Ghale, who knew the area well, wondered whether they would survive, but everyone made it out. Two porters suffered snow blindness. Others had early stages of frostbite.

"Many times, I have stopped clients from going ahead," Ghale said. "My job is that they stay alive. The mountains will always be here. We can come back when it is safer."

Under criticism for not having an early warning system in place, the government of Nepal says it will introduce new regulations by April that will include a weather warning system, stricter registration of trekkers and a requirement that all trekkers hire trained guides.

The government is also studying the possibility of requiring all trekking groups to carry a GPS tracking device. But good topographical mapping does not exist in Nepal, and shoestring travelers aren't likely to have the money to comply.

Reporter Donatella Lorch lives in (and blogs about) Nepal.

porters

trekkers

blizzards

Nepal

It was another stomach-churning day on Wall Street. At one point, the Dow industrials were down 460 points — a huge drop that followed four consecutive days of stock market losses.

The decline more than wiped out the year's gains. But then late in the trading day, tocks started to recover. And by the close, the Dow's loss was a little more than 1 percent.

Investors are worried about a global economic slowdown, the Federal Reserve's next move and even the Ebola virus.

October has sometimes been a catastrophic month for the stock market, and though this month isn't that bad yet it sometimes felt Wednesday like disaster was lurking.

Stock prices plunged sharply in the morning, came back a bit and then fell again. At one point Wednesday, the Standard and Poor's 500 was down nearly 3 percent. That came after several days of steep losses, but the index recovered some of its lost ground by the end of the day.

"Given that we've seen volatility spike up to levels that we haven't seen since the fall of 2011, I would consider that there's a bit of fear out there right now and that's something we haven't seen for a very long time," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Schwab.

Related NPR Stories

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World Bank Says Ebola Could Inflict Enormous Economic Losses

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Frederick says investors are growing more and more worried about how much the economy has slowed in Asia and Europe. He says Germany, for instance, largely escaped the consequences of the last downturn in 2011.

"But we've seen recent significant declines in German GDP, we've seen sharp drops in German business and investor confidence and we see really the European Central Bank kind of in a position where they are talking of doing things but they can't seem to come to a decision on exactly what they are going to do and I think some people are beginning to question if they have any true ammunition left to combat this," Frederick said.

Compared with Europe, the U.S. economy continues to grow at a pretty good pace. But a string of bad economic data Wednesday left a lot of investors questioning how long it will keep doing so. Retail sales plunged more than expected in September.

And then there's the Ebola virus. In addition to all the other bad things it would do, an outbreak of the disease in this country could wreak havoc on U.S. trade and investment.

"All these things are kind of hitting at one time and people are now saying, 'I want to reduce my risk exposure very, very quickly,' " said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research.

With all these fears mounting, investors did what they have so often done: They pulled their money out of riskier investments and into the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. And that drove interest rates down sharply.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, says investors may be overreacting.

"The fact that the 10-year yield broke 2 percent again in a U.S. economy that arguably is in the best shape and fastest-growing that it's been in the entire recovery — I think that's a real disconnect," he said.

But for now investors seem to be swamped by fears. One other looming concern is where the Federal Reserve is likely to go in the months ahead.

As the U.S. economy has improved, Fed officials have gradually made clear that an interest rate increase is somewhere on the horizon. That's not likely to happen anytime soon, but it's enough to add to the market's jitters at a time when there are already plenty of things to worry about.