How To Carve A Mini Sweet Pepper Into A Jack O'Lantern

First, you need a mini sweet orange pepper. And a smallish knife. The only one I have is a paring knife, and its blade is a bit big for this use. If you have a scalpel dedicated to food, that would be much better! However, I have found that the serrations can sometimes come in handy when carving foods with a tough skin.

Poke the knife in where you want the eye to be, and push down just enough to make the length of the triangle which you desire. Luckily, triangle shaped eyes are desired here, since this is the easiest shape to cut. Follow with the other 2 cuts, and push the triangle into the pepper with a toothpick. Repeat for the other eye.

The nose is an upside-down triangle, and ideally should be smaller than the eyes. This can be hard to do, so if it comes out bigger than the eyes, it's okay! Alternatively, you may go back and make the eyes bigger if you like. The mouth is by far the hardest part. Unfortunately, there is only me to cut and take photos, and I can't do both! So this is the only "process" photo you will see. Here, the serrations help to "saw" slowly at the pepper so that you may proceed more deliberately. Push the cutout pepper pieces into the pepper. Turn the knife at the obvious points whenever you would like to make a tooth. If it's your first time, I would suggest a single upper tooth. Don't worry, it will look cute like that! Try to go slowly to avoid dental accidents :)

When you finish, he should look like this! As you can see, mine is messy, but it's okay. I've been told crooked teeth denote character. If you like, you could cut the pepper under the face to make it more pumpkin-like.

And look! How cute is that. :) See him at work in this cute bento!