Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

The air is crisp with a little frost in the mornings and pumpkins are everywhere.... Hello Fall!

I'm obsessed with pumpkin pie spice and like to use it in nontraditional ways. I'm going to post fun and easy recipes to make your home smell amazing and look spooky (in a fun way). Yes, you can hold off on cleaning this month and call the cobwebs decorations. It's the season for the dust bunnies under your bed to be superstars. After all, everything goes when it's Halloween.

How can five warm spices make the most amazing and recognizable flavor of Fall? Let's make a jar of pumpkin pie spice, you'll need:

3 Tbsp Cinnamon

2 Tsp ground ginger

2 Tsp Nutmeg

1 Tsp All Spice

1 Tsp Ground cloves

(Pinch of salt optional)

Mix the spices well and store them in an air-tight container at room temperature.

It's said that in 1621 Early American settlers of Plymouth Plantation made stewed pumpkin puree in pumpkins and cooked them in hot ashes. They added spices, honey, and milk to make their filling smooth and delicious. The settlers didn't have ovens to make a flaky crust so they used the hollowed pumpkins as their cooking vessel. Pie crusts didn't come along until much later when ovens were invented.

So don't hate this food blogger, pumpkin pie spice has been around for hundreds of years. I think a famous coffee chain may have capitalized on the spice mix and made a huge profit on their lattes.

Let's tap into our American roots and bring on the pumpkin pie spice - let's get ready to cook.