a tiny pumpkin

I baked a pumpkin pie for my family this weekend, and here is what I have to report:

1. The crust was flaky, light, crisp, and rich. Perfect.
2. The pumpkin filling didn’t set, so it was, literally, a flop. We decided it was a sort of fall pudding in a crust dessert, so we piled some fresh whipped cream on top, and ate it all up.

And, 3. I carved a cute little pumpkin out of some of the remaining pie crust and decorated the center of the pie with it. It made the pie a bit more fall fancy. For those of you interested in making your own mini pumpkin decoration for your pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, the tip is to use a knife to cut out the pumpkin and stem shapes. Then, use the knife to “draw” little curved, vertical pumpkin creases. Plop it on top of the pie, and bake it the same way you normally would.

I spent this morning searching for my old pumpkin pie recipe, which always came out of the oven firm with a nice balance of sweet and spice, and I have plans to bake a redemptive pumpkin pie this weekend.

It is a rainy and blustery morning in Massachusetts, and I am left feeling like the time between summer sandbox play and pumpkin pie season was a blurry, quick flash. At some early morning hour this weekend, I peeked outside and watched the children running outside while Tom raked the leaves. They were bundled up with red cheeks and noses, running in that quick, trying-to-get-warm kind of way. And, while, part of me is not quite ready for the early fall warm days/cool nights to be over, I am reminded of how comforting it is to feel like this moment, whatever the moment, is the right moment.

xo e