Spice Girl

There is no pumpkin pie here tonight. There is only the promise of pumpkin pie. There is no whipped cream for either circumstance.

It seems to be that if you’re making a pie from the original vegetable, it’s going to take two days – one day to roast the pumpkin and another day to scrape out the cooked pumpkin, puree it, and make the actual pumpkin pie. It’s not a process to be rushed.

I bought a small jar of pumpkin pie spice from Penzeys this morning, along with a small jar of dried lemon peel. I don’t need either of them. We have so many spices, we are thinking of adding on to our kitchen. But Penzeys, led by the quite amazing and brave Bill Penzey, announced in a half-page ad in this morning’s paper that he was giving away sample packets of his new spice blend, “Outrage.” In this case, the free packet of his blend of black and red pepper, onion and garlic, and other great spices carries his analysis of all that is wrong with Republicans, starting with most of them being election deniers.

So, I could hardly drive across town to get my free packet of Outrage without buying something – hence, the pumpkin pie spice.

I will make the pie tomorrow.

Today I made collards with a smoked turkey wing. I used a fair amount of Outrage along with Penzeys’ other famous spice blend, Justice! Trust me, Penzeys has everyday things like oregano and cinnamon and French thyme. I am just loving them right now for their uppity spices.

“Would you like a free mug?” the cashier asked.

“Does anyone say no to a free mug?” I asked.

“Yes. Some people say they have too many mugs already.”

I don’t have too many mugs. I have no mugs that say Choose Love. Until now.