Craving pumpkin pie

Some people have an insatiable desire for chocolate. Or ice cream, of one flavor or another. Perhaps a martini? My insatiable desire is for pumpkin pie. For some reason it is one of my very favorite desserts, although I’m not certain when our affair developed.

Often cookbooks are divided by seasons, understanding our tastes change with the weather. Potato salad doesn’t seem as appealing when the weather dips down into the teens, as a baked potato, steaming and covered with melted butter and a dash of salt and pepper. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding are designed for December. It’s difficult to think about eating such a dish wearing a bathing suit or a light, summer frock. Pumpkin pie goes perfectly with the autumn season.

This week we celebrated Indigenous People’s Day as a national holiday. According to my research South Dakota was probably the first state to have officially recognized the day (as Native Americans’ Day), in 1990. Three other states, Alaska, Oregon, and Vermont officially established the day as a holiday while other states recognized it through proclamations. Cities that were early adopters were Berkeley, California, Seattle, Washington and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, we read about the “three sisters.”

“I hold in my hand the genius of Indigenous agriculture, the Three Sisters. Together these plants — corn, beans, and squash — feed the people, feed the land, and feed our imaginations, telling us how we might live.” Pumpkin is considered a squash and Dr. Kimmerer writes that “squash and pumpkin take their time — they are the slow sister.”

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. The transformation of the landscape into a dazzling palette: brilliant reds; alluring yellows; regal golds, among the various green fir trees. Nothing is as beautiful as driving through the mountains when the trees have changed into their autumn hues.

I also love driving on back roads during pumpkin season, admiring the orange-colored gourds that appear on the lawn of farmhouses, under the shadow of colorful maple trees.

This weekend Laconia celebrates the Pumpkin Festival and as you can imagine, for someone with an insatiable desire for pumpkin pie, one of my favorite events. This year I might even make pumpkin soup and roast the seeds. Would love to know about your favorite pumpkin recipe.

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Listen to Elizabeth on the Short Fuse Podcast (found on Apple or Spotify), follow her on Instagram at elizh24 or send her a note at: elizabeth@laconiadailysun.com She is an author and journalist. Her books include Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back, a book she edited (Easton Studio Press, 2015), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David R. Godinez, 2015), Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011).

Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, published by Milkweed Editions, 2013.