I can’t think of a more comforting aroma than pumpkin and apple pie baking. It’s aromatherapy for the soul. The kitchen was a bastion of comfort and warmth for me as a child.  Regardless of what my mother was baking: gingerbread cookies, banana bread, or pumpkin and apple pie, the enticing fragrance of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves lured me across the threshold like a pied piper. And I knew I was home. Even if I’m not baking, on a cold winter’s day, I’ll simmer a large pot of water on the stove with a couple of tablespoons of these spice blends, and I’m transported back to the memories of being in the kitchen with my mother. The kitchen is, and will always be, my favorite room of the house.

Pumpkin Pie

• Ingredients:
• 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation:

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
2. Store in an airtight container.

Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 4-Tbsp ground cinnamon.
• 1 ½-tsp ground nutmeg
• ½-tsp ground allspice.
• 1-tsp ground ginger.
• 1 ½-tsp ground cardamom.

Preparation:

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
2. Store in an airtight container.