Hints of Fall?

Something funny happens when the heat of summer gives just enough to take a cool morning breath. You start to see little glimpses of maple leaves loosing their vibrant green and their tips starting to turn hues of orange. And, even though you were sitting in sweltering heat just a week ago, pumpkin starts rustling through everything like a swift wind.

Don't get me wrong, I like pumpkin. But its one of those things that we as bakers (or coffee makers, or seasonal shops, or really any maker or retailer) become somewhat obsessed with when we're first starting out in a craft. Like, really obsessed. I think its some kind of early milestone for everyone picking up a spatula come fall. Day one of learning to bake, cream butter. Day two, mix pumpkin puree in baked things. I'm kidding and exaggerating (kind of).

Pumpkin is wonderful. It is, in essence, the very color of early fall. Which is about the time Mr. Amazing's pumpkin vines have crawled over yards and yards of garden beds, and grass, and sidewalk (if you've ever planted pumpkins in your garden, you know what I'm talking about). And its flesh is a perfect palette for all the fall spices we've grown to love. But sometime in the years (I'm refusing to count) since I first learned to cream butter, I started yearning for something... more. After all, do you know how many wonderful things are harvested in fall?

Let's find out.

Hints of fall are blooming in our first September menu of the year, with a celebration of new harvests and the traditionally loved hints of seasonal cinnamon. But we're opening our harvest celebrations and freshly grated and ground spice cabinet wider, to fully celebrate fall and bring in some surprising new flavors and unexpected pairings.

Yes, the glory of fall pumpkin will come. Don't fret pumpkin lovers. It will just be part of a new fall journey, in due part, in our love of the first cool morning breezes and turning leaves.

Happy, very early, fall. See you soon!