Fall, Halloween, pumpkin—three of my favorite things. The dining room centerpiece features miniature pumpkins and colorful leaves. The kitchen is now stocked with canned pumpkin, pumpkin-shaped candy, pumpkin spice coffee creamer, and jars of pumpkin butter. I’m forever grateful to the inventors of the pumpkin latte and pumpkin pie spice, even though I know they do not contain real pumpkin. They still give off a lovely fall vibe.
For Halloween celebrations, I make vats of pumpkin soup or pumpkin chili to serve to our trick-or-treating family and friends. I also bake a deeply pumpkin-y, not-too-sweet pumpkin loaf cake. This baking tradition started with a recipe for Harvest Loaf published in the Chicago Tribune food section in the early 1980s. (The recipe is also included in the 1989 edition of the Chicago Tribune Cookbook, which credits the Young Women’s Auxiliary of the Women’s Club of Evanston for the recipe.)
