Pumpkin Spice Quotes

She wasn’t so much afraid of dying as she was of forgetting to live her life. Somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten to figure out who she was or what she wanted to be when she grew up.

Pumpkin spice is Satan’s dandruff, harbinger of the apocalypse, and it tastes like ass—not in the good way.

Somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten to figure out who she was or what she wanted to be when she grew up. She’d graduated college all shiny and optimistic about her future with her nose ring intact, and then spent the next seven years having her soul sucked out one ten-hour day at a time.

Reading was probably safer than hiking, anyway.

Somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten to figure out who she was or what she wanted to be when she grew up.

I've loved you since I saw how many tiny pumpkins you could carry in your arms.

He stopped in front of the old fence that kept Harry Styles, his rescue alpaca, safely out of the driveway.

She wasn’t so much afraid of dying as she was of forgetting to live her life.

Find a way to make pumpkin spice bourbon, and you’ll be a billionaire.

Every meal contains some hint of pumpkin spice. If I’m not ingesting pumpkin, I’m breathing it in like an addict, lining every available surface of my home with candles that smell like food. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, apple pumpkin.

Pumpkin spice is not harmless. It's a radioactive, overpowering sugar bomb that worms its way into every sort of product and is single-handedly responsible for the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal.

Jeanie Ellis had never killed a man before, but tonight might be the night.

But first, coffee.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a pumpkin spice muffin with walnuts that was as moist as anything. "It can be plain for breakfast or I can top it with cream cheese frosting. I like a muffin that can go from day to evening." I gave it to her. She sniffed it, nodded, and held it up. "How do I know you're not trying to poison me?" I wasn't expecting that question. "Ms. Morningstar, I swear, if I was going to poison you, I wouldn't ruin a perfectly fine muffin to do it.

There was history in this house. It was worn in like the perfect pair of old jeans

He didn’t have a ton of friends; he probably shouldn’t murder this one.

The past was a consumable, subject to the national preference for familiar products. And history, in America, is a dish best served plain. The first course could include a dollop of Italian in 1492, but not Spanish spice or French sauce or too much Indian corn. Nothing too filling or fancy ahead of the turkey and pumpkin pie, just the way Grandma used to cook it.

She gave him an indulgent nod and closed the door, leaving him alone and more confused than ever about where he stood with her. But already planning the next time he could see her.

She was a study in contradiction. Competent, but lost at the same time.

She smelled like vanilla spice, or pumpkin pie, or something sweet yet sinful.

The book club was going to have a field day.

It was the magic of the flannel.

She fit here. She fit with him. His heart thumped the words over and over.

And the alpaca?’ she asked, unable to hide the mirth from her voice. Logan grimaced. ‘Harry Styles.’ ‘Harry Styles?’ Jeanie shrieked with glee. ‘Amazing.

She nods her head like it’s a fact that bitches love pumpkin spice

Was she really going to do this? Was she going to have sex with a Pumpkin Spice Latte in a Starbucks?

Pumpkin Spice Lattes were just about her favorite thing in the world, right after Taylor Swift, brunch, and braids she learned about on Pinterest.

So then be basic like what everyone else likes enjoy the pumpkin spice lattes wear leggings as pants because no matter how mainstream If you like it, you like it and that's a good enough reason

right next to that would be a blissful box of wipes. I needed those fucking wipes bad, like a heroin addict needs a fix, like a fat kid needs a cupcake, like a skinny person needs a salad, like a white girl needs a pumpkin spice latte.

The minute I saw it, I thought of you. Our first kiss. The song that was playing. If you were a color, you’d be yellow. You’re my fall. My pumpkin spice. I can’t write music, Kitten, but if I could, every song I’d write would be for you.

II'm falling in love with the vibrant colors as the leaves transform, I'm falling in love with the smell of spiced pumpkin cakes, pies and cookies, I'm falling in love with the cold October rain, I'm falling in love with October again and again.

AUTUMN NIGHTS A crispy, cozy night on my wooden porch, Rustling leaves under my feet, Pinecones and pumpkin lights everywhere, A soft wool blanket in my chair, The smell of warm apple spiced candles, What a delight! I'm really falling for this October night.

There will be a cauldron of spiced hot cider, and pumpkin shortbread fingers with caramel and fudge dipping sauces as our freebies, and I've done plenty of special spooky treats. Ladies' fingers, butter cookies the shape of gnarled fingers with almond fingernails and red food coloring on the stump end. I've got meringue ghosts and cups of "graveyard pudding," a dark chocolate pudding layered with dark Oreo cookie crumbs, strewn with gummy worms, and topped with a cookie tombstone. There are chocolate tarantulas, with mini cupcake bodies and legs made out of licorice whips, sitting on spun cotton candy nests. The Pop-Tart flavors of the day are chocolate peanut butter, and pumpkin spice. The chocolate ones are in the shape of bats, and the pumpkin ones in the shape of giant candy corn with orange, yellow, and white icing. And yesterday, after finding a stash of tiny walnut-sized lady apples at the market, I made a huge batch of mini caramel apples.

½ cooked then frozen purple sweet potato ¼-inch piece of turmeric root ¾ teaspoon matcha 1 cup unsweetened soymilk 1½ teaspoons ground flaxseed 1½ teaspoons wheat germ ¼ cup frozen cranberries ½ cup frozen strawberries 3 pitted dates ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Dash of cardamom Scrub one purple sweet potato under running water, then pierce it a few times with a fork. Microwave on high until it is fork-tender. When it is cool enough to be handled, cut it in half and freeze both halves. (You’ll use half for this recipe and the other half next time you’re craving this smoothie.) Place all the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Look at this abomination,” She grinned. “No way.” “Appalling.” “Amazing, you mean.” “I do not.” “This is my new favorite restaurant.” “You haven’t even tried it yet.” “It will be spectacular.” “It will be horrific—” “What’s all that about?” “Oh.” Olive’s cheeks warmed a little. “Nothing. They just have pumpkin spice bubble tea.

He glowered at her but all she did was smile innocently. He didn't have a ton of friends; he probably shouldn't murder this one

These are chickens, right? They’re weird.’ ‘Silkie chickens,’ he said, striding toward her, a sort of shell-shocked look on his face. ‘Ooh ... fancy,’ she teased.

You made me see things I hadn’t seen before. You’ve helped me so much. I’m a different man because of you. I can never thank you enough. But you just aren’t enough for me.

Had she been relegated to an immortality of wearing the lesbian staple outfit of chunky shoes and cargo pants?

He wanted her. He wanted to keep her.

They are going to come in here all hopped up on their latest smutty book, cackling like a coven of witches. And then they’re going to want to know everything about you.

But somewhere along the way, the thrill of the city, the crowds, and the concrete had lost its allure.

This is the gayest thing we’ve ever done, by the way,” she said. “Summoning me from the afterlife to have one more long talk about our feelings.

I think maybe you’re not used to being treated right, Jeanie.’ His words landed hard. Damn.

Maybe she could be cheerful and dark, messy and competent, sunshine and rain, New Jeanie and Old Jeanie mixed together.

Making out with Logan was just the cherry on top. New Jeanie liked cherries.

Give me that pumpkin-spice-latte-loving penis; I need it.

He gets all kinds of crazy ideas in his head after we read these books.’ ‘If equal-opportunity orgasms and parity in relationships are crazy ideas, then I don’t want to be sane!

Favorites don't always have to have some complicated reason why they're our favorites. Sometimes it's just as simple as everything felt perfect. Everything just felt right.

Sapeva bene come ci si sente quando si pensa di non essere degni di amore.

It was like I’d spent my whole life staring at the moon and she’d walked in with all of her sunshine. Now I was constantly seeking out her warmth, constantly turning toward the sun.

trompe l’oeil row of lockers marked the hallway down to the Social Room, a lounge designated for the seniors, where there was a microwave for making popcorn during free periods, and a Coke machine that cost only fifty cents instead of seventy-five like the ones in the cafeteria, and a chunky black cube of a jukebox left over from the seventies and now loaded with Sir Mix-a-Lot and Smashing Pumpkins and the Spice Girls.

When her favorite coffee place on the corner was closed for a week, she could barely function. And it wasn’t for lack of caffeine. There was no shortage of coffee shops in the city, but none of them were hers. She’d been in a bad mood all week.

He loved how early it got dark, how high and hot the bonfire grew, how the whole night felt cozy and spooky at once. Like he was safe here with his grandparents and his friends, but there still might be danger lurking just beyond the glow of the fire.

Was that her future? To work and work until her heart just gave out? Gave up? Jeanie had a tendency to overthink. To over-talk. To overwork. She didn’t do rest and relaxation very well. She didn’t do calm or cool. But she was determined to try. For her health,

His smile was slow to spread over his face. As it grew, something warm slid through her belly, warming her from the inside like a pumpkin spice latte on a cool fall night. Red alert. That’s a ten-forty-two. Charming jock in progress, proceed with caution. He took her hand in his, shook it once, then let go. Very proper, very simple. And it would have stayed that way had she not looked him in the eye and seen it. Hunger, as clear as if he were a starving man looking at a T-bone. And that was the T-bone’s cue to make for the hills.

She could picture it now, a huge stack of fluffy pumpkin waffles with maple syrup and spiced cinnamon butter, the perfect breakfast for fall. Something that tasted like crisp, cool air and golden-orange leaves and bundling up in her favorite sweater. Something that tasted like home.

She grinned. ‘Logan?’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Are you going to kiss me?’ She leaned closer as she asked it and suddenly Logan didn’t give a shit about broken windows. ‘Do you want me to kiss you, Jeanie?’ His voice was a low rumble and Jeanie’s eyes fluttered closed. ‘I think it would be very helpful if you did.

The small surge of pride I felt before has gotten bigger. It's also mixed with something else now, too, though. I realize it's excitement. Sure, these people could all just be saying they want to check out Cup o' Jo and never actually make the trip, but still, it seems like something? And something is better than nothing.

In the old days (not so old, I remind myself) there would have been a celebration last night. All Hallows' Eve: a magical time; a time of secrets and of mysteries; of sachets to be sewn in red silk and hung around the house to ward off evil; of scattered salt and spiced wine and honey cakes left on the sill; of pumpkin, apples, firecrackers, and the scent of pine and woodsmoke as autumn turns and old winter takes the stage. There would have been songs and dancing round the bonfire; Anouk in greasepaint and black feathers, flitting from door to door with Pantoufle at her heels, and Rosette with her lantern and her own totem- with orange fur to match her hair- prancing and preening in her wake.

He sighed. ‘Taylor, Rihanna, Lizzo.’ He pointed to the three chickens in her lap. ‘That’s Lady Gaga and Britney over there. And this is Selena trying to climb on your head.’ ‘What?!’ The laugh that burst out of her mouth startled the chickens and they flew up in a puff of feathers. Jeanie doubled over in a fit of giggles. ‘You named your chickens after pop stars?’ she wheezed.

Spice” or “Ground Spice Mix” asked for in some recipes.  Here is an easy to make mixture.  If you want, you can substitute “Pumpkin Pie Spice” instead. Depending on the amount of preserving you plan on doing, you might want to double or triple this recipe.   INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg 2 teaspoon ground mace (optional, add 1 additional teaspoon nutmeg)

I cut our paper dinner with a pair of scissors borrowed from the front desk of the hotel. I cooked with a spice rack box of crayons – sixteen colors. I seasoned the pumpkin pie with orange crayon, and basted the turkey's crisp skin in brown. I was remorseless with my sketchbook abattoir, playing the part of carnivore just as surely as I was play-acting the role of wife. I may as well have been a wax figure in a dollhouse eating the wax-scented food.

HIGH-ALKALINE FOODS Vegetables Beets, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumbers, Kale, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Onions, Peas, Peppers, Pumpkin, Spinach, Sprouts, Wheatgrass Fruits Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Bananas, Blueberries, Cantaloupe, Cherries (sour), Grapes, Melon, Lemon, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Raspberries, Strawberries, Watermelon Protein Almonds, Chestnuts, Whey Protein Powder, Tofu Spices Cinnamon, Curry, Ginger, Mustard, Sea Salt

(Note: I realize this is horrifying. Just keep reading.) "Turn to Leviticus 20:13, because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS. It was right there in the Bible all along — and they’re out spending billions of dollars in research and testing. It’s curable — right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant." This is an American pastor openly calling for the death of all homosexuals. The anti-gay movement is now so extreme, some, (not all) call for genocide. So how about instead of Alex from Target or pumpkin spice lattes, we get this out on the media. Because this is disgusting. No one should have to be called worthless, better in death, for a problem they did not cause. AIDS did not start with homosexuals, and it's not going to end with them. The only thing that has to end is hate like this.

Loaves of fig and pepper bread, of course. But there was also lasagna cooked in miniature pumpkins, and pumpkin-seed brittle. Roasted red pepper soup, and spiced caramel potato cakes. Corn muffins and brown sugar popcorn balls and a dozen cupcakes, each with a different frosting, because what was first frost without frosting? Pear beer and clove ginger ale in dark bottles sat in the icy beverage tub. They ate well into the afternoon, and the more they ate, the more food there seemed to be. Pretzel buns and cranberry cheese and walnuts appearing, just when they thought they'd tasted everything.

... the exotic spices arriving daily from the East Indies and the Americas, the crates of sweet oranges and bitter lemons from Sicily, the apricots from Mesopotamia, the olive oil from Naples, the almonds from the Jordan valley... I have seen and smelled these delicacies at market. But does any English person know how to cook with such foods? I think back to my time in France and Italy, of all the delicacies that passed across my tongue. And then to the gardens I've seen in Tonbridge with their raised beds of sorrel, lettuce, cucumbers, marrows, pumpkins. Already the banks are starred bright with blackberries and rose hips, with damsons and sour sloes, the bloom still upon them. Trees are weighted down with green apples and yellow mottled pears and crab apples flushed pink and gold. Soon there will be fresh cobnuts in their husks, and ripe walnuts, and field mushrooms, and giant puffballs.

JUMBO GINGERBREAD NUT MUFFINS Once you try these jumbo-size, nut- and oil-rich muffins, you will appreciate how filling they are. They are made with eggs, coconut oil, almonds, and other nuts and seeds, so they are also very healthy. You can also add a schmear of cream cheese or a bit of unsweetened fruit butter for extra flavor. To fill out a lunch, add a chunk of cheese, some fresh berries or sliced fruit, or an avocado. While walnuts and pumpkin seeds are called for in the recipe to add crunch, you can substitute your choice of nut or seed, such as pecans, pistachios, or sunflower seeds. A jumbo muffin pan is used in this recipe, but a smaller muffin pan can be substituted. If a smaller pan is used, reduce baking time by about 5 minutes, though always assess doneness by inserting a wooden pick into the center of a muffin and making sure it comes out clean. If you make the smaller size, pack 2 muffins for lunch. Makes 6 4 cups almond meal/flour 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut ½ cup chopped walnuts ½ cup pumpkin seeds Sweetener equivalent to ¾ cup sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon sea salt 3 eggs ½ cup coconut oil, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup water Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place paper liners in a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan or grease the cups with coconut or other oil. In a large bowl, combine the almond meal/flour, coconut, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sweetener, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Mix well. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir in the coconut oil, vanilla, and water. Pour the egg mixture into the almond meal mixture and combine thoroughly. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Per serving (1 muffin): 893 calories, 25 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 82 g total fat, 30 g saturated fat, 12 g fiber, 333 mg sodium BRATWURST WITH BELL PEPPERS AND SAUERKRAUT Living in Milwaukee has turned me on to the flavors of German-style bratwurst, but any spicy sausage (such as Italian, chorizo, or andouille) will do just fine in this recipe. The quality of the brat or sausage makes the dish, so choose your favorite. The spices used in various sausages will vary, so I kept the spices and flavors of the sauerkraut mixture light. However, this makes the choice of bratwurst or sausage the crucial component of this dish. You can also add ground coriander, nutmeg, and

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies Sugar Cookies just got better with a little pumpkin! This recipe creates soft, chewy, lightly spicy glazed pumpkin sugar cookies that are perfect for Fall! Ingredients: 1/2 cup softened butter 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup pumpkin puree {canned pumpkin} 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 large eggs 4 cups all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg For the glaze topping: 3 cups powdered sugar 4 tablespoons water 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside. In a large bowl, stir butter, oil, pumpkin, sugars, vanilla and eggs together until incorporated and smooth. Slowly mix in all dry ingredients until completely incorporated. Scoop onto prepared baking sheet using 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop and flatten to 1/2 inch thick using the bottom of a glass. If the dough is sticking to the glass, press the bottom of the glass in granulated sugar before flattening. Bake 8-9 minutes. While cookies bake, stir all ingredients together for glaze until smooth. Once cookies are finished baking, cool 3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to cooling rack. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons glaze over each warm cookie. Let glaze harden 2-3 hours before serving. OR eat them warm with lots of runny glaze.

Pumpkin Flavor Latte Scrub   Ingredients 1 ½ cups of brown sugar 2 tablespoons of ground coffee 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin spice ¾ -1 cup of oil   Instructions  Combine all the ingredients, apart from oil Mix them together Add oil to the mixture and stir

Absolutely I’m gonna kiss you, but that’s not the endgame. There’s no game at all. The plan here, Max, is to marry you.

I am far too relaxed after the late night/early morning’s Mattress Olympics to be embarrassed about showing up at my parents’ house just in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

At the sight of the dozen assorted cupcakes, as bright and optimistic as party hats, Louise's eyes lit up. "How wonderful!" she said, clapping her hands together again. I handed her one of the red velvet cupcakes that I'd made in the old-fashioned style, using beets instead of food coloring. I'd had to scrub my fingers raw for twenty minutes to get the crimson beet stain off them, but the result was worth it: a rich chocolate cake cut with a lighter, nearly unidentifiable, earthy sweetness, and topped with cream cheese icing and a feathery cap of coconut shavings. For Ogden, I selected a Moroccan vanilla bean and pumpkin spice cupcake that I'd been developing with Halloween in mind. It was not for the faint of heart, and I saw the exact moment in Ogden's eyes that the dash of heat- courtesy of a healthy pinch of cayenne- hit his tongue, and the moment a split-second later that the sugary vanilla swept away the heat, like salve on a wound. "Oh," he said, after swallowing. He looked at me, and I could see it was his turn to be at a loss for words. I smiled. Louise, on the other hand, was half giggling, half moaning her way through a second cupcake, this time a lemonade pound cake with a layer of hot pink Swiss meringue buttercream icing curling into countless tiny waves as festive and feminine as a little girl's birthday tiara. "Exquisite!" she said, mouth full. And then, shrugging in her son's direction, her eyes twinkling. "What? I didn't eat lunch.

I know I briefly mentioned them previously, but these are some of my favorite go-to snack ideas: 1. Quality beef jerky 2. Hard boiled eggs 3. Veggie sticks 4. Tuna and veggies 5. Almond butter and apple 6.   Nut mixes (be sure to practice portion control) 7. Chicken breast 8. Cubed sweet potato with spices 9.   Canned pumpkin, vanilla protein powder, sliced almonds, chia seeds, and cinnamon (this is lower fat but stays pretty low-carb too, thanks to the pumpkin)

Pumpkin spice and baggy sweaters were everywhere even though the temperatures were volleying between the 40s and the 70s.

Pie Spice, Pumpkin or Apple YIELDS ENOUGH FOR ONE 9-INCH PIE ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 1/ 8 teaspoon allspice 1/ 8 teaspoon cardamom Combine spices.

Subway restaurants agreed to remove the “yoga mat chemical” from their bread following a petition I started.1 Kraft decided to remove artificial food dyes from their kids’ mac and cheese products after I stormed their headquarters with over 200,000 petitions.2 Chick-fil-A’s chicken went antibiotic free following my meetings with them urging them to do so.3 Anheuser-Busch and Miller-Coors both agreed to publish their ingredients for the first time in history following another of my petitions.4 I was finishing up my first book, exposing the chemicals in our food, and it was slated to be out in a few short months. I had just published an investigation into Starbucks’ famous Pumpkin Spice Latte,5 calling them out for their use of “class IV” caramel coloring (a chemical linked to cancer).6 This piece went viral, with millions of views and shares (which ultimately led to Starbucks dropping this coloring from their drinks).

Granny’s Granola Bars Serves: 10 bars 2 ripe bananas 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped into small pieces 1 cup raisins 1 cup chopped walnuts ½ cup raw sunflower seeds ¼ cup unhulled sesame seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Mash bananas to a soft consistency. Add remaining ingredients. Add a small amount of nondairy milk if needed to ease stirring. Lightly oil a 9 × 9-inch baking pan or glass dish. Pour mixture into baking dish and press to firm consistency. Bake mixture for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into bars. Wrap with aluminum foil and place in the fridge or freezer. PER SERVING: CALORIES 272; PROTEIN 7g; CARBOHYDRATE 34g; TOTAL FAT 14g; SATURATED FAT 1.5g; SODIUM 3mg; FIBER 5g; BETA-CAROTENE 15mcg; VITAMIN C 4mg; CALCIUM 63mg; IRON 5.6mg; FOLATE 37mcg; MAGNESIUM 66mg; ZINC 1mg; SELENIUM 6mcg

I was the one before the true love, which makes me a pre-love. The rehearsal love. The before true love.

Behind the counter, I placed the pre-sliced pumpkin cheesecake with caramel pecan topping into the refrigerated glass display case. My cheesecakes were a thing of beauty. The delicate, spicy ginger-cookie crust gave the bottom a nice firm bite at the end of the airy whipped cream-cheese filling. It boggled my mind as to why people only indulged in delicious pumpkin once a year. Not at our diner. You could get a cup of pumpkin-and-black-bean soup with lump crabmeat or shrimp, or a spiced pumpkin muffin, on certain days of the week throughout the year. We attempted to rotate our daily offerings to keep them fresh and desirable.

He tasted like pumpkin spice syrup, only with a sharper tang, more ginger, less sweetness. The texture was creamy, sliding down her throat like melted chocolate.

Don’t expect apologies. They are about as frequent as actual sightings of bigfoot.

The key to getting someone to open up is to meet them on their level. Find out their interests and know that you will likely find them boring.

You’ll replay a lot of conversations in your mind and dwell on lots of things you wish you would have or could have said. Try not to waste your brainpower on it.

Finally, she reached the front of the line, where a pretty girl with jet-black hair in a Starbucks uniform said, “Good morning! What can I get--” but before she could even finish, Melissa blurted out, “A VENTI PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE PLEASE EXTRA WHIPPED CREAM.

The smile she forced onto her face tugged at something inside him again. She looked so... lost. Even as she smiled and pushed the hair from her face, attempting to assure him she was fine. She clearly wasn't. And that scrambled him up even more than her constant talking. Damn it.

In the tin-covered porch Mr Chawla had constructed at the rear of the house she had set up her outdoor kitchen, spilling over into a grassy patch of ground. Here rows of pickle jars matured in the sun like an army balanced upon the stone wall; roots lay, tortured and contorted, upon a cot as they dried; and tiny wild fruit, scorned by all but the birds, lay cut open, displaying purple-stained hearts. Ginger was buried underground so as to keep it fresh; lemon and pumpkin dried on the roof; all manner of things fermented in tightly sealed tins; chilli peppers and curry leaves hung from the branches of a tree, and so did buffalo curd, dripping from a cloth on its way to becoming paneer. Newly strong with muscles, wiry and tough despite her slenderness, Kulfi sliced and pounded, ground and smashed, cut and chopped in a chaos of ingredients and dishes. ‘Cumin, quail, mustard seeds, pomelo rind,’ she muttered as she cooked. ‘Fennel, coriander, sour mango. Pandanus flour, lichen and perfumed kewra. Colocassia leaves, custard apple, winter melon, bitter gourd. Khas root, sandalwood, ash gourd, fenugreek greens. Snake-gourd, banana flowers, spider leaf, lotus root …’ She was producing meals so intricate, they were cooked sometimes with a hundred ingredients, balanced precariously within a complicated and delicate mesh of spices – marvellous triumphs of the complex and delicate art of seasoning. A single grain of one thing, a bud of another, a moist fingertip dipped lightly into a small vial and then into the bubbling pot; a thimble full, a matchbox full, a coconut shell full of dark crimson and deep violet, of dusty yellow spice, the entire concoction simmered sometimes for a day or two on coals that emitted only a glimmer of faint heat or that roared like a furnace as she fanned them with a palm leaf. The meats were beaten to silk, so spiced and fragrant they clouded the senses; the sauces were full of strange hints and dark undercurrents, leaving you on firm ground one moment, dragging you under the next. There were dishes with an aftertaste that exploded upon you and left you gasping a whole half-hour after you’d eaten them. Some that were delicate, with a haunting flavour that teased like the memory of something you’d once known but could no longer put your finger on. Pickled limes stuffed with cardamom and cumin, crepuscular creatures simmered upon the wood of a scented tree, small river fish baked in green coconuts, rice steamed with nasturtium flowers in the pale hollow of a bamboo stem, mushrooms red – and yellow-gilled, polka-dotted and striped. Desire filled Sampath as he waited for his meals. Spice-laden clouds billowed forth and the clashing cymbals of pots and pans declared the glory of the meal to come, scaring the birds from the trees about him.

Damn, how was she so perfect? So, everything he wanted?

Success. She was well on her way to being the sunshine-y café owner she dreamed of being, instead of a big bag of anxiety and murder theories.

Sorry. They’re earplugs. I thought they might help ... uh...’ Logan ran a hand down his beard, his cheeks above it pinkening, ‘... to help you sleep tonight. Before your big day.

both of the Starbucks employees moved the Pumpkin Spice Lattes up and down her body.

But then I started thinking that’s probably what people tell themselves right before the killer bursts through the door.

Jeanie had a tendency to overthink. To over-talk. To overwork. She didn’t do rest and relaxation very well.

Logan grabbed her hand and twined his fingers with hers. Warm and soft and small. Perfect.

big Jeanie smile. His heart rode a roller coaster in his chest at the sight of her.

I’m very flattered, but I’m not interested in dating anyone right now,” Melissa said in the gentlest voice she could muster. The Starbucks girl smiled. “Oh! I wasn’t trying to flirt with you...I was trying to tell you how sexy PSLs are.” And she winked again!?! “But you are super cute, come back when you’re feeling like dating someone again and we can talk then.

This witch and I had gone on one single date and I was already ready to jump her bones. Fuck. Maybe I should book the U-Haul now . . .

The cat stared up at him, clearly already missing his touch. Same, cat. Same.

because this man was the picture of autumnal bounty with his crate of vegetables and his worn, flannel shirt and thick beard.

October. Best month ever. The air was crisp. The leaves were changing colors in Central Park. And my favorite food cart on 86th Street was serving pumpkin-spice burritos.