Welcome to back Ask Avery! I'm Avery, and I'm here to listen and help with anything and everything! Please feel free to write to me at AskAvery@pietrap.com and perhaps you'll be featured in my next article. Also maybe join our Discord?
I took a brief sabbatical to focus on home improvement... And for mental health reasons, if I'll be honest. We've got a lot of new people moving into town, and it's become a lot more lively than I'm accustomed to. But we all have to be adaptable in order to move through the world. That's why I chose this question to mark my return to the blog.
Dear Avery: It's almost October, so WHY IS IT STILL SO FREAKING HOT OUTSIDE AND WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT IT? signed Hot in Houston. |
Dear Houston,
I can only assume by your name that you're living in the South. You don't need me to tell you that some places start getting crisp weather sooner than others, but the end of October is generally when things cool down in your area! So I hope by the time you read this you'll have some relief.
You are not the first victim of the "False Fall."
"False fall" is a term used to describe a period of cooler weather that follows an unusually warm period.
September is the worst offender, isn't it? Just like you, I had a brief window of time where it was the perfect temperature to wear my new sweater. I spent all Spring and Summer crafting it, and I was extremely excited to take it for a spin, like a kid with a new bicycle. :)
Unfortunately the good weather didn't even last for one day. By the time afternoon rolled around I was sweating dark patches onto it.
I can't lie, I was frustrated.
Your message was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but in the interest of trying to be productive about our feelings, I'm going to share how I've been dealing with the weather, and hopefully you will find it helpful.
First off we need to follow the golden rule: Stay Hydrated. Buy an insulated water bottle, keep it filled with iced water, and slap some fall-themed stickers on it. (This feeds two birds with one scone for me. I always get paralyzed with choices when I try to decide where to put my stickers.)
Secondly, the muggy weather can't stop you from enjoying Pumpkin Spice. Fall is going to have to be a state of mind more than anything else, and we're going to do that together until things finally cool down. In the interest of making your life easier I absolutely recommend buying pumpkin pie spice blends premade at the grocery store. But I think they go too heavy on the nutmeg and I'm simply not a fan. So I mix together a jar of my own to add to everything.
4 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
4 tbsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Ground Clove
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
....That's it! Well, almost.
I also grind in a small bit of fresh black pepper. That isn't common in most pre-made pumpkin spice mixes. But the spices used in a PSL are fairly similar to a chai, so I found myself doing it on instinct and quickly became obsessed with the result. Other blends also use Allspice, but I can take it or leave it.
I highly encourage you to fiddle with the ratio until you find one that's perfect for you!
Now that you have your own jar of Pumpkin Spice blend, you can scoop some into a tea bag with black tea, to create a simple syrup to add to your cold brew, or of course to use in baking.
If you make a mug of "American Chai" please let me know!
I'll be hanging around the Forage Friends Discord soon and will be taking questions there soon. I hope to see you all there.
(Also, my friend Desmond will be sharing more recipes shortly. We hope you enjoy.)
Sincerely,
Avery
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