Here, have some "Pi"

Do you love fall? I truly do.

Although, here in Southern California, Fall is a little schizophrenic. We have very cool and blustery days and then the sun will come out and suddenly it's just a regular beach day. It even rained one day in September. We didn't know how to act, of course. We just don't know how to "do" weather.

However, the calendar moves on and with it comes Fall and Halloween and Pumpkin Carving.

It was a perfectly cool So Cal Fall afternoon. I think it was in the low-60's. (I know. Shut up.) We had a lovely relaxed day and the kids slaved over their pumpkins. Slaved, I tell you.

We even pulled out the power tools. Pumpkin Carving is serious business around here.

They carved. I cooked. Eric was stumped on what to design on his pumpkin, so he waited and sought inspiration on the web.

Meanwhile, I made a giant vat of to-die-for Picadillo. The aroma of all that Cuban food awesomeness just made them work that much harder. It was a beautiful thing.

Look at all of these amazing creations...

Still, Eric was uninspired.

I was so proud of my Pumpkin Carvers. Full disclosure here: I drew on my pumpkin with a sharpie and my crack team of Pumpkin People made the magic happen.

This is my version of Pumpkin Spice Latte. (No offense to those folks feeding their Starbucks addiction during this season. I totally get you.)

Sometime during the afternoon, they asked if I would make a pumpkin pie. Just to get into the Fall Mood, of course.

So I baked a wonderful pumpkin pie and inspiration finally hit my husband.

See what I mean?

Deliciously Simple Pumpkin Pie Recipe

• 2 cups of Pumpkin Puree (Note: this is not the same as pumpkin pie filling. It must be puree. That is all.)
• 1- 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (Note: this is not the same as evaporated milk. Again, that is all.)
• 2 eggs, plus the yolk of another egg (That's 3 eggs total. This recipe sure does have a lot of parenthetical comments, but that's not important right now.)
• 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (That's what it's called. Find it in the Spice Aisle. See? It happened again.)
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract (Use real vanilla extract. Now I'm just messing with you.)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed well)
• 1 pie crust (I like the Marie Callendar ones in the frozen food section)

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree and sweetened condensed milk.

3) Add the eggs, vanilla, spices, and brown sugar.

4) Whisk everything together until it's perfectly blended.

5) Pour into the pie crust.

6) Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then lower the oven temp to 350 degrees F and bake for another 45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Watch the crust to make sure it doesn't get too dark. You can cover lightly with foil if it looks like it's browning too quickly.

7) Cool on a rack for at least a couple of hours before serving. (It will deflate a little as it cools but that's okay.)

8) Serve alone or top with a bit of whipped cream.