Good Scent in Your Hands

Being with my family, reflecting on God's goodness and baking comprises the warm feeling Thanksgiving gives me. We started baking today, my mom and I. She made a pecan and an apple pie, I made pumpkin. We'll do most of the cooking tomorrow but baking pies the day before Thanksgiving is my favorite part.

Tomorrow we will be caught up in a cyclone of peeling, braising, chopping, mashing and kneading. Worrying about the internal temperature of turkeys. But today we enjoy the sunlight drenching the room and the rising and falling of Sarah Brightman's voice. Hot pumpkin seeds crackle in the cook stove. The scent of simmering apples and wood smoke spreads through the house.

My hands smell like pumpkin, freshly ground ginger and cinnamon, reminding me of this quote:

"When my grandmother cooked there was no measuring spoon or anything--it was all measured with the hand... She would use her hands to throw in the salt, even. She would say that when you spice food, use your hands so that it carries the scent on your fingers. And when a woman cooks well, they don't say, 'You are a good cook,' they say 'You have a good scent in your hands.'"

Shoba Narayan

I heart this recipe, btw.