Halloween magic meets the pumpkin spice latte. In this episode of the Feed Your Fire podcast, we find inspiration in the season to craft possibility and plant the seeds of abundance for our future. A story and recipe worthy of pumkin spice season that was fueled the a cultural phenomenon.
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Feed Your Fire Podcast Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to Feed Your Fire. I'm your host, Kim Baker. Halloween is upon us, and that brings a certain magic to the air. In addition to the crazy costumes and the candy, the hayrides and pumpkin picking are part of its celebration of the harvest, a setting of the stage for abundance. And in today's episode, we're cracking the code to finding opportunity, not with prophecy, but with foresight. And we're going to do that as we lean into the season—pumpkin spice season, that is. We're bringing the cake, you bring the coffee.
Years ago, I went to this party on Halloween at my friend Lauren's house. Her birthday is on Halloween, and so a bunch of us were gathering to celebrate her. And I remember, my husband at the time asked if people were dressing up. And I shrugged, “Of course they are, it's Halloween”. So we rounded up some costumes, and we went over to her house. And when we got there, not only was no one else dressed up, but her entire family was there. And he was dressed as a rock star, and I was his sex kitten groupie. Complete with leather pants, a red bra over my outfit, and a whip.
Now, this story is hilarious, but it's also an example of the situations we can find ourselves in when we don't have the foresight to imagine all potential scenarios. The good news is that these experiences are rarely replicated. We learn from them in hindsight, and they become part of our database of knowledge. That we use to make better decisions in the future.
But I think this idea of foresight is really interesting. There's this protective element to it that helps us avoid situations like the one I found myself in. But it goes well beyond survival. It's one of the secret ingredients to having a successful, fulfilling life. Most of the people that we know that have achieved great things, they aren't just smart, they had foresight.
In fact, the pumpkin spice latte, that's the inspiration for this Feed Your Fire episode, is a testament of that. The drink, released by Starbucks over 20 years ago, set off what's now a national obsession. The company noticed signals. Their limited time winter drinks were selling really well. They knew how much people loved the fall, with the seasonal aromas of pumpkin spice creating a sense of comfort. So, they created a series of drinks, one of which was the pumpkin spice latte. And then the marketing engine catapulted PSL into a real life phenomenon, complete with its own social media handle.
Now, here's the thing about foresight. It doesn't guarantee outcomes. It simply guarantees opportunity. And it requires three things. The first is that we're paying attention. We need to be able to pick up on signals. This is a blend of perception and intuition, because those signals can be really subtle.
The next step is analysis. We've got to do the work of thinking through impact. And then lastly, we need to plan. We need to ready ourself for those scenarios and create the infrastructure in our lives to reach that vision.
I started taking this photography class, mostly because for years, I've wanted to learn how to use my brother's camera. And one of the most unexpected benefits of this class is the way it's enhanced my perception. In my search for the shot, I've noticed more of my surroundings and the story that could be told from a single frame.
What are some unexpected sources of insight for you?
Today, we're gonna draw inspiration from the foresight behind the cult phenomenon with a pumpkin spice crumb cake that seriously levels up the idea of trick-or-treat.
So the first thing we're gonna do is prepare our crumb topping. In a small bowl, combine ¾ cup of old-fashioned oats with a half a cup of flour. Add in a pinch of salt. You can go ahead and season these crumbs with an off-the-shelf pumpkin spice mixture. I actually didn't have any, so I made my own. And I like it much better than the traditional. I used a little bit of cinnamon, some freshly ground nutmeg, a pinch of ground ginger, and some cardamom seeds that I just crushed up with a knife.
Add a quarter cup of brown sugar and a half a cup of melted butter. Mix all of that up really well, and then set it aside.
To make the cake, I use a stick of butter, and I cream that with a half a cup of white sugar and a half a cup of brown sugar in a mixing bowl. I use the paddle attachment, and just let that go to town. Then add in two eggs one at a time, and a cup of canned pureed pumpkin.
Now, before I add my pumpkin in, I dry it with a paper towel. I know, that sounds really weird, but I like not having all of that water in the batter. Once that's all blended up, add about two tablespoons of molasses and a teaspoon of vanilla.
I had planned to add a quarter cup of sour cream, but I was actually out of it. So I made a version of my own, using a quarter cup of heavy cream and a splash of lemon juice.
Once we've got all those wet ingredients going, we're gonna add in the dry. In a small bowl, combine a cup of flour, one and a quarter teaspoons of baking soda, a pinch of salt, and those very same spices that we added to the crumb topping—cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom. Cardamom has a beautiful flavor, but it's strong, so use it sparingly.
Once you've combined all those dry ingredients, add it into your mixing bowl, and let everything incorporate. We're gonna pour that batter into a greased 8x8 pan. Smooth it out, and then add on that crumb topping. Bake it for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees, and if you can resist, let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes.
This cake is so good, it might forever alter the balance of power in the PSL ecosystem.
The irony of two recipe improvisations in an episode about foresight is not lost on me. But foresight isn't about having perfect provisions. Our lives are not a simulation. We have to navigate various circumstances. And having foresight means accounting for those constraints. And there's a resourcefulness to it, a readiness for various scenarios. And with this recipe, we didn't just meet that challenge head on. We crushed it.
The other day, I met a friend for coffee. Randy is a professor at the University of Richmond. And in our conversation about the business landscape and artificial intelligence, Randy made a comment that I loved. And it was about the power of not just knowing what's probable, but knowing what's possible. And with foresight, we get a glimpse into both.
Foresight is fundamentally based on systems thinking, the idea that nothing happens in isolation. There are interdependencies and things that influence outcomes. And at its core, the human experience is unpredictable. It's like walking into a Halloween party and being the only one in costume. The probability of that seems pretty low. So let's set our sights, not just on what's probable, but on what's possible.
And as we come to a close on this harvest season, let's take a moment to reflect on what we want to grow in our lives. How can we ready ourselves and our environment for that? What seeds do we need to plant? And what do we need to do to protect that vision? Not from the horrors of a Halloween haunt, but from all of the forces that could come up against it.
And if you find yourself coming up dry, grab a cup of coffee and find what brings you comfort. And perhaps in that space, you'll figure out exactly what you want to cultivate.
Until our next episode, I say so long.
Feed your fire, where food nourishes growth.