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October is here and, with it, some of my favorite images and foods of the year... ;)

I love fall leaves, and though the trees have only just begun changing in my part of the world, I'm looking forward to later this month when the roads will be lined with trees tinged red, orange, and gold.

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And I love pumpkin-spiced chai tea lattes... They're warm, sweet, deliciously scented, and they just make me happy. I want to share the joy, so here is a recipe for a homemade version that I recently tried, and I hope you'll like it, too:

Makes 2 Servings

1 teabag of spiced chai
1 cup 2% or whole milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or use a combination of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves)
4 tablespoons puréed pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup
A few swirls of whipped cream (optional)
A dash of cinnamon for garnish

Boil 1 cup of water in a saucepan, add in the teabag and let it steep for 5 minutes. Remove teabag. Add the milk, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and puréed pumpkin to the pan. Mix well by hand (or put it all in the blender for a minute). Then pour it back into the pan and warm it up on the stove top. Divide between two mugs. Swirl some whipped cream on top (if desired) and add a dash of cinnamon to each. Enjoy!!

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