I’ve unapologetically jumped onto the pumpkin spice bandwagon. Okay, I’ve got one apology for Jezebel.com and their completely appropriate and timely diatribe on pumpkin spice fatigue. But the rest of you don’t get one.

This ice cream is too good. With fresh grated ginger and nutmeg infusing the milk and cream along with a cinnamon stick (and ground cinnamon), it was one of the most fragrant custards I’ve ever cooked. Stirring in the pumpkin puree at the end was almost anti-climactic, although the transformation to a beautiful pale orange was all kinds of gorgeous.

I used David Lebovitz’s recipe who in turn adapted it from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco & Mindy Fox. I used pure canned pumpkin because that’s what I had in the house, and froze the rest of the can’s contents in 3/4 cup portions.

I’ve always struggled with the best way to keep myself entertained while constantly stirring a custard and I think I’ve finally hit on a winning strategy – I listen to documentaries on BBC Radio 2.

Today I listened to one called Orson Welles and the War of the Worlds: Myth or Legend? which reminded me of the year my dad, driving me home from trick-or-treating on Halloween, went along with the joke when a local radio station played it. He was all like “Oh my god – that’s not far from us!” and “What are we going to do?!”. It freaked the living hell out of me – I was just old enough to understand what they were saying, but too young to realize it was a hoax (and a very old one at that).

I miss my dad.