I doubt anyone will be surprised to hear the team at Swerve thinks about baking a lot. Certainly not a day goes by without someone sharing their latest cookie creation or coming up with some (usually) inspired idea.

This impulse that thrives among us has led to many sugar free triumphs (most recently raspberry cheesecake muffins) seems to reach a fever pitch around this time of year. A combination of cool weather and a parade of eating holidays means it would be almost unnatural not to think about baking every waking minute, right?

This year we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying an amazing vegan pumpkin bread made by Ali, aka the Healthy Hostess (www.thehealthyhostess.com) and Kim Stewart’s mouthwatering banana coconut cake (www.eatingbetweenthelines.net) and we’re only just into November.

The topic of debate currently, is the ‘best’ pie for thanksgiving. My immediate response to that is that the word pie in reference to thanksgiving should never be singular but if I had to nominate one, I’d say apple pie.

I’m blessed to spend every thanksgiving in the same house, hosted by in-laws. It’s always the same core group of family and friends supplemented by a wonderful revolving door cast of friends, neighbors, travelers and dates. With such a large group, there are always at least four pies, apple, pumpkin, pecan and a cream pie and typically multiples of each. Every single one is without fail, amazing but it’s always the apple pie that is finished first and is to my mind, the most evocative.

My favorite apple pie is made by an elderly family member with apples from her own orchard and the best thing is the way she manages to bring subtle variations without changing the overall character of the pie. Whether it’s a slightly different balance of spices, a handful of berries or a crisscross of frosting, each year her pie manages to be a familiar and comforting as an old sweater but new and exciting at the same time.

It’s a great trick and the first thing I always think about when I start thinking about holiday baking. I’d love to share the recipe but do you think she’ll tell me? Not in a million years. It’ll be sad when the day comes that her pies aren’t part of our thanksgiving anymore but all the more reason to head to the kitchen and start working on new traditions.

It’s strange the way in a lot of ways it’s morphed from a kid’s holiday to an adult holiday while maintaining all the same characteristics. I live in a neighborhood with very few kids, the last two years; we haven’t seen a single trick-or-treater (although several nearby streets and areas have organized events which may draw any kids that are around) but still, every house is decorated, the folks I’ve talked to have already over-indulged in candy while watching scary movie marathons and sitting on the front porch on Saturday evening, I was passed by 30-40 people over the age of 21 (mostly WELL over 21) and an unscientific 80% of them were in costume.

While the grown-up and childless seem to celebrate Christmas with a sense of nostalgia, Halloween seems to be more about regressing than reminiscing.

So, what to make of all this? Nothing really. All things evolve in their own way. Me personally, I had nowhere to go so the traffic jams didn’t bother me. I have a well-insulated house so the 24-hour parties in the neighborhood didn’t keep me awake and no one smashed my car windows in (as happened to a friend of mine). My only complaint is that I’ve learned there’s no point in spending hours intricately carving a pumpkin to put on display as it will inevitably be stolen or turned into pumpkin mush on the street by passing revelers.

In the Swerve household, we’re saving our festivities for tonight. A few kid’s events with family and friends followed by a sampling of the sugar free Halloween treats cooked up in the test kitchen by our wonderful beta bakers. That for me means a very happy and safe Halloween and I wish the same to you.

When did that happen? I don’t know about you, but in the world of Swerve, time seems to have a mind of its own. Sure, it slows down in dentist waiting rooms and while waiting for water to boil, but when it comes to getting things done, all bets are off.

I’m not anti-Monday in the traditional sense – sure, it’s not my favorite day of the week but I can drag myself out of bed with minimal effort most days. What I don’t like about Mondays is the sense of deadlines come and gone. Almost every task I assign to myself, I say I’ll get done by the end of the week then all of a sudden it’s 10pm on Sunday night and the ironing isn’t done, the knife that fell down behind the stove is still there and I’m congratulating myself solely for getting the household fed and (mostly) groomed.

I can’t be alone in this, can I? It seems that everyone I meet is a domestic doyen, with a weekly list of culinary credits to shame my own and a home ready for a disinfectant commercial, then again, these same braggers always seem to have a sense of neurosis around them as if a speck of dust or a rogue pet hair will send them over the edge.

If I’m honest, I like that my house feels like a home and if the price to pay for that is maybe never seeing the knife behind the stove ever again, I’m ok with that. I know I’d rather come home to the smell of fresh baked cookies than the smell of bleach.