Setting a place for them

In many parts of the world, the turn from October to November is when people cook for their dead.

In Ecuador, families mark Día de los Difuntos on November 2 with colada morada. It's a thick purple drink made from purple corn flour and fruit like pineapple, blackberries, and naranjilla, spiced with Cinnamon Sticks, Cloves, Allspice, and Star Anise. It comes with guaguas de pan, little loaves of bread shaped like babies.

In Guatemala, families make fiambre, a cold salad that can have dozens of ingredients, from cold cuts and cheeses to pickled vegetables and beets. It grew out of the custom of bringing loved ones their favorite foods at the cemetery. Over time, everyone's dishes ended up together in one big bowl, and every family has its own recipe.

In parts of England, people went "souling" around All Souls' Day. They knocked on doors for soul cakes, small shortbread-like cakes made with sweet spices, and offered prayers for the household's dead in return. Children eventually took it over, and it's one of the customs that grew into trick-or-treating. So the fun-size candy bars your neighbors hand out on Halloween have spiced cakes in their family tree. If you'd like to bake something in that spirit, our Bejeweled Spice Cake uses Poudre Douce, a medieval blend of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice with a little brown sugar.

In Mexico, families build ofrendas for Día de los Muertos on November 1 and 2. An ofrenda holds the foods and drinks the person loved, often alongside pan de muerto, chocolate, mole, and coffee. If you're cooking for one this year, Mole Olé is our mole blend, and our Café De Olla is made with True Cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.

My own version of all this is something I call a Supper for the Dead. Everyone brings a dish that someone they've lost would have loved, and we eat together and tell stories about them. We invite them in, we talk about them, and we feed their memory.

My dad loved Indonesian food, and he'd marinate chicken thighs for days in spices and sweet soy sauce, then serve them with fragrant rice. Indonesian Ayam is the closest thing on our shelves to what he made. It's our blend inspired by ayam goreng, Indonesian fried chicken, with turmeric, ginger, coriander, and fennel, and a Korean chile for mild heat. In our Grilled Chicken and Pineapple with Ayam Peanut Sauce, you marinate boneless chicken thighs in a peanut sauce made with Ayam, soy sauce, lime, and sambal.

Who are you cooking for this year? Tell us about them and what they loved to eat. I'd love to meet them.

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- Aubrey