If you're looking for seasonal cooking inspiration, do check out neighbor Naomi Donabedian's Cantaloupe Alone, whose "piparkakut" recipe got a writeup this week the New York Times:
Another recipe that was given high marks was piparkakut, a Finnish cookie that incorporates cloves, black pepper, cardamom, ginger powder and orange zest. It was sent in by Naomi Donabedian, 29, a graphic designer in Brooklyn who wrote of the “big 3D flavor” imparted by grinding cardamom to order. It is a cookie that is more fun than it ought to be, given its dainty profile and crisp bite.
She offered several tips along with her original submission, among them the warning that these cookies, thin as they are, crack easily. “Broken reindeer piparkakut taste the same as whole, but be aware these will not ship as well as other cookies,” she wrote. To avoid this fate, Ms. Donabedian recommends using simpler shapes: snowmen, hearts and circular cookies with scalloped edges are sturdier.