It’s coming! The season when mango-flavored everything gives way to pumpkin-flavored everything, and I’m not just talking about the pumpkin spice latte at the corner coffee shop—although I will indulge in at least one of those.
Just walking into a grocery store this time of year lets you know pumpkin season is upon us. Outside the door are miniature pumpkins and gourds to nestle into fall arrangements with mums and colorful corn. Inside are pumpkins for carving and pumpkins for baking—and anyone willing to remove the slimy pulp inside of the pumpkin, separate and toast the pumpkin seeds, and use the pulp in a recipe is certainly deserving of the richest pumpkin flavor imaginable.
For the rest of us, it’s Libby’s canned pumpkin to the rescue. Pumpkin pie—it’s not just for Thanksgiving anymore—and pumpkin bread are always welcome treats. Then there are pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pancakes. No wonder we fall for all things pumpkin!
Yet not everything is enhanced by pumpkin flavor. Who would want pumpkin Jell-O? And while pumpkin beer may seem seasonally appropriate, do beer drinkers really drink it? I probably won’t choose a pumpkin ice cream cone or milkshake either, even if it is the flavor of the month. (Not even pumpkin can lure me away from chocolate.) And a recipe I saw for pumpkin chai tea didn’t appeal at all.
Nothing says fall like a precariously perched pile of pumpkins, however! I even saw a whole house made out of pumpkins in Nashville last year. And not all pumpkins are orange. Decorators have discovered white pumpkins and mix them with all shapes and sizes of smaller pumpkins and gourds.
Choosing the perfect pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern is a fall tradition kids look forward to, and visiting a local pumpkin patch can be especially fun when a hayride and hot apple cider are a part of the experience.
Nope, you can’t fight it this time of year so get “pumpkined.” Put some pumpkin spice creamer in your coffee, light a pumpkin-scented candle, and pay homage to the flavor and scent of pumpkin season. It will be gone before we know it.
Better buy the canned pumpkin soon; yesterday the two stores I checked were out. Thanks, Nancy!
You’re the second person to tell me that. There must have been a pumpkin shortage! Thanks.
Thank you for reminding us that there are some things so “sacred,”
which not even Covid or calamitous politics can perturb.
Raise your mugs to pumpkin flavors! Cheers!
Amen, Alice. I’ve given up, at least temporarily, on writing anything profound. Just want to give us all a break! Thanks for reading and for commenting.
No longer baking or cooking so I’ll just have to trust my daughter to bring that pumpkin pie to the table.
Time for a gently spoken hint, Betty!! 🙂
I had to look in several grocery stores here in Texas for canned pumpkin! What is this world coming to?!
Jimmie
Someone else said the same thing, Jimmie! I have no idea why there’s a shortage. And it’s not even October yet! Hugs.
Me? I guess I’m a pumpkin, too! I just changed my Facebook profile pic to a pumpkin! LOL
LOL! You’re a pretty cute pumpkin, Jan!
Miss lovely Nancy. Loved reading your thoughts on pumpkins. Now hear this. If you can’t find canned pumpkin
anywhere, there is always The Village Inn with pies already to buy. However—better hurry. They just might run out of the pumpkin pies. So glad my favorite is strawberry-rhubarb.
Oooo…I love that pie, too! Thanks, Phyllis!
ONE pumpkin spice latte??? Your self-discipline far outweighs mine. So far, I’ve limited myself to one Starbucks per week–no promises how long I will stick to that. Hint: if pumpkin is in short supply: my mother-in-law (greatest the world has ever known!) substituted a butternut squash (perfect size for one pie) when she and her youngest son were alone. Spices are the same.
Great tip, Peggy. It appears there may indeed be a shortage.
After worrying about all the virus stuff, now I have to worry about finding Libby’s pumpkin???? Really??????? I will let you know if they have any in Knoxville………
Thanks, Helen! I didn’t know about the shortage either! Happy fall to y’all!!
When I see the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks, that is my signal to start my Christmas shopping! Because you are right, Nancy. The pumpkins will soon give way to pine wreaths and snowmen!
Before we know it, Jeanine! Great to hear from you.