Here We Go Again

So it's that time of year again, and the Kitchen sisters are, no doubt, about to gorge themselves on all things pumpkin. October 8th and I'll I've had thus far was an unremarkable but delicious pumpkin latté from what I believe was Seattle's Best Coffee.

Did make it to Cost Plus World Market, where there are so many pumpkin treats it boggles the mind. Here's a list of the things I need to get my hands on this season:

• Pumpkin frozen yogurt from Yogurtland.
• Pumpkin gelato from the G Spot.
• Pumpkin milkshake from Jack in the Box.
• Pumpkin smoothie from Jamba Juice.

And, also, I've got to make a pumpkin pie.

I don't know how I can much follow up Emma's last post with something as banal as what I'm about to review, but I will start by saying that I, too, visited a pumpkin patch this last Friday with friends and had a great time. There was a corn maze (both regular and haunted), carnival rides, petting zoo, pig races, train ride, pumpkin picking, live music and delicious chili-chicken-pulled-pork dinners. Since I was broke enough as-is, I did not pick up a pumpkin (my roommate, Liz, got a small one from the grocery store before we even entered October, so we've got that one and a bowl of candy to keep us cheery).

Because we did not find any pumpkiny treats at Schnepf Farms (out in Queen Creek, Arizona), we stopped on our way home at - brace yourself - Whataburger. I abhor Whataburger. It's one of those fast food chains that is so awful I can't even imagine eating there if I was a totally shit-canned drunk homeless person. Chris, however, is homeless, poor, and usually completely obliterated, so he knows all about this inglorious offence against fast food. We stopped in for seasonal Whataburger "pumpkin pies," which are a lot like the McDonald's apple pies but with pumpkin filling.

No lie - these things are the SHIT. And for $.99, a good deal to boot. While the outside is crispy and fried and makes me want to die of a heart attack just by thinking about it, the filling was not fake and disgusting like I would have expected. It was almost like a pumpkin pureé: not too thick, a rich orange color, not overwhelmed with spices. It was sweet but, like Emma likes to say, a bit "vegetable-y." And burning-lava hot, too!

I really liked this treat. It was well-balanced, cheap, fast and, most importantly, pumpkin! I probably won't stop in Whataburger again any time soon, but I can say that I'm glad I did in this instance.

Edit: Teresa Gubbins over at Pegasus News also loves the Whataburger pumpkin pie! She notes that:

"But it did not fulfill my negative expectations about what a fried pie would be -- i.e., greasy and overly sweet. The crust was firm yet flaky, and seemed to be utterly greaseless (though its cardboard container sported an oily residue, so obviously that impression was deceptive). Also excellent: the filling, which was not just some generic sweetened puree flavored with cinnamon and cloves but was instead noticeably pumpkiny, and not all that sweet."

She also notes that this is probably due to the fact that the first ingredient in this is actually real pumpkin! I don't know why that's surprising, but I guess I figured it would be food starch or another additive. As Gubbins says: "Bravo, Whataburger!"

Cooking Pumpkin

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me, becase it involved trying something totally and completely new. I finally got the time to cook up the sugar pumpkin I got from La Familia Ranch (which I posted a review of a week or so ago) after it had been sitting on my desk just staring at me, begging me to slice into it and unravel the wonderful possibilities of fresh, non-canned pumpkin.

Cooking it was easy enough, cut the top off, scoop out as much of the seeds and stringy guts as possible (save the seeds! For the love of God, save the seeds!) and then cut the entire thing in half. My pumpkin didn't look like much, and I wish I had remembered t document this entire process with pictures, but I was with a friend and I don't think he woul have understood excessive picture-taking, I was already being weird enough yanking out all the guts with my bare hands. Anyways, after you get the pumpkin cleaned out, simply place both halves cut-side down in a large baking tray. The pumpkin will leak some juice, so I'd advise against a cookie sheet to prevent overflow. Stick that in a 375 degree oven for about an hour until tender.

When the pumpkin came out, the shell was a nice, dark orange and a little crispy, but the interior was exactly like a cooked acorn squash, somewhat stringy with some very soft parts. We stuck the baking tray in the freezer to cool it cook, but in the meantime we got to work on the seeds. Rinse them in cold water and remove any of the pumpkin that stuck to them. Coat them lightly (or heavily) in vegetable oil and spread out on a cookie sheet. From here you can do whatever you want, we choose to sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, but I have a feeling cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or even cayenne pepper would be a nice addition. Make sure you get a nice even lyer and put them into an oven at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes. They should have a litle bit more color but not a whole lot.

Even with just salt, these things were amazing, crispy and crunchy and easy to grab a handful and pop into your mouth like popcorn. I'd only had the store-bought pumpkin seeds and I remember the shell being exceptionally hard to chew, so much so that I tended just to snap the shells and eat the seeds like sunflowers, but these bad boys were so easy to eat it was amazing. I wish they had canned seeds that I could roast myself, because I don't think I'd ever get tired of the possible flavor combinations and how easy these were to make.

After the seeds came out, we pulled out the pumpkin halves and scooped out the rind and piled it into a bowl. Now....what to do with it... We ended up making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Be warned, these do taste like pumpkin, but not the kind we're used to from the can. It's a lot more subtle and a lot more vegetable-tasting, but in my opinion just as good. We probably got about 2-3 cups of pumpkin, and since our recipe only called for 1 cup of the canned stuff, I had plenty left over. I was a bit concerned that the consistency of our pumpkin would be different from the canned stuff and throw off the recipe, but we did a drect substitution and it worked out marvelously.

All-in-all, I couldn't be more pleased with this experiment in pumpkin cookery, it takes a little while but is completely worth it, especially if you have a friend to help. Plus, with the pumpkin shortage and my inability to find canned pumpkin (I did! But that's another story), this is probably your best bet to compensate for the canned stuff.

Woo! Two in a row for Delen!

I should be staggering these, but I can't wait that long. My memory is that of a goldfish. I've been going to a cute coffee shop I discovered (called "The Coffee Shop"), and the other morning I spotted a homemade pumpkin scone or streudel or somesuch delicious-looking nonsense topped with maple icing. Probably a much better version of the fakey pumpkin streudels floating around out there.

I had fully intended to try it when I came back with my girlfriends later that day, but, alas, their pastries had changed! (Testament to their homemade-ness, no doubt). But they had replaced it with something even more interesting: a homemade pumpkin whoopie pie! Now, whoopie pies (along with moon pies, and any other sort of pie-named item that isn't actually a pie) are not something I am familiar with, being from the Northwest. The closest I can imagine is an Oreo Cakester, which I have never been brave enough to consume.

Apparently, however, pumpkin whoopies (I felt like a little kid saying a dirty word when I ordered one) are a pretty popular thing! This one was thin and wide and soft, falling apart in my fingers. As I gather, they are meant to be thick and fluffy, like cake. But it was still amazingly delicious. There was a sort of creamcheese frosting filling that was marshmallow in it's texture. It was surprisingly light and not too filling. It was easy to break off pieces and eat while carrying on a conversation - something I don't imagine would be possible if I had to use two hands to consume it like a hamburger.

Over all, delicious and definitely something I would consider again.

It's a sad fact of life that most pumpkin products out there are rather nutritionally devoid of anything good for me, despite the health benefits of the garden pumpkin itself. I justify eating these things in a) the name of science and b) because it's October! Unfortunately, I know it won't stop until after New Year's has passed.

With that said, I broke down and purchased some Einstein's Pumpkin Bagel Poppers. This is the sort of stuff that I would regularly never eat. Last year, I came to the realization that the Einstein's pumpkin bagel, which was probably my only hope for some "healthy pumpkin snackage," was actually quite bland (and also, that bagels are probably the worst snack item out there).

The poppers, however, did not disappoint, at least flavor-wise. They were coated in pumpkin shmear, which is a pumpkiny cream-cheese frosting. In the picture posted in the window, it clung to the outside of the pumpkin bagel balls as if they had been iced, like miniature birthday cakes. In the 110-degree reality of Arizona, however, they were sticky, sugary messes that I felt embarassed to eat in front of anyone. The corn syrup had puddled at the bottom of the cup and separated from the cream, a bizarre and unappetizing orange slurry.

Despite these issues, the poppers were edible and a bit addictive. I can say that I won't be having them again, but I would recommend them to someone who might enjoy them in a somewhat cooler climate.

This post was due yesterday, actually, but blogspot had some sort of malfunction and wouldn't let me log on, so this post is less of an inspiration and more of an "I better get it done." Luckily, this is perhaps one of the most accessible pumpkin products I've found, meaning that it's not confined just to SLO.

A few days ago (or a few weeks?) we were driving around looking for some late-night food and we happened to just barely catch Jack in the Box before it closed. I personally had never been a fan of the place, but I reluctantly went along with my friends. As is common of most pumpkin finds, this one was completely unexpected. I had no idea ol' Jack had a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake! I didn't expect much from this, considering it was from a fast food place, and not even a chain I liked. It came with a big pile of whipped cream on top and a shiny red cherry. Bing! Bonus points in my book, I'm a sucker for cherries and whipped cream, even though I'll admit, the cherry was a little weird with the pumpkin, but that's just how all their milkshakes come.


The milkshake was fairly thick, not the watered-down stuff you usually get from fast food, and it had all the pumpkin flavor I was looking for. The spices were strong but not overpowering and the pumpkin wasn't artificial or chemically, which I was kind of expecting, since obviously whatever it's made out of is mostly corn syrup. I got the smaller size and that was about perfect, it felt far too fattening for me, and even though it was delicious, it was a bit of a struggle to finish off. It tasted good, but it didn't taste fresh. However, as far as fast-food goes, I'm going to give it an A+, it's the perfect thing to hold over a pumpkin craving at 1 in the morning.

Hello, faithful followers (who are we kidding - we're the only ones who read this, aren't we?). Apologies for letting Emma hog the spotlight this last week - must be all that pumpkin beer I've been drinking!

In truth, I was at a party this last Friday where not one, but two invitees showed up with different pumpkin six-packs! I've been on my girlfriend Jennifer to pick me up a case of this stuff, but she isn't a drinker and doesn't condone my alcoholic tendencies. In any case, the folks in question (Nechama and Brendan) quickly became my heroes for the evening.

Nechama showed up with the infamous Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale. The case and bottle are enticing, with fall colors and a gleefully grinning, pumpkin-headed scarecrow that seems to be a foreshadowing of all the mischief you are about to get into.

Now, perhaps it's because I'm not a beer person, or perhaps this beer really was just rebranded Michelob, but it tasted just like the bottles of Budweiser that I have rejected time and again. I tried to imagine a rich undertone of carmel, and maybe there was an aftertaste of clove, but I passed the bottle off after less than half because it was, to me, just another disgusting bottle of beer.

Brendan showed up later with what I think might have been Shipyard's Pumpkin Lager, but, honestly, I had graduated from beer hours ago and don't much remember it, save for that pungently, repulsively beery flavor.

The next two pumpkin treats were pleasant surprises - the pumpkin gelato from The G-Spot in Scottsdale, which I had last year and which is incredibly, almost unbearably rich. It is smooth, creamy and cool, overwhelmingly pungent and delicious as it melts on your tongue. It's lusciousness tempts you to eat an entire scoop: I was too full to put up a fight.

The second was another frozen delight: Great Pumpkin frozen yogurt from Mojo Yogurt in Tempe. As I approached, I could only imagine that they had created such a concoction. Lo and behold! Without so much as a taste-test, I loaded my cup. Then came the long, arduous decision of toppings. Graham cracker crust was a straightforward decision. Since this was my lunch, and I couldn't imagine the spiraling pile of pastel orange was exactly nutritionally valuable, I threw on some sliced almonds and strawberries.

The yogurt, to me, was one of the best pumpkin treats I've had in a while. Sweet, but not too much so - it tastes like liquefied pumpkin cheesecake, and is just a bit tart. I would have had the same problem as with the gelato had it not been for the refreshing coolness of the strawberries, which tempered the flavor of the yogurt. Pumpkin is delicious, no doubt (we're maintaining a blog about it!), but it's one of those flavors that you can't consume endlessly. At least not in one sitting. ;)