The Great Pumpkin

As summer comes to a close and we are officially in the Fall season, our country is very much divided.  Not so much politically, or ethnically, financially or racially, but those who embrace the Pumpkin Spice craze and those who don't.  Autumn is the best for a number of reasons.  My favorite bands go on tour (Halloween is their peak season), new horror movies come out and classics get rereleased.  Eating an obnoxious amount of bite-sized candy is totally acceptable.  Halloween home décor shows up in every store and to many of us, a nice set of skull dinner napkins is appreciated 365 days a year.

And yes, yes it’s TRUE!  I also love Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice flavored things.

In defense of this exhausted flavor, there first needs to be an understanding of the difference between Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice. 

Pumpkin is the edible gourd that we carve in October.  Pumpkin is very similar to butternut squash (seeds, flavor, etc.).  The most common form of pumpkin that actually is used for cooking is Pumpkin puree, which comes in a can and needs to be used within a month or so of opening.  Pumpkin puree works well when added to dishes because it can provide moisture and flavor to items like bread, brownies and other baked items.  Pumpkin is said to be good for the skin, low calorie, and even may help boost your immune system.

Pumpkin Spice or Pumpkin Pie Spice or Cake Spice is a mixture of spices.  It has no Pumpkin in it.  It is referenced to as Pumpkin Pie Spice because (get read for the big reveal) it is often used in pumpkin pie!?!?!  However, a lot of Fall recipes, other than pie, may not list Pumpkin Spice as an ingredient but include all the makings of Pumpkin Spice.  Pumpkin Spice is a blend of Allspice, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Clove.  How do I know this combination of five spices by heart? Because I have made my own when I could not find any at the store (a valuable skill useful on any desert island).

Pumpkin Spice, as opposed to Pumpkin itself, can be added to almost anything and it has a distinct, grandma’s homemade pie, , spicy, seasonal scent and flavor.  A PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks) tastes rather fake and really does not give a great impression of what this flavor should be. 

So, I am sharing some of my pumpkin secrets.  By late August, I am stocking up on cans of Pumpkin and making sure I have at least two jars of Pumpkin Spice.  From September until December, there is not much of anything I make that does not have a Pumpkin/Pumpkin Spice influence.  Therefore, I hoard these recipes like a kid grabbing cookies of the shelves in a grocery store.  But, I must share the wealth.

First of all, I buy (every season because it is not an all year item) Pumpkin Spice Chai from David’s Tea.  It is the best and tastes great by itself, but also adding almond milk and maple syrup and some . . . .PUMPKIN SPICE to make it a homemade latte.  Not to mention, it has little pumpkin sprinkles in the tea so it makes you extra happy when brewing a cup.

See tea here:  https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/our-teas/tea-type/black/loose-leaf-tea-pumpkin-chai

Something I make (actually all year round) is Pumpkin Spice granola.  It uses Pumpkin as part of the flavor and binding agent for the granola.  It also calls for Pumpkin Spice (well, all the spices which as we learned earlier, equal Pumpkin Spice).  It makes a lot and is great as cereal in milk or on top of plain or vanilla yogurt. 

http://iowagirleats.com/2015/09/16/pumpkin-spice-chocolate-granola/

My next seasonal staple is pumpkin bread.  This also uses both Pumpkin and the Spice.  This recipe is the best because it makes two loaves (one for you and one for a friend) and you can freeze them.  I usually add chocolate chips and it is the bomb dot com.

Pumpkin Bread recipe found here (but don't forget to add chocolate chips—it is just stupid not to):  https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/classic-pumpkin-bread/

Pumpkin Spice pancakes are always delicious.  I use this recipe that uses canned Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice.  These are fluffy and delicious.  Sur La Table sells (seasonally) pumpkin spice maple syrup so you can really get crazy.

Recipe here: https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/09/pumpkin-pancakes.html#

Once I had a little of my canned Pumpkin left and needed to use it up so I found a recipe for brownies that were actually “healthy” brownies.  They used pumpkin puree, peanut or almond butter, and cocoa as the main ingredients.  Not bad.

Healthy Brownie recipe here:  http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2016/10/15/flourless-pumpkin-brownies/

Lastly, just yesterday I made pumpkin mini muffins, which also use a blender like the brownies, and are rather healthy (no flour or butter).  These are perfect if you make them mini (only fill up 1/3-1/2 of a regular muffin tin cup if you don't have a mini muffin pan).

Mini Pumpkin Muffins here:  https://www.averiecooks.com/2017/09/mini-flourless-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-blender-muffins.html

Pumpkin Spice can be added to almost anything:  cookies, cake, lattes, roasted vegetables.  I like to roast butternut squash in maple syrup with some Pumpkin Spice sprinkled on top.  I add Pumpkin Spice to my coffee grounds when making my morning coffee. 

All of us may be a little tired of the Pumpkin craze but until you have tried the real deal, you cannot judge.  Nor can you know the magic of these flavors and this season.  Hope you find a little more room in your life for Pumpkin after reading this.  And if you don’t, that is fine too. . .more for me!

Eye of Newt

I have nearly reached the end of my tolerance for someone telling me his/her opinion about aspects of my life that they find disagreeable.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have done a lot more yoga over the last year.  Disliking yoga until 2016, I was forced into it because of my lower back/spine, and the need to adjust to a primarily low impact lifestyle.  Now, I have come to love yoga and find myself benefiting from all aspects of it.  I have lost weight, I have toned and strengthened my body, and I have found peace and tranquility and a feeling of enlightened joy.

Round about the cauldron go,

In the poisoned entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights has thirty-one

Sweltered venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i' th' charmed pot.

I also have experienced someone (who will remain nameless) who has continued to warn me of the dark magic and spiritual mumbo jumbo I can be subjected to by practicing yoga.  I have been told that it is dangerous, that I need to "guard my heart" and even that s/he was "praying for my soul."

This near-exorcism reached its peak when I recently attended a New Moon Social at my neighborhood yoga studio.  The way I described it (which is exactly what it was) was a workshop/yoga class where students are able to recognize the hardships and difficulties in the previous month, and then close that chapter and move onto the next month with a bright and fresh perspective.  It was about positive new outlooks.  I received two days of lecture.

Of all the "dark things" I value in my life, I would not consider yoga one of them.  But somehow, it is being considered a heathen art.  I have never used my voodoo doll but, I am starting to regret that decision almost as much as mentioning I practice yoga on a somewhat regular basis to this judgmental individual.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake.

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

First of all, this person has never taken yoga or researched it.  S/he discusses what s/he thinks happens in the practice and warns me to stay away.  But stay away form what?  Stay away from feeling strong, confident, listening to your heart, letting go of struggle and inner turmoil?  Hmmm, doesn't sound that dangerous to me.

Secondly, we all have a dark side.  The difference between him/her and myself is that I embrace it.  I don't fight it, push it down, hide it.  I love it just like the other parts of me.  And I have yet to meet someone in my life who has inspired me to change.  This person will not be able to either.

Thirdly, as a non-Christian person, I see pros and cons to its teaching.  A pro is its encouragement of embracing all people, even the poor and destitute, even those who are not the same as you.  To come from a place of love and inclusion.  What this individually is saying to me on a regular basis seems rather exclusive.  Trying to change who I am and what I value rather than accepting me for who I am—how "non-Jesus" of him/her.

Lastly, as most things I love, I usually don't try to push them on anyone.  I love yoga and love if people want to go together to a class, but I am not one to try to force them to do something they do not want to (boyfriend not included).  I love certain types of music, certain clothes, books, even food items, but I am not interested in changing others to do what I do.  This IS the nature of what this person is trying to do with me.  It won't work.  

So if the fact that I practice yoga, I believe in working on yourself, I believe in honoring and respecting yourself, I enjoy seeing pounds drop on the scale, and I enjoy challenging myself makes me a witch, than witch be I! 

Double, double toil and trouble,

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

**Excerpts are from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act 4, Scene I (as the three witches enter)