Sunday, October 4, 2015

On the Cult of Pumpkin, Pt. 1 (Or, Pumpkin Things I Have Known, Pt. 1)

Hey, pals! I've been blog-absent for quite some time. The reasons are varied and predominately boring. Suffice to say, my head and my heart have been other places for the past few months. But I love this space. I love what I've been able to use it for, and I hope you fine folks who sometimes stumble across it do too. So here's me hopefully easing back into at least a semi-regular posting routine with a good ol' fashioned recipe.

Unless you're reading this long after I posted it (or unless you traveled back in time and are reading it before I posted it), it's October! If you're in a place with real weather, that probably means the air is getting colder, the leaves are changing, and the whole world is autumnal as hell. I say, "probably," because I'm in glorious San Francisco, where, "October," generally means, "layering in the morning, desperately stripping down in the afternoon, and keeping a hat and scarf in your bag for evening so you don't have to face living a life of regret."

But the great uniter for us all this month/season is: pumpkin. Apparently, it's really become a thing - pumpkin spice is the new [insert cultish food reference]. And I get it. All hipster trendiness aside, pumpkin and pumpkin-spice things are evocative - they create a full sensory experience. One that says, "Hey, get ready for shorter days, darker nights, and a bevy of gorgeous opportunities to bust out your favorite sweater/tie combos." Or maybe that's just me.

Part of the problem nowadays, though, is that the market is so oversaturated with products that are meant to harness our squasheriffic love. In all the excitement, it can be hard to separate the yays from the nays. That's why I'm going to spend a little bit of time this month highlighting some of my favorite things that feature pumpkins in a starring role - starting with the recipe after the jump!