How I Grew To Hate The Pumpkin

It used to be that the month of October was the month of the pumpkin.  Families galore excited about picking a weekend to head to the local pumpkin patch, sip down some apple cider, and get all of the carving materials ready to go for Halloween.   For many people, fall time is one of the best times of the year.   The leaves are changing, the weather cools off, and all kinds of sporting events are going on from college football to the World Series.   Now, the fall is no longer about these images, but instead we are barraged by pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins to such an extent that even Michael Myers would be coming back to life.

Remember the movie Forrest Gump when Bubba said, “Anyways, like I was sayin’ shrimp is the fruit of the sea.  You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, sauté it. Dey’s uh, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo.  Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried.  There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.”   Funny as it seems, we have gone that way in this Starbucks’ led craze of pumpkins falling from the sky like manna.

There used to be simple things such as pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie (which I love by the way).  Now we have pumpkin spiced latte, pumpkin scones, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin lasagna, pumpkin fries (yes it’s true), pumpkin creamer, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin jelly beans, pumpkin taffy, and a laundry list of recipes that would make Bubba think that pumpkin was new replacement for shrimp.

Just because something tastes good, doesn’t mean that we need to figure out how to use it in every genre of food that we eat.   I’ve always looked forward to seeing the pumpkins on Halloween and having the wonderful slice pumpkin pie during Thanksgiving.   But, after two months of ridiculous marketing from Labor Day to Thanksgiving screaming nothing but the word pumpkin, even for me, it has made me come to loathe the pumpkin.

I’m not sure I’m the only one that feels like this, but maybe you can send me your best pumpkin inspired recipe and I’ll change my mind.

Written by: Ted Jenkin
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