Pumpkin Bacon

 

Logical Fallacy?



The Pumpkin Bacon is a lie.  I apologize, my title is based on an article I read in NY Magazine comparing the seasonal pumpkin craze to the zealot like nature that people have adopted towards bacon.  Not that I don't enjoy a cripsy, salty, smoky strip of bacon fried in its own lard, but a Bacon Martini?  I'm not sure if even I'm that adventurous. 

The article does bring up a valid point that it is not the pumpkin itself that drives consumers gourd-crazy, or even the spices and sweet nature that pumpkin based foods entail, but the limited nature itself.  The reemergence of the Pumpkin every fall can be compared to the short period of time that McDonald's offers their McRib, that rib shaped pressed pork patty.

Kinda looks like ribs?

McDonald's has actually found they can make more money by offering the McRib for a limited time that by putting it on their permanent menu.  By withholding a product an even higher demand for it is created; people always want what they can't have!

I'm a big believer in the whole pumpkin experience: as much as I enjoy spiced, sweet treats to ignore all the other savory and textural aspects of the pumpkin would be cruel to this noble fruit.  For example, I would especially love to see some innovation taken in the commercial use of pumpkin seeds.  In fact i'll be attempting to make Pumpkin Seed Milk later, keep on the lookout for that post.

Do yall have seen anything or have any good ideas for moving pumpkins out of their traditional sweet-spiced regime?  Let me know.

Get The Pumpkin Rolling

Alright everyone, time to step up the game!  We've gotten the easy ones on the list now to dig in and search for those obscure pumpkin treats.  I've got some Big Ideas for my favorite squash when I get back home but until then here are more opitions for a pumpkin fix:

Pumpkin Pancakes at IHOPS!  Or is it IHOPs?

Look what I found waiting just for me in the break room!

Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee Creamer. It was good, had more of an emphasis on the nutmeg and cinnamon flavors.


So I decided to stop being a Phoney and go to Dunkin Donuts for the first time in my life.  Pretty nice place, the one I went to was a Dunkin/Baskin Robbins combined.  They had their Pumpkin K-Cups everywhere.  I had heard amazing things about their iced coffee so I got the natural choice: Pumpkin Iced Coffee and a Pumpkin Donut.

The coffee was amazing; people are right!  The Pumpkin donut was really good, had very present Allspice and Clove notes, tasted like a fried, glazed spice cake.

Pumpkin Spice JELL-O: At first I was wary, thinking this would be a translucent, orange jiggly blob, but then I realized it was JELL-O pudding...


Alright I'm gonna keep up the good fight finding more Fall foods.  If yall find anything let me know, then let me know how it tasted!

The Pumpkin Craze Continues

Alright guys, I found some more pumpkin themed treats out there, let me know if they actually exist!

Einstein Bros - They're embracing the season head on!  Fall and Halloween themed specials, along with their amazing pumpkin bagel with pumpkin schmear.  They even have pumpkin muffins, pumpkin poppers, and of course the staple pumpkin latte.

Yoplait Pumpkin pie Yogurt - Be even better if it was greek yogurt!

Peppridge Farms Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies - Damn, that just sounds like a hot mess.  Very hot.

Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Everything - Now I'm starting to think they're just doing this to get at each other.  Dunkin Donuts has pumpkin: donuts, lattes, coffee blends, cream cheese and muffins.  They even have a delicious looking set of apple based items from pie to apple cider.  Being from Houston, where this a donut monpoly by Shipley's, I've never been to a Dunkin before, but this looks like a good time to give it a try.

Dairy Queen has a Pumpkin Pie shake, and what promises to be a contender for the greatest pumpkin based treat of the year: Pumkpin Pie Blizzard.  Pumpkin pie mix with ice cream and pieces of pie crust mixed in, why don't I have one right now?

Alright that's a pretty good list, but there's always more out there to discover!

PUMPKIN!

PUMPKIN!

I've been busy traveling for work lately so this seems like a horrible start to this blog.   Apologies aside I come back to the title of this post:

It's arrived!  in fact it's already started.  That time of year that embraces warm colors, warm fires, and best of all: warm spices!  Cinammon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger; combine them all together and you get their beautiful mother Pumpkin Spice, with her arms always open for a tasty hug.  I think it has allspice too, I keep meaning to look that up...  

They all complement that wonderful squash that we all love and love to miss when the season passes.

Here is a list of some pumpkin and pumpkin spice themed treats that are popping up everywhere:

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte - Probably the most famous of them all!  The Salted Caramel Mocha is pretty damn good too.  May as well get some of their pumpkin pastries to go with it, for good measure.

Pinkberry Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts - Pumpkins for breakfast? Don't mind if i do.

Pumpkin Spice Eggo - Pumpkin for breakfast tomorrow?

Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash - Like a pumpkin pie blended with yogurt!

McDonalds Pumpkin Pie - Technically it's a turnover... they have pumpkin lattes and shakes too.

And many more to come.

My original intent with this blog was to feature myself actually eating these things but the nature of my job entails that I sit around for a week or two then work 84 hour weeks for a month or two.  So instead yall can try these and I can experience them vicariously through you!

Welcome to Something To Look Forward To.  For years I have been captivated by the amazing foods concocted to coincide with various holiday seasons.  From the vast array of Pumpkin themed treats centered around Thanksgiving to the pastel hued snacks that rise up every Easter, I find my quest for these treats hindered by the lack of information regarding their existence.  As such I created this blog to aggregate all holiday specials for those likeminded folks out there who get as excited as I do about a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks!