Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!

Is anyone else pumpkin spiced obsessed this time of year like me?

This tends to be the time of year I feel most homesick, mainly for the Halloween celebrations, Thanksgiving and seeing everything pumpkin spiced come out that I can't get here! I am literally begging my mother to send me things but she is the worst when it comes to sending me anything from home :-/

However, I was able to convince my most local Tesco to get pumpkin back in (yay!) and I noticed that there is pumpkin spice Bailey's out now!! I havent tried it yet. Has anyone else dared?

They were giving away the pumpkin spice bailey's at my Tesco.  I didn't like it. 

However, your post has inspired me and I'll start making some pumpkin stuff.  I really like making soup with the cans, and waffles with real pumpkin purée.  We use the pressure cooker to cook it, then throw some in the batter.  It's especially good if you mix in some Guinness to make it rise.  I also make some homemade whip cream for those as well.

Near Esher  there's a farm where you can pick your own pumpkin, that's fun as well.

That sounds delicious...mmm pumpkin waffles...I had pumpkin pancakes at IHOP once and they were just divine.

I make pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake and muffins. I need to get even more pumpkin because I have a lot of people to make for this year. I had a pumpkin cheesecake I brought to my husband to try when I first met his parents what seems so long ago now. It's been requested every year since.

And of course, at least starbucks has the pumpkin spice here! Overpriced but it's my once a year treat

I feel like the pumpkin spice craze started after I left the US.  So I don't really get it.

I definitely love pumpkin pie though!  I can't even get my inlaws to try it.  They won't try anything with peanut butter either.   

I feel like the pumpkin spice craze started after I left the US.  So I don't really get it.

I definitely love pumpkin pie though!  I can't even get my inlaws to try it.  They won't try anything with peanut butter either.   

What about Resse's  cups?  Who doesn't like those?

Once I made a pumpkin pie for my French in laws to try at a family dinner.  I even went as far as whipping some cream BY HAND.  When it was time for desert, my brother in law insisted on serving it.  Hidden in the kitchen, he spread the whipped cream all over the entire pie before cutting it (God only knows why) .  The pie was still a little warm, so it melted into a giant mess.  When I saw it, I just about strangled him!  It was never requested again. 

I get my own back every Christmas by constantly referring to the Foie Gras as "pate".  It infuriates them!

You are not the only one. As I watched some leaves fall from a tree the other evening my first thought was pumpkin. Last winter I brought some McCormicks pumpkin pie spice back with me to the UK. This morning I decided to make a recipe from the latest Waitrose magazine for 'carrot cake oatmeal'. The recipe calls for a mixture of spices but I just used a tsp of the pumpkin pie blend. Wow! Making that again real soon.

What about Resse's  cups?  Who doesn't like those?

I don't . I love peanut butter, I just find Reese's too sweet and sugary - wasn't a fan when I tried them .

I saw that Reese's ame out with a giant peanut butter cup that has reese's pieces IN it. I cannot for the life of me get anyone back home to send me one :-(

I too am obsessed with this time of year and anything pumpkin, not gonna lie. Even my mood improves! You can take the girl out of Ohio..... I put out some of my general fall decorations recently (too early for Halloween ones), my husband just grumbles and says it's a "crazy American thing."  I stocked up on some pumpkin stuff during my visit home last month too.

He hates pumpkin pie and almost spat it out the first time he tried it. I have made pumpkin bars and pumpkin cookies before and while they're not his favorite, he'll eat them. He doesn't like Reese's either, but he is a convert to peanut butter cookies and peanut butter and jelly (jam) sandwiches.

However, your post has inspired me and I'll start making some pumpkin stuff.  I really like making soup with the cans, and waffles with real pumpkin purée.  We use the pressure cooker to cook it, then throw some in the batter.  It's especially good if you mix in some Guinness to make it rise.  I also make some homemade whip cream for those as well.

Near Esher  there's a farm where you can pick your own pumpkin, that's fun as well.

I've gotten two smallish pumpkins in recent weekly veggie boxes, and I'm thinking spicy roast-pumpkin soup ... with grilled feta flatbreads on the side? The full dinner idea is a work in progress.

But I'm sort of at a loss as to how to go about the pumpkin prep -- obviously, gut before roasting. And peel after? Will it still peel once cooled? I fear for my delicate, keyboard-labouring fingers.

Agreed, this is the time of year when I get most homesick. 

I miss apple and pumpkin picking, getting apple and pumpkin *everything* at the local farms, cider and cider donuts with that lovely sugar cinnamon coating, all the excitement of Halloween (I've yet to give candy to a single trick-or-treater here), seeing everyone's carved pumpkins on the lawns on porches, and as I'm not a coffee person - Starbucks does the caramel apple spice drink this time of year...

 

I saw that Reese's ame out with a giant peanut butter cup that has reese's pieces IN it. I cannot for the life of me get anyone back home to send me one :-(

I've seen them on some American sweet websites...but I couldn't justify buying one just to try, though they were only a couple pounds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I've gotten two smallish pumpkins in recent weekly veggie boxes, and I'm thinking spicy roast-pumpkin soup ... with grilled feta flatbreads on the side? The full dinner idea is a work in progress.

But I'm sort of at a loss as to how to go about the pumpkin prep -- obviously, gut before roasting. And peel after? Will it still peel once cooled? I fear for my delicate, keyboard-labouring fingers.

My general approach is to use the pressure cooker, just gut it , quarter it and put it in for 15 minutes or so.  After it cools, just cut off the skin. 

I've roasted it as well, like you said.  Instead of peeling, just cut the pulp away from the skin.

I've heard some say that the big Hallowe'en pumpkin s are no good for eating and it's the small ones that you should eat.  I've tried both and they both seemed OK to me.

My general approach is to use the pressure cooker, just gut it , quarter it and put it in for 15 minutes or so.  After it cools, just cut off the skin. 

I've roasted it as well, like you said.  Instead of peeling, just cut the pulp away from the skin.

I've heard some say that the big Hallowe'en pumpkin s are no good for eating and it's the small ones that you should eat.  I've tried both and they both seemed OK to me.

This is the second time recently that someone's said very positive things about pressure cookers. Is this worth a spot in my limited cupboard space? My most prominent memory of pressure cookers is my father cooking chicken necks and gizzards, leaving the house smelling like some nightmare slaughterhouse sauna. I still shudder at the thought.

Anyway, these are defo eatin' pumpkins, and they are now roasting with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and chillies -- so many thanks for the pre-/post-peeling-process help!

I think it's a French thing, everyone in France uses them.  There's nothing to it, works perfectly for potatoes, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, stuff like that.  Just put the stuff in the basket, add some water, heat for ten minutes and Bob's your Uncle