Trader Joe’s pumpkin ravioli

The pumpkin-shaped barcode is a funny little touch on the orange packaging.

Each ravioli is yellow on one side, and orange on the other. The cooked pumpkin pillows were tossed in browned butter, sage, a bit of lemon juice, and some reggiano cheese. The filling tastes like pumpkin and honey, as promised. The texture is smoother than pumpkin and more like cheese. I like them, but I’d rather have the butternut squash ravioli. Their butternut squash ravioli are also sweet, but have a brighter and more interesting flavor. 3/5

 

It’s pretty hard to resist two-toned ravioli. They’re so cute and colorful.

(Non-alcoholic) Sparkling pumpkin cider

Fresh & Easy is the greatest grocery story because it is the only one that does not require any human interaction. In addition, they have a really good line of store brands. I like it more than Trader Joe’s.

Here’s their Sparkling pumpkin spiced apple cider.

It smells like pumpkin first and apple second. The carbonation is gentle, like most sparkling juices.

 

It actually tastes like pumpkin and the perfect amount of spices. There’s a bit of kick to it, probably from the ginger. The kick is perfect since the juice is very sweet. I like this, I love the bottle, and I’d buy it again. 4/5

 

TJ’s pumpkin chocolate mousse cake

This cake went straight in the garbage.

 
The shiny, mirror top looks really nice when the cake is defrosted.

I love the fine crumb of the cake, and the silky-smooth mousse filling. The cake layer tastes a little like chocolate, but mostly like weird cinnamon and mild spices. The mousse tastes bland and sweet, but not enough to offset the spices. There was really no pumpkin flavor to compliment the chocolate spice. It was so bleh and unappetizing that I lost interest after a few bites. The Mister felt the same way, and since neither of us had any interest in eating it again, it went in the trash. Sad trash cake.

 
The still-frozen cake

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Chocolate Mousse Cake – 1/5

Ghirardelli Pumpkin Spice Chocolates

I’ve had these pumpkin spice caramel chocolates before, but they’re always worth another taste.

The outside is a typical creamy-looking Ghirardelli milk chocolate. It has a nice, sweet smell to it

 

These are delicious. They don’t taste like pumpkin, but the caramel is seasoned with an Autumn-y blend of spices that doesn’t rely too much on cinnamon.

 

The caramel is very sweet, but I don’t find it cloyingly so. My favorite seasonal Fall chocolates. 5/5

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Macarons

A few days ago, I had a pumpkin macaron from a little French place, and it was delicious. I wasn’t sure how frozen macarons would add up, but I think the TJ’s macarons are great. Considering that it is easier to go to Trader Joe’s than to find a bakery with good macarons, I think these cookies are worth a try.

Just let the cookies defrost under a paper towel for about 30 minutes before devouring the fluffy little clouds of goodness.

The texture of the cookie is not what I expect from a macaron because it’s missing the chewy meringue texture. The cookie has an egg-shell crust, but the interior is soft and smooth, not slightly chewy. The filling tastes exactly like pumpkin and spice – delicious pumpkin pie. I would say that the pumpkin flavor is stronger than the spice flavor, which I LOVE.

The flavor more than makes up for the lack of perfect texture. Trader Joe’s pumpkin macarons get 5/5 from me, but if meringue texture is what you want, find a bakery.

Pumpkin Cheesecake cookies

1/5

These cookies were an exciting find: Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Cheesecake Soft Dessert Cookies. The cookies smell wonderful - like a mix of creamy cheesecake and spicy pumpkin pie.

 

They taste like salt mixed with oil. The texture is simultaneously floury and greasy, probably because they are soft cookies so a lot of extra partially hydrogenated whatever is added for the pleasing fresh-baked texture. The faint spice flavor is overwhelmed by caustic saltiness. My husband and I each ate half a cookie before throwing the entire package in the garbage.

I’ve read favorable reviews for this cookie, and others seem to like the flavor and texture. All those people can have my trash cookies.

My next goal is to find these Pumpkin Macarons from TJs. I was just wondering if my kitchen skills could accommodate macarons/macaroons. Now I don’t even have to try.

Pumpkin Chowder

SAY IT, FRENCHIE!

I’m not through demeaning you!

One of my super awesome cousins got me this pumpkin sheow-derr packet during her trip to Boston. It was my first experience with dehydrated pumpkin powder.

New England Pumpkin Chowder from Bountiful Pantry

I really appreciate the lack of salt

 

The final product with some finely chopped onion, shredded chicken, salt, pepper, and toasted chopped almonds. It was really good! Not home-made good, but really good for pre-packaged food. It had a hearty texture and smelled like a wonderful combination of cinnamon, spices, and pumpkin.

The dehydrated carrot was better on the second day. I don’t think it had fully re-hydrated, even after 30 minutes of simmering. If I could do it again, I think a little diced celery would be nice; maybe celery would have offset the sweet dried carrot taste a little bit.

The best element to this soup was the texture. Because it isn’t made from fresh or canned pumpkin it is smooth with none of the usual pumpkin graininess. I give it a 4.5/5

I just spent an exorbitant amount on dried pumpkin powder ($2/ounce. what the eff!?), so I’m excited to try it in baked goods that won’t benefit from the heaviness of canned pumpkin. I have always wanted pumpkin cookies that don’t have a cake texture. I’ve also read about people using it in coffee, which I am suspicious of.

Pumpkin spice treats

It seems that pumpkin treats have been growing in popularity the last few years. I'm always happy to taste anything that calls itself pumpkin (even when it's horrible). These are the pumpkin foodstuffs I've tasted lately.

See's Candies Pumpkin Spice Lollypops

This is the second year I've purchased the little gift box of lollypops, and I don't know why I keep doing it to myself. They're not good. It's a mouth full of that slightly off-tasting cinnamon flavor, with zero pumpkin flavor (hence the name pumpkin spice). But I want to like them, so I keep purchasing them. 2/5

See's Pumpkin Pie Truffles

I like the soft interior of these truffles, though they also have that strange spice taste. (What is it? Too much Cardamom? Artificial cinnamon? I hope someone with a better palate can tell me.) The chocolate outside and creaminess from the filling offset the sharp flavor and make these good overall. 3.5/5

Pumpkin Pie Fudge from my trip to Knott's Scary Farm.

This fudge pretty enjoyable. The pumpkin spice flavor is nice, but all I really taste is powdered sugar. It does have a smooth, soft texture, and the nutmeg on top is very fragrant. 3.5/5

These items are from my Foodzie delivery service.

The Avenue Sweets Pumpkin Spice Caramels are just okay. They taste somewhat like spice, but a few pieces I've eaten also taste like burned sugar. Yes, I understand that caramel is burned sugar, but this is a bitter flavor that I'm sure can't be right. The texture is wonderful though, and I'm fairly sure that I just got a few bad pieces. 2.5/5

The pumpkin seeds are from the humorously named CB's Nuts. I can't say if they're good or not because I haven't tried them yet. I anticipate that they'll taste like pumpkin seeds with a bit of sea salt.

Breakfast obsession: pumpkin yogurt parfait

Yogurt parfait is an easy and pretty breakfast. This parfait gets pumpkin from two sources: pumpkin butter and pumpkin seed granola.

The pumpkin butter is the best I've had - I brought it back from a trip to Apple Works in Indiana. It is so pumpkiny, spicy, and sweet I could easily eat it with a spoon. My only regret is leaving any jars on the shelves. A dollop is enough to sweeten and pumpkin-up my favorite plain yogurt from Mountain High. The Nature's Path granola has a healthy dose of broad, smooth, shelled pumpkin seeds that add texture to the already-crunchy granola.

It only looks pretty for a minute, because I like to stir it up into a big orange-tinted mess.

You could use vanilla yogurt if that's your thing, but for my taste that would be too sweet. I like the full-fat creaminess mixed with the natural tartness.

PSST...can't make it to Indiana? Try this Dickinson's Pumpkin Butter. I haven't tried it with yogurt yet, but I remember it being really good. Dickinson's is available in most grocery stores.

COST PLUS!!!

Tonight, the Mister and I went to Cost Plus for our quarterly Cost Plus snackie run, and to see if I could find Pumpkin Spice syrup. Disappointed by the lack of Pumpkin Torani syrups, I consoled myself with an entire cart filled to the brim with foreign/gourmet soda, chocolate, cookies, sauces, noodles, and general food stuffs.

On the way to pay, I spotted the Autumn display. Because I knew I already had $100+ in my cart, I had to be very selective about my pumpkin purchasing, so I didn't get the gourmet frosted cookies, pumpkin bark, or ceramic pumpkin shaped soup tureen, but I did get my precious when it comes to pumpkin snacks:

I bought two bags of Pumpkin Crunch. No, I won't share.

PUMPKIN CRUNCH POPCORN and Pumpkin Pie Torani Syrup (sugar free).

I am a little disappointed that the Pumpkin Pie syrup is made with Splenda and not cane sugar like the other syrups, but I couldn't leave without it.

As for the Pumpkin Crunch, if you've never had it, you have to try it despite the $7 price tag (seems high for a bag of popcorn; it's worth it). It's spiced caramel corn with chocolate covered almonds, and then there are orange-colored white chocolate-covered popcorn. The orange pieces have a strong pumpkin spice flavor to them.

The point, lone reader, is that I wanted the Pumpkin Pie syrup to make soda with my new SodaStream. I don't have a picture of it because it's an ugly drink. I can live with the Splenda taste, but I feel that if they're going to use an artificial sweetener they might as well throw some orange coloring in to make it prettier. It's a very light honey color, so mixed with milk and soda, it's a fug drink.

Pumpkin Pie Italian Cream Soda

1 oz Pumpkin Pie syrup

2-3 oz whole milk or half-and-half

4-6 oz very fizzy soda water

Mix, drink

It's delicious. If you like cream soda, I would describe it as a cream soda with pumpkin spices. Obviously, it's my favorite new thing on earth.

If you build your drink correctly, the milk, syrup, and soda will settle into beautiful layers. With the light color of the Pumpkin Pie syrup, it doesn't matter.

Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

When I spotted Pumpkin Spice cream cheese at the grocery store, I grabbed instinctively, forgetting my stomach's aversion to dairy.

It's a pretty orange color, it smells nice, and it tastes like cream cheese heaven. It's much softer than regular cream cheese, and it was easy to use over half the container on a freshly-toasted bagel (yep, I'm a pig). It does have a familiar cream cheese taste with cinnamon notes, and a sweet flavor. Not too sweet - just right.

While I'd be perfectly happy spreading this on just about everything, I can also see this being used in lazy baking. It would be easy to whip up some pumpkin cream cheese frosting using just some powdered sugar and milk. Or maybe I could more easily make that pumpkin cream cheese pie with sour cream topping that I've been dreaming of! Either way, I'm definitely going to buy a tub or two the next time I'm grocery shopping. Dairy intolerance be damned.

Indian Pumpkin Candy

During a recent candy raid at the local British-Indian Market, I picked up this box of tempting candy:

Dry Petha Premium Delights - Delicious Pumpkin Sweets

They claim to be traditional Indian sweets, and they look similar to something I remember as a kid, so I couldn't resist them.

They look like soft little pillows with a sparkly sugar crust.

I took a big bite, and it tasted like OH GOD, VOMIT! IT TASTES LIKE VOMIT! I WANT THIS OUT OF MY MOUTH NOW!

And then I jumped around the kitchen squealing before wiping my tongue with a paper towel and running my tongue under the kitchen tap.

It's safe to say that these are traditional, and also possibly a required taste like Marmite.

They don't taste anything like pumpkin. The insides are oily and flaky and the taste is indescribable. Don't go on my account - if this is what people like in India, I am very happy for them. I will stick to my chickpea curries and samosas.

I'm not sure what passes for pumpkin in India; I'm guessing pumpkin means something different. I've had Thai pumpkin curries that contained some kind of squash, but definitely not what Americans consider pumpkin.

Ingredients: Ash Gourd and "Nature Identical Flavouring Substances"

But I won't let this dampen my adventurous spirit. Whenever something bizarre has pumpkin in it, I will buy it.

Dreyer's Pumpkin Ice Cream

The hub loves ice cream, so we picked up this container of Dreyer's Pumpkin Ice Cream. It was available last year, but I couldn't remember the taste.

I double-checked, and the container really does make the ice cream look like a salmon color. In reality, it's more of a natural yellowy pumpkin color.

It has a nice pumpkin flavor with a hint of spices. It's very creamy, but it's lacking something. After a few bites, the hub was bored with it. I suggested sprinkles.

Muy festive. He was happy with it, and the sprinkle texture helped a lot.

While this pumpkin ice cream is very good for straight-up pumpkin ice cream, I found it too dull to eat an entire scoop. Next time, I'd probably tart it up with crushed graham crackers, spiced whipped cream, and sprinkles.

3.5/5

Yep, I'll get to actually making things soon. I started last week, but I've had a lot of flops so far. I'm trying to be more adventurous this year.

Pumpkin pie for breakfast

The supermarket had Dickinson's Country Pumpkin Butter, and it was quickly added to my other pumpkin purchases. I wasn't sure what to expect - the dark orange color made me think that it might have a gritty texture or overwhelming spice flavor. I'm such a pessimist - always convinced that new pumpkin treats will be awful.

Not this stuff, though, because it is delicious:



Dickinson's Country Pumpkin Butter

It is like smooth, thickened apple sauce with honey notes. It's very pumpkiny, and it has a lot of flavor, and the spices are nice but they don't overwhelm the pumpkin.

I spread a good amount on wheat toast. It's delicious with and without butter, but the butter adds a richness that seems especially indulgent for breakfast. I'm considering going back to stock up on it so that I have enough to get me through the zombie uprising.

5/5

Review: Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights

This box of Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights caught my eye at the grocery store. There were several Little Debbie treats on the bottom shelf in the seasonal aisle; I chose these because they were the only snacks that contained actual pumpkin puree.

I'll admit to having never had a Little Debbie snack before. These are "filled soft cookies" with a jack-o-lantern face. Each cookie is individually wrapped, 150 calories.


The cookies are cute - especially if you like things that appear cute, but are actually terribly evil. These cookies look evil. The too-wide smile is a sure sign of insanity.


You eat me, I eat your SOUL.

The cookies are quite flat and they smell like apple pie. The bite is soft; I would liken them to a very moist, dense fig newton. They don't have a strong pumpkin flavor, but they are nice enough. After the initial cookie flavor, they're overwhelmingly sweet, and then overwhelmingly salty. I remember caramel and cinnamon being the strongest flavors.

Overall, the Pumpkin Delights were fine for midnight munchies, but if I'm in the mood for this type of cookie again, I'll probably just buy some fig newtons.

3/5