Punkin

Ohhh... it's pumpkin season. It's one of my favorite times of year. The smell. The flavor. The color.

It all begins with Halloween. The kids find pumpkins that they can barely carry. We always look at the white ones and green ones, and then settle back to traditional orange ones. What is it about a plump, imperfectly rounded, orange pumpkin? They always make me smile.

And then as we take those first cuts through the rind, the sweet smell of pumpkin fills the house for the first time. Little fingers dig out gooey strands, setting aside some seeds. Orange stickiness gets stuck in fingernails. Slowly and carefully the inside is scraped clean, and their own unique creations take shape. Soon they adorn our front porch with candle light glowing from goofy, scary, or just plain absurd designs.

Inside the house, seeds roast until they turn that perfect golden brown. Salty and crunchy - it's our first taste of pumpkin season. Too soon they are gone, and we will wait another year for this fall treat.

As pumpkin season continues there are still more goodies to come. Pumpkin waffles. Pumpkin scones. Pumpkin spice lattes. Pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin pie. I can't think of a holiday gathering or party this time of year, without thinking that something with pumpkin would make it a little better.

And something new (for me) this year... pumpkin martinis (via Chuggnutt). They are, quite simply put... delicious. It's like pumpkin pie in a glass. But with booze, which tends to make things sooo much better!

I wish pumpkin season lasted a little longer. But some time just after Christmas it isn't pumpkin season anymore. As the days grow longer and we look towards spring, the orangey glow of the pumpkin fades and I look forward to lighter flavors.

But for now... it's still pumpkin season. And I am enjoying it to the fullest!