The Pumpkin takeover 2016...and Lolek

Every year in the fall this amazing and sprawling plant brings forth it's fruit:  the pumpkin.  In recent years the retail world has commandeered this massive orange squash in a variety of ways that has snowballed into nothing short of a massive takeover this year!  What began as a fresh fall idea for all beer drinkers a few years ago has ballooned into a frenzy with nearly no limitations!  From pumpkin spice tea, donuts, and lattes to a more aggressive takeover of the well-known and loved original cereals of Shredded Mini Wheat, Special K Crunch, and Life, not to mention the unheard of pumpkin-flavored(gulp) baking chips, marshmallows, cookies, granola, and.......eh...imitation instant pudding?!  I thought I had seen everything until, alas, the Blue Dog Bakery came up with pumpkin flavored dog treats.

I'm a cookie butter fanatic and there is always a jar of Biscoff in the pantry, but the pumpkin flavored cookie butter made by some other company is completely gross, so I won't mention their name.   Actually, the biggest surprise on my pumpkin discovery was the tortilla chips, they were actually very good.  They are not sweet, rather salty and crunchy with a pumpkin hint in the background.  So, to my surprise, they were a success.

I asked the grocery manager at the Food Lion near me how many people buy the pumpkin flavored baking chips, she didn't think they moved at all.....no wonder...yuck!  I did not dare try the pumpkin spice instant pudding.....we just couldn't do that to our taste buds, I am a scratch cook for heaven's sake!   This discussion does not cover the complete list of "gone pumpkin" favorites, but just the tip of the iceberg, I tell you, beer varieties abound and so does the donuts, air fresheners, and tea and coffees along with cookies, on and on.  I even saw that Triscuit had a pumpkin spice cracker and I thought, if they pumpkin-fy my kid's beloved goldfish crackers...well there is no telling where my crazy would go.

Anyway, to be completely honest here, my most favorite orange treat in my world is my beloved little ginger, Lolek.  He is the sweetest feline buddy I know.

Lolek