Hi, my name is Christina and I am addicted to gourds.

Hmm… it’s true, it does feel good to admit it.

I really am addicted to them, though.  If I stumble across a menu item in any kind of restaurant that involves pumpkin, or butternut squash, or any squash really, it’s a pretty good bet that I will be ordering it.  So, as you can imagine, I adore the fall season.  There is no other time of year where it becomes so easy to obtain gourd-related foods!

In case you don’t believe me, here are some shining examples:

• Starbucks brings back the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Scones (they also used to have these awesome Gingerbread Lattes, but as you can read here and here, they seem to have eliminated those from my area) My good friend Laura and I have a Pumpkin Spice Latte tradition, where we always have to go get at least one together before they leave stores.
• The Cheesecake Factory brings back Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake

I’m also a fan of Lean Cuisine’s Butternut Squash Ravioli meal, but that’s not really what this post is about.

On top of pumpkin-related foods being tasty, it turns out they are pretty healthy for you too!  I suppose if you cover the pumpkin with butter and heavy cream it sort-of undoes some of the health benefits, but I still feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing I’m getting beta- AND alpha-carotene, potassium, and fiber, among other things.  Not to mention how cool pumpkin seeds turn out to be!

It goes without saying, then, that my own cooking takes on a bit of a pumpkin-y twist around September and October.  Once I attempted to use a fresh, whole pumpkin to make a soup, but that did not go so well for my left thumb, so now I have to go with pre-cut or canned stuff most of the time (which my thumb, and the rest of my fingers, thank me for).  My two favorite pumpkin recipes are:

• Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
• Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

I know these are both Rachael Ray recipes.  And I know I always tell people that I can’t stand the fact that her phrase “EVOO” has made it into the dictionary, because it seems rather ridiculous to me that people can’t just say “extra-virgin olive oil.”  It’s the ultimate in lazy.  But I also have to admit, the woman has some really great ideas!

I never thought too much about the oddness of my love of gourd cooking until I moved in with my fiance.  He was a bit…leery… of the concept of eating savory foods made with pumpkin as a key ingredient.  But after gently explaining that my life depends on eating a lot of pumpkin foods at this time of year, he agreed to try it.  Guess what?  Now he’s a convert.  I actually received a “you can make this anytime you want.”  If any of you know Alex, you’ll know that’s a pretty big deal!

If anyone reading knows of any other delicious gourd-related recipes, I’d love it if you’d share!

© 2009, The Table Has Shoes (and Other Ambiguities). All rights reserved.

I saw this article on AOL.com and found it intriguing.

Starbucks value menu?! I realize the article is really more cautionary than check-this-out, but I’ve got to say my curiosity is piqued…

© 2009, The Table Has Shoes (and Other Ambiguities). All rights reserved.

This is the second holiday season Starbucks has let me down.

I’ve got say, I’m not happy about it.

Last year the Starbucks near my apartment was part of a test market for Shortbread Lattes, so they were serving those in lieu of Gingerbread Lattes (which are the absolute best thing on Earth). I boycotted Starbucks all last holiday season and went to Borders for my lattes instead, because they still served Gingerbread Lattes there.

I have been looking forward to the return of Gingerbread Lattes at Starbucks for a few months now. They, along with NaNoWriMo and Thanksgiving, are part of what make the cold November weather tolerable. So you can imagine my consternation when I walked into a local Starbucks this week to order my first Gingerbread Latte of the season and found out they are not offering Gingerbread Lattes this year. They have Gingersnap, along with a few other holiday-flavors.

*Dies a little inside*

Luckily, the Gingersnap Lattes aren’t too bad. Some of my faith in Starbucks restored, I stopped in this morning thinking I would try the Eggnog Latte this time. Too bad for me, I can’t order an Eggnog Latte, because they can’t make it dairy-free! The barista told me that even if I order it with soy milk, the mix contains dairy. To her credit, she didn’t have to tell me that, she could have just made her sale and gone on with her day, so I appreciate her candor. However, this makes the FOURTH DRINK at Starbucks I can no longer have because they mix it with dairy products for which there are no alternatives. That’s right, it’s not just the Eggnog Latte. It’s also the Pumpkin Spice Latte (and anyone who knows me knows about my obsession with gourds), the Signature Hazlenut Hot Chocolate, and the Signature Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.

So I am mad at Starbucks. They have made my holidays a little less cheery this year.

© 2008 – 2009, The Table Has Shoes (and Other Ambiguities). All rights reserved.