Pumpkin Passion

Name: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!”
Purchased At: playing on the ABC network or at your local dvd store
Price: free or $14.98 from Amazon
Availability: Year Round on dvd/Seasonal on tv

Last night I watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” for the first time in quite a while and I found myself wondering how kids today view the classic cartoon. Is it boring? Is it too low tech? Is it as relevant to their lives as a Jane Austen novel? Hmm I’m not sure.

I sooo love it. Possibly my love is mostly because of those warm and fuzzy feelings that bring me back to my own childhood. Charlie Brown cartoons were a BIG deal. I didn’t have cable and there was a lack of cartoons shown on network television in good old Idaho. I took what I could get and Charlie Brown cartoons were some of the best. Also, I think my love comes from a strong identification with Linus and his search for the Great Pumpkin. He’s going to believe no matter how many people laugh at him or how many times the Great Pumpkin just never shows up. I respect his faith and tenacity. Oh yeah, the pumpkin surely contribute to my adoration.

When I read that the cartoon was originally released on October 27, 1966 I was surprised because Charles M. Schulz seems to have been a feminist before feminism was cool. The lines he gave Sally were brilliant:

Linus: He’ll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch and he respects sincerity.
Sally Brown: Do you really think he will come?
Linus: Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world.
Sally Brown: That’s a good story.
Linus: You don’t believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting.
Sally Brown: Welcome to the 20th century!

Sally Brown: If you try to hold my hand, I’ll slug you!

Sally Brown: Am I going to trick-or-treats with you, big brother?
Charlie Brown: Of course, Sally.
Sally Brown: Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! How do you do it?
Lucy Van Pelt: You just go to a house, knock on the door and yell “Tricks or treats!”
Sally Brown: Are you sure it’s legal?
Lucy Van Pelt: Of course it’s legal.
Sally Brown: I wouldn’t want to be accused of taking part in a rumble.

Linus: [to Charlie Brown after Sally just ripped him a new one] You’ve heard of the fury of a woman scorned, haven’t you?
Charlie Brown: Yeah, I guess I have.
Linus: Well, that’s nothing compared to the fury of a woman who has been cheated out of trick-or-treats.

If you’ve never watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” give it a try. You can get lengthy plot synopsis and some interesting trivia over at Wikipedia. There are also some Ecards, wallpaper, and a trivia game over at the Peanuts website.

Rating: 5 out of 5 for the pumpkin parts but the Flying Ace storyline puts me to sleep

P.S. Happy Halloween!!!

Name: Pumpkin Patch Demi Light Candle
Purchased At: Primal Elements
Price: $8.50
Availability: Year Round

Candles are difficult to find with a nice pumpkin aroma. They’re just off . . . majorly off.

This one is not only nice to look at but it also has a really great aroma. The scent smells buttery, in a good way, with a hint of vanilla and nutmeg. Usually the cinnamon is a little too amped up and there’s no hint of vanilla but this one is just right. It’s also not an overwhelming scent that lasts for quite a while.

I liked it so much that I’m going to try the Pumpkin Patch 2-wick color bowl candle that’s $19.50.

Rating: 5 out of 5

BTW, Primal Elements finally has their 53 oz. tub of Pumpkin Spice Sugar Whip back in stock and it’s 50% off!

Name: Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake Mix
Purchased At: Williams-Sonoma
Price: $19.00
Availability: Seasonal

An interpretive dance! This stuff is SOOO amazingly good that a coworker spontaneous preformed and interpretive dance inspired by the yumminess of Williams-Sonoma’s Pumpkin-Spice Bundt Cake Mix after having eaten a small piece. I’m totally serious! It’s that dang good.

The cake was moist and flavorful with just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. Lots of cinnamon and nutmeg are jammed into this cake. They got it right!!!

That was the build up and now here is the tear down: this stuff is freaking $19.00 and I still have to do a ton of work to make it! I realize it’s Williams-Sonoma, where SUPER CUTE spatulas that have raw wooden handles will cost you ten bucks, but come on! Here’s the description on their website:

A celebration of the autumn harvest, our all-natural mix yields a moist, spicy Bundt cake with minimal preparation. The pumpkin-spice cake is laced with a buttery streusel filling made from brown sugar and premium California-grown walnuts. It’s a delicious complement to the cake, which includes American-grown pumpkin, pure Madagascar bourbon vanilla, cinnamon and allspice. Created for use with Williams-Sonoma Bundt pans, this mix makes it easy to bake a cake that tastes as luscious as it looks. A sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar or a simple glaze is embellishment enough.

…Ummm, “minimal preparation” ?!?!?! The recipes calls for you to add “cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch (12 mm) pieces;” 4 eggs, water, milk, zest of an orange, minced fresh ginger, sugar and brandy. However, the last four ingredients listed are “optional” but a “simple glaze” it ain’t. Also, the instructions read “To make the cake, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater….” I have NO idea what a flat beater is but I’m pretty sure my $15.00 Target mixer doesn’t have one. Lastly, “Created for use with Williams-Sonoma Bundt pans…” the cheapest bundt pan they have is $32 but it IS IN THE SHAPE OF A FREAKING OCTOPUS, which is sooo cool that I want to SCREAM in pure joy (umm…anyone want to get me an awesome Christmas present?) but why must they try to sell me their own pan in the middle of a recipe.

I feel like they gave me the flour and some spices in a bag and now they’re asking me for all the other ingredients…that’s not a MIX. Of course it’s going to be better than any other MIX because you’re adding almost a dozen ingredients and you’re making a streusel, a cake, and a glaze.

It’s yummy and it’s almost worth it but I think you could get the same results if you made it from scratch and it would cost you less…since you have to go to the store to get all the ingredients anyway you might as well.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Here are some other pumpkin treats you can find at Williams-Sonoma this year:

Halloween Truffles $15.00

Pumpkin Potholders (set of 2) $24.00

Pumpkin Patch Plaque $32.00

Sprinkles Cupcake Mix, Pumpkin $14.00

Name: Pumpkin Bagel with Pumpkin Cream Cheese
Purchased At: Einstein Brothers Bagels in Las Vegas, NV
Price: $2.29
Availability: Seasonal

I love pumpkin surprises. You know, when you just walk into a place and you don’t even hope that there will be something pumpkin but there it is, a special pumpkin treat, looking extra yummy. The pumpkin bagel was just sitting there all shiny, fluffy, and orange (but not too orange) looking. Then as I began ordering it, I noticed that they also had pumpkin cream cheese. Score!

At the register they had a flyer announcing all their new fall flavors. One of the things listed was an iced pumpkin cookie but when I asked about it they said that they’d never received the cookies. Bummer! it sounded good and now that I’m back in Los Angeles there aren’t any Einstein Bros. near me.

Back to the bagel, at first bite I was overwhelmed with pumpkin deliciousness. Yummy yum yum! On the second bite I began to wonder if it was the bagel or the cream cheese or the combination that held such an intense flavor. I broke off a piece of bagel from the bottom where there was no cream cheese and found that the bagel was fairly blah. I tried another piece and I couldn’t really taste any flavor.

The pumpkin cream cheese is defiantly where the flavor lives in this combination.

Rating: Pumpkin Cream Cheese, 4 out of 5
Rating: Pumpkin Bagel, 2 out of 5

Every season the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas changes out their Conservatory & Botanical Garden. If you can work your way through the onslaught of tourists taking pictures in front of the gardens which will surely end up as default pictures on their myspace pages (I confess I did it too), you’ll find a beautiful display with lots of pumpkins during the Fall 2007 season.

Here are some images that unfortunately had to be taken at night:

For better pictures, go to the Bellagio website and click on the “360 View” tab.

Name: Pumpkin Empanada
Purchased At: Starbucks
Price: It was a gift. Thanks!
Availability: Seasonal

There’s not much new in the way of pumpkin treats over at Starbucks this season. Yawn! There’s the pumpkin latte, a pumpkin muffin, a pumpkin loaf, and my favorite a pumpkin scone.

The only new item I’ve seen is the pumpkin empanada. At first glance into the bakery case you won’t know that it was pumpkin. It looks like one of those Hostess Fruit Pies but much larger.

There’s a nice amount of cinnamon and sugar on the top crust of the empanada. The crust is quite yummy. Inside……well, it’s a little disappointing. There’s plenty of pumpkin goodness but not too much like there was with Francoise’s Pumpkin Bread. The flavor is reminiscent of pumpkin pie but there’s something else. It tastes sour! Someone else I spoke with about the pumpkin empanada said the same thing. It’s kind of a strong lemonish taste that’s a little overwhelming.

I tried this a few weeks ago and I’ve thought about getting it again but at 400 calories and a sour aftertaste I just can’t do it.

Rating: 2 out of 5

P.S. Ugh! The picture is just BAD but I didn’t like it enough to buy another one and retake the photo.

Name: 3-in-1 Pumpkin Pie Paradise
Purchased At: Bath & Body Works
Price: $12.00
Availability: Seasonal

I’ve been co-opted by our consumerist society into believing that I need a specific product for every area of my body. However, I did take the 4 oz. travel size with me to London last year because traveling is the only time when a 3-in-1 product sounds like a great idea.

The scent was fairly good but a little overly strong and sweet smelling. I wouldn’t have purchased it again but whatever.

Strangely enough, I got a super itchy red rash on my stomach the second day of the trip and it continued to get worse until we left. Back home the rash faded and eventually went away. For Christmas, a friend bought me the 16 oz. size pictured above. When I started using it again, the same rash came back! It took me a while to make the connection but the same looking rash appeared after using this stuff the first and the second times. YUCK!

Rating: 0 out of 5 and I wish I could go lower!