Pumpkin

Most people I know have only had two experiences with pumpkin—either as pie or as a Halloween decoration.  When I was a kid, my older cousin brought a pumpkin pie to Thanksgiving that he had made himself from a real pumpkin.  Obviously I didn’t try it, but the critics all agreed it was stringy and undersweetened.  The take-away I got out of his experiment was edible pumpkin comes from a can.  However, if you’re feeling adventurous, you do have lots of options.  If you’re willing to accept any pumpkin-derived food, then I suppose you could count a pumpkin latte or pumpkin ice cream.  My favorite is pumpkin cheesecake because I prefer the flavor cut with something else, like an unhealthy dose of cream cheese and sugar.  Your choices will be greatly multiplied around Thanksgiving, but my brother gave me the idea of looking for pumpkin curry at a Thai restaurant if you’re searching off-season.