Pumpkin spices you haven't considered

 

Pie is just the beginning of pumpkin. If you haven’t been enjoying fall’s favorite flavor in soups, muffins and more, you may have missed a joy ride in Cinderella’s transformative coach. New books cover flavors from around the globe and even how to grow a pumpkin. Cook your décor and don’t forget to roast the seeds. Get spicy with these:

“Homemade Ish” – Her Chex mix has bacon. Sold? Turn the pages in Lauren McDuffie’s book on recipes and cooking tips that keep it real and you’ll get hooked on every page. Take short cuts and don’t be afraid to use can goods and store-prepped finds to get you started. The magic is in what you do at home. Mall pretzels use pizza dough. There’s even a buttery, toasted idea for combining all your cereal remnants. Gourmet and potentially very healthy stuff is in this fun one. Here’s the pumpkin: Pumpkin Patch Muffins with Salted Honey Butter starts with a can of unsweetened pumpkin and spice cake mix. Easy. Good.

Turkey in Pumpkin Seed Sauce - This mole has no chocolate and isn't three pages long, Beth Dooley and Gary Paul Nabhan write in "Chile, Clove, and Cardamom: A Gastronomic Journey into the Fragrances and Flavors of Desert Cuisines." This book takes us around the world and I want to stop and smell the cuisine at each site. Serve this "pumpkin" dish with rice or blue corn bread. Imagine the aromas in Sea Scallops in Tamarind Glaze and Desert Succotash (with cactus and cumin). Your desert pantry should may include legumes, lentils, almonds, pecans, caraway, agave nectar, fenugreek and cihiltepin. 

 Pumpkin Soup from Indonesia - Tinutan uses pumpkin or butternut squash, cassava, rice, corn and bamboo shoots in a soup, good for breakfast or lunch. I've never shaved the corn off a cob for breakfast, but I'd love to get a serving of this hearty bowl of colorful, fresh ingredients. Pergedel Udang is a shrimp fritter, Gang Asam is braised rib and Goreng Ikan Balado is fried fish with caramelized onions and chiles. Sri Owen has updated the artistic big yellow book "Indonesian Food" with newer ways, and I want to try them all. Lots of spices, flavors and textures will make you look at foods we have here with different eyes. 

 Grow  your own pumpkin! Did you ever imagine yourself taking a paintbrush to your male and female pumpkin blooms to pollinate them? Well, did you imagine toasting your own pumpkin seeds and enjoying fresh muffins? The all-new "Square Foot Gardening" 4th edition book will give you the know how. Maybe you crave rosemary, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage and other goodies from your small space? Build your garden with these easy steps with this book, labeled "The World's Most Popular Growing Method to Harvest More Food From Less Space." 

Let's talk tuna. One tip is to take an empty 1-inch tuna can and put it flush with the soil... when you water, you can know when you've given an inch of water!

 Tea Time – Salty Caramel Pumpkin Black happens to be my fave in a batch of indulgence that is extremely low cal, even if you are a sugar and honey type of tea lover. Get packets of beautiful herbals and teas packaged as Blood Orange Rooibos Reserve, Scarlet, Guava Gold, Rose Chamomile, Turmeric Ginger and Mumbai Chai.  Make it in a clear pot so you can watch these leaves and buds unfurl to flavor your brew. Feeling generous? I hope so. Invite friends for tea and review www.tearunners.com for gifts that will as peaceful as your after your cup.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie enjoying pumpkin with all the spices. darraghcastillo@icloud.com