It’s that time of year, where fall flavors creep onto the shelves, and chief among them is that big orange gourd, pumpkin! But the pumpkin isn’t just on the shelves. It’s in the news. In the memes. It’s everywhere. For whatever reason, out of all other flavors in the world, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice seem to engender the most passionate responses from people.

I have to admit that I’m one of the people who loves both pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. I’ll try pumpkin spice just about anything — except for the ubiquitous Pumpkin Spice Latte, since I don’t drink coffee.

I’m not even sure why I like pumpkin spice so much. I guess it’s because I always loved the idea of fall, but living in the desert, we never got the crisp air and falling leaves. When you live someplace where the weather is the same most of the time and seasons have little meaning, you have to turn to other indicators of the season. Foods work well for that. When they’re only available at certain points of the year, they take on extra layers of meaning and sentimentality.

All of this means I was pretty excited when the Trader Joe’s Frequent Flyer hit my mailbox yesterday. So many pumpkin and other fall-flavored items! I read through it with relish and then headed over to TJ’s today to pick up a few items…

Honestly, I feel like I was pretty restrained! I could have bought a lot more pumpkin items. This is a mix of old favorites and new treats that I’m excited to try. We’re going to have the pumpkin bisque for dinner tonight, alongside some sandwiches on pretzel rolls (yum!). Pumpkin Ginger ice cream cones might happen for dessert.

These won’t be the only pumpkin goodies I eat this season. Not only will I go back to Trader Joe’s for another batch in a couple of weeks, but I also cruise the aisles of Target and Fred Meyer looking for other seasonal offerings. My pumpkin hunger will not be denied!

For the record, I’m an equal opportunity fall flavor fan. I picked up a few caramel apple, ginger, and butternut squash items at Trader Joe’s too. Starbuck’s is trying to get Maple Pecan to trend as the new taste of Autumn and I’m on board with that too. There seems to be a bit of a trend towards s’mores as well, though I’m not sure if that’s a fall or summer flavor. What do you think?

If you’re also a pumpkin fan, let’s compare notes on our favorite pumpkin foods! If you’re not a pumpkin fan, well, just remember the immortal words of zefrank… Don’t yuck my yum!