Seasonal Sundays: Pumpkin Season

Dare I say, Finally?! My self-imposed "no pumpkin" rule gets harder as the calendar click-clicks off these last days of September. But yes at long last, this week's "Seasonal Seven" recipe collection is all about pumpkin, savory and sweet. I hope you'll find one or two destined as "keepers" in your own recipe repertoire.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Seasonal Sundays is 100% written by a real, live human, no blah-blah flat-toned copycat AI plagiarism, thank you very much. Any awkward phrase, unclear meaning, misspelled word, mistaken fact, bad punctuation or overwrought alliteration is the clean, proud product of my own inadequacy as a wordsmith and oversights as an eagle-eyed editor. But when that human says she's grateful that you're here, reading, well, please know, she really truly 100% means it.

In Praise Of ...

• ... taking note of a unusual "brown knob" in the grass in a neighbor's backyard, sometimes deer bed down in the grass but this thing, whatever it was, was too small for a late fawn ... I watched for a minute through the car window ... and all of a sudden the "top" of the bump turned 180 degrees ... it was an owl! he/she spread its wings and flew low and slow just above the grass before lifting up into a tree limb ... so cool! so close! so beautiful!


• ... this skinny silicone spatula (affiliate link) that's especially useful for going deep into a jar to scrape out of the last bits ... be aware that I have a real love-hate relationship with silicone in general and silicone spatulas in particular ... too many, I find, are too soft or too hard at the tips, this one is just right ... let it be noted that I first heard about this spatula from cookbook author Dorie Greenspan's newsletter, it comes out every so often, there's a paid version if you're so inclined

Democracy Matters

The country needs calm, thoughtful and assertive voices amid the chaos inflicted by a minority hellbent on taking/retaining generational power by strangling democratic principles and equal rights. None of us have to personally change the world. We just have to do our part. Pick one thing for the top of your To Do List this week.

"Sitting in front of the TV, worrying, does not count. Doom scrolling does not count." ~ Wise words, indeed, ones which booted me off the sofa into action. Let's move it, all of us, just a few weeks to go. Let's not regret, if we'd only done more. There are just weeks to go, let's make every one count.

Me? I've contributed more $ to a couple of important Senate campaigns, I've gotten on the postcard bandwagon and this evening am taking the leap into phone calls in Missouri in support of Amendment 3, our citizen initiative to restore medical privacy and decision rights for reproductive healthcare, to quote Tim Walz, "Mind your own damn business." This became extra-personal to me when I realized that when my own mother carried a baby to term, which died in utero from a terrible condition which meant she would not lived more than hours, my mom would have been give NO health care until her own life was in grave danger.

So what are you doing? Find Your Something!

And then when you're ready for a short break, these are recommended reads.

• Rural Matters, another compelling read from activist Jess Piper. I haven't lived in a small town since graduating from high school, she helps me remember my roots. I learn from her, every single day.


• 38 Days to Go: What Is Wrong with Our Leading Newspaper? by writer and journalist James Fallows whose thinking I've followed/learned from for many years, including the ones when I called myself a Republican. (That changed in 2016, for the record.) For those completely frustrated by the NYT's lopsided election and candidate coverage (for example, how the NYT banged on and on for weeks with literally dozens of stories about President Biden's mental acuity but ignores the hundreds and hundreds of examples how former President is clearly failing and that's without even without the influence of Project 2025), Fallows hypothesizes why.


• VP Harris Goes on Offense On The Border, Closing Strong With Julie Rodriguez and Ben Wikler, All Hail The Blue Dot! from veteran political analyst, strategist and commentator Simon Rosenberg, one of the smartest, most analytical people I follow. His takeaway? "I'd rather be us than them." This is a great take where we are "in the moment", there's a short video that's compelling as well.


• What's on your "just read, must share" list? Send me links, I'm living and breathing this until, well, we prevail. I am girded by the tenacity and courage of Black women, especially, over many, many generations. Do SOMETHING.

Made Me Think ...

Who remembers the book Room (affiliate link) by Emma Donoghue? Amazon reminds me I read Room way back in 2010 but all these years later, the story sticks.

I believe the same will be true of Strange Sally Diamond (affiliate link) by Irish author Liz Nugent.

Let it be said, there are bad men in both books. But both books are worth reading, if not for enjoyment, then for understanding. The women characters are interesting, inspiring, compelling: I found myself caring what happened to them. But the men in these books — there's no other way to say this — use "their" women for their own sick purposes.

And so when former President Trump tried to appeal to women this week, referring to "our women" and promising how we would be happy and thus no longer thinking about abortion and that he is "our protector" ... I couldn't help but think how Trump was found liable of raping E Jean Carroll in a $5 million civil suit (source: Judge Clarifies: Yes, Trump Raped E Jean Carroll Washington Post, 7/19/23) and how more than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault (source: New Anti-Trump Ads Highlight Sexual Assault Allegations, Portraying Him As an Admitted 'Serial Predator', Reason.com, 9/25/24).

That very language, "our" women and "our" protector, is the language of abuse.

And then this week, I had — hmm, let's call it an encounter, just words — with a young man who drove into our neighborhood. As we talked — again, just words, in what should have been a friendly exchange — I was stunned by his cold empty eyes, anger barely contained, derision obvious. It was more than a little disturbing.

The night before, I'd seen those same cold, empty, angry eyes when Ann Wagner from MSNBC did a live event in Michigan. She is warm, she's non-judge-y, they weren't pranked for the cameras. And yet the eyes from those young men ... frightening.

It's completely unfair to lump all men together into the same "bad" bucket: and I do not.

At the same time, the memory of these male eyes have been haunting me all week. If there's a poster for toxic masculinity, those eyes wills stare out.

Just this morning, I saw a link to this from SELF Magazine (which until now, I haven't heard of for years) How to Shake Off a Rude Interaction with a Stranger. "Why do these situations sting so badly, even when we know, rationally, we’ll probably never see these weirdos again?" I feel heard.

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THE SEASONAL SEVEN: Finally, Pumpkin Season!

For this week's recipes, I aimed for recipes that are plain fun for this change of season, flavors and combinations that really speak to falling leaves, cozy sweaters and embracing the last of longer, cooler days ...

• A mix of savory and sweet
• Crossing from breakfast through supper
• And of course, some sweet treats!
• No pies yet (except one sweet mini which is more dessert than pie) because I'm saving up for Thanksgiving

• THE RECIPE Pumpkin Pancakes Light and fluffy pancakes, a pretty pumpkin color and spiked with the pumpkin spices.
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Granola Lightly sweetened, gently spiced with our favorite fall spices.

• THE RECIPE Pumpkin Hummus with Honey Traditional chickpea hummus recipe turned pretty, slightly sweet with pumpkin and a drizzle of honey. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Fruit Dip Barely sweet, a healthy makeover. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Homemade Kabocha Squash "Pumpkin" Purée How and why to make pumpkin purée not from pumpkin from kabocha squash. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE How to Roast a Whole Pumpkin How to bake a whole pumpkin in the oven, the pros and cons both.

• THE RECIPE Supper Casserole with Pumpkin & Green Chile Cornbread Topping A one-dish hot dish, humble fare and still gorgeous!
• ANOTHER TAKE Fall Stew Baked in a Whole Pumpkin A whole pumpkin filled with a tomatillo-hominy stew. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Autumn Pumpkin Bread My forever recipe, forever and ever. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Bread Pudding Lighter than most recipes, still indulgent.

• THE RECIPE Mini Pumpkin Pies Baked in mini Mason jars and ramekins, all filling, no crusts! (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars So pretty on a plate!

• THE RECIPE Pumpkin Bars Quick and easy, filled with fall spices. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Baked Pumpkin Donuts & Donut Holes Cake donuts warm with spices, coated with buttery sugar. A really special fall treat.

• THE COLLECTION pumpkin recipes from Kitchen Parade,
  
• THE FAMOUS A-Z pumpkin recipes from A Veggie Venture
• JUST THE FAVORITES Favorite Pumpkin Recipes

What's Brand-Spankin' New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE My Homemade Baked Beans Slow-cooked to infuse with maple syrup, molasses and warm spices. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Comeback Sauce The Southern staple, so good, you'll "come back" for more. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Famous Mustard Sauce (Carolina BBQ Mustard Sauce) A tiny-bit spicy and a tiny-bit sweet and totally addictive.

• THE RECIPE Homemade Onion Dip Retro party favorite returns with a taste revelation, caramelized onions. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Basil-Cream Cheese Spread (Boursin Substitute) A versatile creamy, garlicky and nutty spread, useful three meals a day plus snacks. (PIN This)

October: Reader Favorites

• THE RECIPE Extra-Crispy Apple Crisp My very own "perfect" recipe, barely sweet apples firm and tart, topped with an extra-crispy topping, thanks to a secret ingredient. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Cranberry Apple Crisp A wintry take on fall's favorite, my signature dessert during cold weather. (PIN This)

October: Trending

• THE RECIPE Perfectly Cooked Roast Beef An easy-to-remember formula. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Frozen Steaks Perfectly cooked steaks, starting with frozen meat! (PIN This)

• Vegetables 101 What Are Bitter Greens? Everything you'd like to know, including a comprehensive list and recipes. (PIN This)
• Vegetables 101 What Are Crudites? How to create a colorful Instagram-friendly platter of raw vegetables.

October: Recipes Lookin' for a Little Love

• THE RECIPE How to Make Homemade Applesauce No added sugar! (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Naturally Sweetened Apple Butter Apple Butter as it should be, naturally sweet with just a touch of butter.

• THE RECIPE Baked Oatmeal with Pumpkin & Pears Oatmeal baked with pumpkin plus fall fruit, pumpkin-pie spices and nuts.
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Pumpkin Steel-Cut Oats Sweetened with banana, meal prep for fast, healthy breakfasts during the week.

The Kitchen Parade Almanac: Looking Ahead ...

• October 1st - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Fall & Pumpkin Passion
• October 2nd - 4th - Rosh Hashanah
• October 11th - 12th - Yom Kippur
• October 14th - Canadian Thanksgiving
• October 14th - Columbus Day (also Indigenous Peoples' Day)
• October 31st - Halloween

• THE BIG IDEA This Year, Let's Celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving So many reasons for Americans, too, to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving in October. (PIN This)
• RECIPES & MORE Thanksgiving Menus, Tips, Recipes & More (PIN This)
• ESPECIALLY FOR VEGETABLE LOVERS Thanksgiving Vegetable Recipes

Looking Back ...

THIS WEEK, YEARS PAST
• 2019 Early October (Week 40)
• 2023 Fall Sides for Everyday & Canadian Thanksgiving (Week 40) (PIN This)

RECENT WEEKS
• Fall Baking (Week 39) (PIN This)
• Seasonal Sundays' Five-Year Anniversary: My Signature Recipes (Week 38) (PIN This)
• Fall Meal Prep (Week 37) (PIN This)
• Late-Summer Entertaining (Week 36) (PIN This)
• Recipes That Inspire JOY (Week 35) (PIN This)

Soups & Salads Especially for October

• OCTOBER's COLLECTION Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for October It's finally beginning to taste like fall. (PIN This)


• BUT PLEASE DON'T MISS Broccoli Potato Cheddar Soup Substantial enough for supper, light enough for lunch. (PIN This)
• AND THIS Autumn Slaw with Apples & Bacon Isn't everything better with bacon? Coleslaw too!
• AND THIS TOO Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad Leaves shaved so thin they "cook" in a lemon vinaigrette, tossed with romano and pine nuts.

Good to Know!

• GOOD TO KNOW! Why Dried Beans Won't Cook (PIN This)
• NOW GET TO COOKING! Recipes That Use Uncooked Dried Beans & Peas A fun collection of main dishes, sides, salads, soups, casseroles and more.

Silly (But Fun?!) Food Holidays

• October 1st — Homemade Cookies Day (cookie recipes)
• October 1st — Pudding Season Begins (Light 'n' Easy Chocolate Pudding)
• October 1st — World Vegetarian Day (vegetarian & vegan recipes)
• October 2nd — National Pumpkin Seed Day (Sweet Pumpkin Seed Crumbles)
• October 3rd — Global Smoothie Day (Healthy Smoothies)
• October 4th — National Taco Day (Twenty-Minute Taco Bar)

• THE RECIPE Healthy Smoothies A Smoothie Lover's Take + Recipes & Tips (PIN This)

Trader Joe's Test Kitchen

We tried two little frozen quiches one morning this week, the Broccoli Cheddar Quiche which was the better of the two but still, whose saving grace was 16 grams of protein and the Quiche Lorraine, isn't there bacon in Quiche Lorraine? In this case, no, ham, but honestly? We couldn't tell.

Laziness Convenience aside, I'd rather spend a few minutes for a Light Tomato Basil Quiche or even Smoked Salmon Quiche any day of the week.

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from this week.

• THIS WEEK We had our first coolish evening on Monday, that meant, break out the soup recipes! I started to make Laura's Healthy Carrot Soup because there's an apparently bottomless bag of carrots in the fridge but in the moment, switched instead to a never-fail recipe for an all-vegetable soup. I did make a couple of decisions that didn't work out so well. I didn't salt enough and then I slap-dash-style threw in some little balls of pasta called "Israeli couscous" — too much as it turned out because the veggies were no longer the star and the soup turned bland with so much pasta. Still? So good! Especially that first night.
• MASTER RECIPE How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup Never the same twice.

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Slow Cooker Braised Lamb Shanks or Venison Shanks Fall-off-the-bone meat in a silky-smooth sauce. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Perfect Lamb Chops How to cook lamb chops perfectly each and every time. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Skillet Burgers with Tomato Gravy Burgers cooked right in the skillet with my "homemade marinara". (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Minnesota Sloppy Joes Sloppy joes made from scratch in the crockpot.

• THE RECIPE Spiced Banana Ice Cream Rich-tasting banana ice cream made memorable with a trio of pantry spices. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Molasses Ice Cream An unusual but captivating ice cream flavor, perfect for fall. (PIN This)

Something to Read

So ... romance is NOT my usual book preference but our great niece follows Reese's Book Club, it's her way to continue reading even with full-time work, three kids, a big family and social life and a new house with a looooong to-do list. So I thought I'd give one or two a try! The first couple were really not my style but this one, well, I flew through it.

• THE BOOK Slow Dance (affiliate link) by Rainbow Rowell


• NO TIME TO READ? How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

• Any advice for Seasonal Sundays?
• Just one thing that would make it more useful for you?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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