I like the global aspects of food and cooking and eating (not so much other globalisations). The fact that I get to know what Hannukah and Rosh Hashanah are, what they eat – or rather don’t – during Ramadan, what Cinco de Mayo is and why I should practise some recipes before that. It’s a wonderful side of the whole wide world within your reach, down one information highway or another.
I do embrace Thanksgiving and the American autumnal (fall! you unglobal idiot!) dishes, even though I don’t understand how stuffing is dressing and both are a basically separate from turkey side dish. But pumpkin makes me miss a step.
There’s nothing redeeming about pumpkin in my culinary thinking. It’s a huge animal, impossible to peel and completely tasteless when roasted, boiled, poached or fried. It’s about as useless as kale is – there are so many more interesting vegetables to have that pumpkins (and kale!) are a complete waste of time.
Pumpkin pie to me is an acquired taste that I shall never acquire; pumpkin roast is something the vegetarian acquaintances I don’t particularly like might eat. Pumpkin carving belongs (in the past, thank God) with kids and the munchkin pumpkin fondue is lovely, but I have a perfectly good fondue pot which is about as edible.
But – there’s always a ‘but’ in my missives – I’ll say it very quickly: pumpkin bread is good. Very much the thing to do with this tin of puree knocking about the cupboard. VERY good in fact – not matching up to banana bread but still. Good. Bake it. Go on now. Just don’t get a tin of puree specially for the purpose if you have perfectly good bananas in the house.