Normally I bemoan the commercialization of holidays and how stores start displaying Thanksgiving and Christmas items way too early. This week I have to eat my words, so to speak. Pie pumpkins have arrived at the grocery store!

This was one of my favorite BTD discoveries last fall. I'd always been told that display pumpkins for Halloween and Thanksgiving were not very good to eat. Pie pumpkins are smaller, and selected for cooking. They are also beneficial. I bought a small one last fall, cooked it in the pressure cooker, and prepared it as a compromise between a vegetable and a dessert. I left out the eggs, sugar, and milk that would have made it into a pie filling. I added he cinnamon and ginger that give pumpkin its traditional flavor.

It was delicious. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I fixed pumpkin once a week. My family did not share my delight in this discovery. My husband has never liked pumpkin pie, so it was no surprise that he didn't care for pumpkin as a vegetable. My daughter likes pumpkin pie, but didn't think pumpkin as a vegetable was sweet enough.

With the arrival of the new year, pumpkin disappeared from the store. I tried canned pumpkin several times. It was good, but lacked the rich flavor of fresh pumpkin.

Here it is the 2nd week of September. Cantaloupe (Musk Melons), nectarines, and other summer fruit are still in the stores. Pumpkin has already arrived for the fall. I will enjoy the multitude of choices while I can.