Sponge Worthy

Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld when Elane bought up the last of the sponges and questioned her gentlemen callers to see if they were 'sponge worthy'? Well, that is how I feel about canned pumpkins.



It turns out that there is a shortage of canned pumpkins! A few weeks ago I began to change my menu over from summer dishes to fall dishes. Many of my favorite dishes call for canned pumpkin. As I was in the grocery store I noticed that they were sold out of canned pumpkin. I didn't think anything of it at the time, I just figured they hadnt restocked and would have more the next week. So the following week I looked again. No canned pumpkin. At this point I began to wonder. But I had not heard anything on the Daily Show (where I get my news) or in the LA Times, (which I read every morning. Ok, I read the comics every morning). So I tried at a few other grocery stores. No canned pumpkin!



So I turned to the internet. It turns out that due to a bad pumpkin crop LAST YEAR, this year there is a shortage of canned pumpkin! The HORROR! I went to at least 5 different grocery stores, including Whole Foods, before I found some canned pumpkin at Bristol Farms- a gourmet grocery store here in S.Cali. I bought 5 29 ounce cans, and I might go back for the two I left behind. They DO have canned pumpkin at Trader Joes, but they are not certified kosher, and I can only eat certified kosher brands.



So if you love pumpkin pie, pumpkin mousse, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, or pumpkin bread pudding, then run to your nearest grocery store and buy up all the canned pumpkin you can find! And make sure your recipe is 'sponge worthy'!

Canned pumpkin on EBay

Info on pumpkin shortage

News story regarding pumpkin shortage