The (somewhat) Great (canned) Pumpkin (hunt)

As you may recall, last year there was a shortage of canned pumpkin due to damaged crops.  I don't do a lot of baking, but even I was on the lookout for the elusive cans every time I went to the store last fall, as I wanted to make sure we would have pumpkin pie come Thanksgiving.  Because after all, what is Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?? 

Well, apparently the crops did not fare well this year, either.  When I heard that my friend on the east coast hasn't been able find canned pumpkin in any of her stores, I thought I'd better stock up now.  When we were at Wal-mart this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a few cans left on the shelf.   We bought 4 and left the rest for others who might be on the hunt (no reason to get greedy!).  I'm not sure if this year's shortage hasn't reached the Midwest yet, or if we just got lucky.  Regardless, this post is to torture my friend Rachel (check out her awesome post on baking a fresh pumpkin, in case you can't find any cans where you live).  :D  This picture is for you, Rachel:

Anyway, back to my shopping trip...  A funny thing happened as soon as I placed the cans in our cart.  Someone (not me) started craving pie.  So, we bought the rest of the necessary ingredients and last night, for the second time in my life, I baked a pumpkin pie.  We still have 3 cans left for Thanksgiving, so I think we'll be okay.  Unless another craving hits our household before then.

It's amazing to me how easy it is to bake a pumpkin pie - especially if you're using refrigerated pie crust!  Yes, I know.  I cheat.  But it's not like I haven't tried making my own crust!  Every time I do, without fail, it flops.  So I'll take all the help I can get.  I just followed the recipe on the can, and it turned out fabulous.  Close-up of the end result:

Funny little side story...  A couple years ago when our cat Luna was trying to starve herself to death (a story for another post), we were trying everything to entice her to eat and had heard that cats like pumpkin puree.  Although she wouldn't touch the stuff, it was quickly evident that our pumpkin-colored dog LOVES it!  As soon as I cracked open the can, my typically non-begging dog was almost immediately at my feet.  I was so surprised by this behavior, I offered to let him lick some off the spatula - something he typically won't do - and he devoured every last remnant of orange goodness!  He was outside last night when I was baking, but tonight when I cut into the pie he perked up immediately.  Sorry, Quincy.  No people-food for you!

Yep, it tastes as good as it looks!

-E