Pumpkin Cornucopia

That's it. Pumpkin products have "jumped the shark."
I mean, there was a time when pumpkin could be bought in just a few forms, the whole pumpkin for jack o lantern carving or the pre-made pie. Sure, you could get pumpkin in a can to make your own pie or pumpkin bread, but then somewhere along the line the products exploded.
I'll admit that a few weeks ago at Trader Joe's I did buy Grace some pumpkin spice coffee along with a box of pumpkin fruit and grain bars. I thought they were both rather exotic.
The next week, Earl and I sampled the pumpkin risotto. That was tasty too.
But when I went to Trader Joe's on Saturday, my senses exploded with pumpkin.

• Pumpkin cream cheese
• Pumpkin macarons
• Pumpkin and cranberry crisps
• Pumpkin Croissants
• Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin body butter (I wonder if you can eat it too?)
• Pita crisps with cranberries and pumpkin seeds
• Pumpkin biscotti
• Pumpkin butter (in a jar like peanut butter)
• Pumpkin chocolate mousse cake

The guy at the check out lane admitted they had about 16 new pumpkin products this week.
Yes, I did buy the pumpkin croissants, but only because Grace is home this weekend on mid-semester break.
I found a blog post where the writer taste tested many pumpkin products from Trader Joe's last year and graphed them according to most pumpkin-y to least pumpkin-y. You can find her blog at Serious Eats. This year, she would have even more products to sample.
I feel strongly that pumpkin has gone too far.
Gotten  too big for its britches, if you will.
It's like the former pep squad member who is suddenly crowned homecoming queen. This can only end in disappointment.
Meanwhile, the pumpkin croissants are rising on the stove and I'll let you know how those taste -- later.