It is dreadful….absolutely dreadful. Have you been watching the news? It is absolutely scandalous. I just can’t believe that they had the audacity to do such a thing.

Oh wait, you have no clue what I’m talking about. I’m talking about some headline news I saw about 2 weeks ago that has put me into such shock that I’ve barely had the good sense to write anything. (My faithful readers are now saying “Does she ever have any sense?”)

The news I’m talking about is that a major coffee chain is now serving their famous pumpkin spice flavored espresso drinks NOW in September!!!! Eeeeek!

Apparently, pumpkin spice has become as American as apple pie. (Here is where I want to insert a snarky comment that apples are in season and pumpkins are not so I guess that is why this is newsworthy.)

I don’t get it. I’m not on the pumpkin spice bandwagon and have a hard time understanding the big attraction and all the hype. I know I’ve eaten things with pumpkin spice and yes it is tasty but do I want to binge on it for a few months….not really.

It isn’t just the coffee shops that are pushing this treat early….pumpkin spice is EVERYWHERE!!! I went to the grocery store and there were crackers, cereals and cookies. There were muffins, milk and malt balls. And if that weren’t enough there was pumpkin spice yogurt, yellow cake and VODKA!!! (Sorry I couldn’t keep the alliteration up because I had to include the vodka!)

It is like everyone is on this fall flavor bandwagon. The only thing I didn’t see on the market was a pumpkin salad dressing. How do I know this? I was actually looking for one.

Now before you call me a big ol’ hypocrite, let me explain. We were going to a Labor Day gathering and they (my in-laws) were going to serve a turkey. I was like “Who the hell has turkey on Labor Day?” I just thought it was weird and really the last thing I wanted to eat on a warm September day.

First pumpkin spice is everywhere too early and now I have to eat a Thanksgiving diner in September. It was just too much for me to handle!  Stop the world, I want to get off!!!

I started to call the day LaborDayGiving to the dismay of all who were attending. I was told there wasn’t going to be ANY other Thanksgiving fare. So being the amicable daughter in law that I am, I said I would bring a salad….a passive aggressive seasonal salad filled with things you eat at Thanksgiving.

The salad came together pretty easily I layered fresh baby spinach, a basic baby greens mix, roasted sweet potato chunks, dried fruit (like cranberries), nuts, apples, fresh corn and topped it with those fried onion thingys that you put on a green bean casserole. It was like a salad cornucopia of Fall’s best flavors and I knew it would go with turkey.

After making the salad, I couldn’t decide on what dressing would taste best so I made two. The first was a basic apple cider vinegar dressing made with 1/3 cup olive oil,  2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice,  1 tsp dijon mustard and a dash of thyme. (It was really good.)

But the other dressing was where I got a little crazy and made a pumpkin spice salad dressing. I made it kind of as a joke (or jab….it is all how you look at things). I took my dressing container and just kept adding stuff and tasting it.  (Sort of like how a little kid develops a recipe.)

To my surprise, it came together beautifully and was DELICIOUS on my salad. (The only bad thing is I didn’t take a picture of the dressing, I only took one of the salad.)

It wasn’t too heavy and it was probably the most perfect LaborDayGiving salad dressing ever made.

*In defense to my snarkiness, our meal DID have quite a few Thanksgiving staples INCLUDING turkey plates!!! Does this mean at Thanksgiving I need to make Super Bowl snacks? I can’t keep up with this madness of rushing things!!!

Pumpkin Spice Salad Dressing
Author: Felt Like a Foodie
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2-3 Tbsp Maple syrup (warm it up a little)
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup good olive oil
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • Maybe a Tablespoon of water
Instructions
  1. In a large jar, shake all ingredients (start with only 2 Tbsp of maple syrup and don’t add the water). Shake until it is all combined.
  2. Take a taste.
  3. If it is too thick, add a little water.
  4. If you need it sweeter, add a little more maple syrup.
  5. I added extra cinnamon because my husband’s family is crazy for cinnamon.
  6. Serve with your favorite passive-aggressive fall salad.