This newsletter contains 40% pumpkin 🎃

And 40% Fizzy Beverage. But, are the two mutually exclusive?

Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week we try to embrace the Autumnal Vibes while lamenting the loss of Lizard Weather. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate. 

Vegetarian Skillet Chili at home

Recipe from Melissa Clark via the NYT, but you don’t really need one

I am not really a beans girl, usually. I have this thing about beans, and bean chili in particular, which is if you think about beans too hard you start to realize chili is just a hot hummus and hummus is just a cold soup and how far is all of that from a smoothie or the red bean center of a mooncake, really? But even I am not immune to the crispy weather of the first day of Fall, so off to the grocery store it was, to make a feast of chili and cornbread. I have to say, this recipe made me reconsider my bean policy. There’s nothing special nor magical about this recipe; if you hit the paywall, you don’t really need it – just saute a red onion, three cloves of garlic, and add two cans of beans of your choice and one can of diced tomatoes. And I think that’s what’s so special about it, the simplicity. It makes me realize that beans can be a complete meal, as long as you add plenty of seasoning (I used chili powder, paprika, cumin and cinnamon). Bonus points for throwing in some baby spinach at the end.

Pumpkin cornbread or muffins at home

No recipe really needed, just a can of pumpkin.

Corn is such an underrated flavor – I honestly think both corn muffins and corn cookies (and possibly also corn ice cream!) are my favorite flavors of baked goods. I always forget about how lovely cornbread and corn muffins are. I know there’s many camps of cornbread recipes out there, but personally I like the sweeter, cakey kind, that’s plenty moist with crispy edges. To add a cheerful bright color and a tiny punch of nutrients, I replaced half of the water in a standard cornbread mix recipe (I used the Whole Foods brand one) with the same amount of canned pumpkin. The result is a bit denser and a lot more moist, which I personally prefer. No matter what style of cornbread is your jam – the sweet or the savory – I swear by my toasting method: Slice one thick slice of cornbread, and fry on both sides in a hot pan with a pat of butter, until crispy. Top with a scrape of butter, flaky sea salt, and a squizzle of honey.* Thank me later.

 * This is also a great way to reheat banana bread for breakfast!

Pumpkin spice draft latte

Currently sold out online, but I’ve seen them at Trader Joe’s.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit exactly how many of these pumpkin spice draft latte cans I have in my fridge right now. There is just something so satisfying about cracking open a can of coffee every morning. The best two drink textures are: Foamy and fizzy, and draft lattes are both. As a person obsessed with replicability and portability, La Colombe really got me, hook, line, and sinker. I love that my morning routine can be taken with me anywhere I go. I also genuinely believe this might be the best PSL I’ve ever had. It’s sweet and creamy while still being Not Too Sweet when you compare it with a Starbucks drink. It’s a pumpkin-forward PSL, which is good, because sometimes those drinks can start tasting like potpourri. I’m clearly not the only one, since they’re all sold out online.

Champis soda at BonBon Swedish Candy Store

​​130 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

BonBon is a delightful Swedish candy store in Williamsburg. Half of the store contains bins of authentic, extremely salty and possibly toxic-in-excess traditional black liquorice. The other half contains fun and tame chocolate-based sugary sweets, like Daim and other goodies. My personal favorite part, though, is the fridge in the back, as I am a thorough and thorough Beverage Girl. I love trying new drinks of all kinds. The sea buckthorn juice was an extremely astringent miss for me, but I loved the Champis soda. It might be one of the best sodas I’ve ever drunk– I am not sure what fruit flavor it’s supposed to be, but it really manages to taste Not Too Sweet, amongst like its namesake, champagne. If I could buy it in bulk for less than $4 a pop, I’d definitely stock up.

Orangina at the bodega

And wherever else it may be.

I feel like Orangina was the first Fancy Fizzy Beverage that made a mark in my little suburban psyche. I remember seeing the little citrus-shaped glass bottles at my cousin’s house and realizing that there was a whole world of Fun Drinks out there beyond the Dr. Pepper we would get at Burger King. As an adult with a paycheck I now allow myself to sample whatever $1-$3 beverage I want at the checkout line, so I’ve tried quite a few, from elusive Champis (above)to the very grown up Il Nostro Chinotto by Lurisa at Eataly. But Orangina still holds its own. While it does have a whopping 40 grams of sugar, and no longer comes in a glass bottle (afaik), it’s still very citrusy, delicious, and crisp, with not-too-big of a bubble.

Stay cozy,

Soph

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