Ree Drummond Is Weak For Pumpkins Like The Rest Of Us

Unless you have a ranch, a successful cooking program on television, five kids, a bunch of dogs, countless cows, and a husband you refer to by his cigarette-ad-campaign nickname, you might not feel you have much in common with Ree Drummond.

The Pioneer Woman has nevertheless made a career out of being relatable, as she whips up classic, country, and comfort foods from a kitchen that is probably just like yours, only with more TV cameras. Forbes says that Drummond began blogging in 2006, and it didn't take long for her to connect with an audience; by 2009, "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman," as her site was then called, made Time's list of "the top 25 blogs" on the planet.

Was it Drummond's slick sense of style that did it? Her way with words? The mouthwatering recipes that only a city girl, plopped on a farm, with kids to raise and cattle to herd, could possibly create? Or was it something else that made Drummond feel like the rancher next door? Something that maybe rhymes with "bumpkin"? That's right. Drummond is a pumpkin head, just like the rest of the world. Stars! They're just like us!

If you need proof of The Pioneer Woman's love of pumpkins, you needn't look far. Drummond's website is ripe with recipes that center the voluptuous gourd — from soup to smoothies. "I'm so excited. As in: Ecstatic," she writes of pumpkin season. The squashy superheroes are high in vitamins C and E, says BBC Food, and their levels of beta-carotene make them great for skin health, too. But it's not just the nutritional value that makes pumpkins so appealing to cooks like Drummond. "I love the flavor and texture of pumpkin," she says on her website. "I love pumpkin breads, muffins, pancake, sheet cake ... I even love the flavor and texture of pumpkin puree."

And these versatile squashes can skew sweet or savory, as evidenced by Drummond's recipes for pumpkin cream pie, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin spice muffins. The Pioneer Woman told Taste of Home that one of her favorite baked goods was a pumpkin scone. And Food Network's video of Drummond's pumpkin cinnamon rolls has over 180 thousand views. But no matter which way you slice the pumpkin, you'll get no complaints from Drummond. In her pumpkin soup recipe, she explains that you really can't go wrong with the seasonal favorite: "Pumpkin flavor? Fugghetaboutit. It'll rock your world in the most wonderful way."