The Saga of the 37 Pumpkins- Installment 11- Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Patch was healing.

 He found himself relatively unconcerned with the inevitable: that he would become pumpkin pie or pumpkin pudding or pumpkin butter. Instead of fretting with everyone else, Patch spent most of his time reminiscing about his infancy in the pumpkin patch. His parents had told him many stories about the sunshine and the cool water there. Patch had faint memories of sitting beneath a big leaf, straining his stalk towards the shimmering droplets that splattered on the leaves overhead, but seldom touched him. His parents said that he had drunk water and that he had felt the warmth of sunshine upon his rind, and that he just didn't remember it. No wonder I'm a runt, he thought, and turned around because he noticed a screeching noise.

It appeared that Cucurbita and a member of the club were in the middle of a spat. Patch lingered where Cucurbita and the women could not see him.

"You made that happen, didn't you?"

"No, you old lady. I didn't do anything."

"Then who did?"

"Who made you so stupid?"

"How rude! I can't believe that you got this old without learning any manners! You deserve to be locked up in a tomato cage!"

"You belong in a tomato cage! And oh, it looks like you're going to the chopping block now! Bye bye!"

Patch lunged forward and, not entirely sure why, leaped onto the back of the woman. She was being swept away by big, smooth, white vines, with tendrils that wrapped around her body and immobilized her.

Patch stayed and watched what happened next, horrified and yet mesmerized. First, incisions were made on either side of her body. The incisions connected, thereby cleaving her body into two pieces. The woman's innards were scraped from each moiety before her rind and flesh was sliced into chunks. Finally, the chunks were dropped into a vat. Patch slid off of the baker's rack and began sliding across the floor, not sure in which direction home was.

And then there were 25...

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Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients: 

• 6 cups stale bread, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 3 eggs
• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine bread cubes and pecans in a large bowl and set aside. 

Whisk eggs, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar until fully combined. 

Pour the egg and condensed milk mixture over the bread cubes. Combine thoroughly, using your hands to break up the chunks of bread. 

To this mixture, add cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir well.

Add the milk, pineapple juice, melted butter and vanilla. Stir until ingredients are fully incorporated. 

Pour into a greased 11" x 13" baking dish.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. 

This pumpkin bread pudding is delicious served warm, or cold from the refrigerator. If desired, top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!