Saga of the 37 Pumpkins - Installment No. 21 - Easy Pumpkin Butter

Patch watched as the man was carried away. His voice grew fainter and fainter. His cries were replaced by the sound of something heavy striking against something. Then there was a little cracking noise and the sound of the heavy thing coming down on a hard surface. Then Patch no longer heard anything.

Patch was getting sleepy after moving around for so long. At his old home, no one moved around very much, so he was unaccustomed to doing it.

 Just as he was drifting off to sleep, Patch was startled by the sound of pumpkins singing. It seemed that singing was very popular lately. The noise of their repetitive song grew nearer by the second.

A group of pumpkins- it could have been ten or perhaps more- was swiftly coming nearer. They were all carrying strange things. Some used their stalks to clutch pieces of dust. Others had torn bits of the rough, strangely-colored grass from the ground and propped them upon their heads like tiny stalks.

"Hey Patch! What are you doing here?" one of the pumpkins stopped singing and called out to Patch.

"I'm just taking a little walk. What are you doing?"

The pumpkin wrapped her stalk around Patch's. "We are making a pilgrimage to the sacred patch, Kitchen, where we hope to ascend into the realm of Counter where we may be of service to the Keepers," she laughed, "You look so frightened. You won't be afraid once you have evolved, my friend."

Patch sighed. "I keep hearing about this evolving stuff. What is it?"

"Oh, how can you describe it? Mary, can you describe it?"

Mary scooted forward.

"When you're evolved, you're a step closer to being a part of the keepers. It's just a part of the process. We become as much like the keepers as possible, then we cross over, and we become a part of them. After that, we become them."

"Mary!" the other pumpkin squealed and scooted nearer to her friend, "I hate to interrupt you, but I think you're about to take the next step!"

Then there were 15...

For the complete Saga archives, click here.

Easy Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. 

Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the butter.

This butter is good on toast, particularly with cream cheese.

Enjoy!

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TIP: Pureed pumpkin and squash should not be preserved by canning. Refrigerate and use pumpkin butter promptly or freeze for future use.


Product Recommendation: These Ball Plastic Jars are 100% BPA free and are an ideal way to freeze your pumpkin butter. They are durable, transparent, and stackable. For years our family has stored homemade jams and jellies in these containers.