Pumpkin time!

After Halloween last year I was traveling to Kansas City for a memorial service. I stopped for gas in Olathe and noticed a pumpkin stand next to the gas station. There was a sign that indicated the pumpkins were free! I stuck 5 of them in the van and went on my way. When I got home the next day I surprised the little ones with a pumpkin of their own.

We decided to try to cook them and make some pumpkin treats of some sort. The best thing we made was pumpkin butter. I don't care what all the recipes say, a large carving type makes fine pumpkin butter.

I was hoping to find some pumpkins on sale this morning, but was surprised to find nothing left! Sure, they have the little pie pumpkins at the grocery store, but they are $0.78 per pound. Unreal!

Since we carved our jack-o-lanterns at the last minute yesterday, I thought I might still be able to use them. Since I delegated the cleaning and carving to my hubby, he naturally delegated the cleaning to the kids. They did a pretty poor job of cleaning them out. That's OK, though, because I was able to peel the outside and the inside and get a nice pot of pumpkin cookin'.

This pot is overflowing with one large and one small pumpkin. I add a little water and cook it to death. When all the chunks are soft I blend with a hand blender. Then I add 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp. allspice, 1 tsp. ground cloves and a couple of cups of sugar. It is almost midnight and the pumpkin butter is still cooking. I'm leave it on warm all night long and it will be reduced in the morning. I'll taste it then to see if it needs more sugar then let it cool. Some will go in the fridge in a plastic container and the rest will go in the freezer in freezer bags. Yum, enough for the rest of the year, I hope.