Journey of a Pumpkin

So once a long neck pumpkin was born (well, probably sprouted, then budded, then bloomed, then grew). That pumpkin was very large and he found his way to a road side "fall decoration" stand. I pulled over and for $4, he was all mine. I bought him, a mum, a medium sized Jack O Lantern pumpkin and a bunch of gourds to decorade the alter of my church for the harvest season. A few weeks went by and because I was horrible at remembering to water the mum that it nearly died, I took all the decorations home (I tried to do mum CPR but she just didn't pull through). Then the decorations made a journey to Adam's house to grace his stoop. Last weekend I decided I wanted to make a few pumpkin rolls so the long neck traveled back to New Bloomfield where last night I chopped it up, peeled it and cooked it down in preparation for the pumpkin roll. Here are some pictures:

Here is the long neck outside of my parents house, enjoying the simple life of being a fall decoration.

But then I snatched it up, took it inside and began cutting it up. I had the strength to chop through the tough skin knowing that in just a few days, I'll be enjoying some delicious pumpkin roll!

Here are all the peeled pumpkin chunks. I put them in a large pot with a cup of water and let them simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the pumpkin was soft, I took it off the heat, drained it and mushed the pumpkin with the back of the spoon.

The next step is to put it in a food processor to make the pumpkin into a smooth puree. But because it was already past my bedtime, I just put it in the refrigerator as is and I'll puree it right before I make the pumpkin roll.

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I only cooked half of the long neck so I am guessing my mom will prepare the other half and save it for pumpkin pie and other pumpkin-related treats.

Cooking down pumpkin is sooo easy and much more cost effective than buying canned puree. I know I'll resort back to canned simply for convenience purposes, I hope to use fresh pumpkin as much as I can.

I hope to make the pumpkin rolls on Sunday. Stay tuned for photos!

So this long neck pumpkin has seen many places - and will see more before his life is over. He was a good pumpkin and has so far, served me well.

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