Fall leaves & pumpkin wine making

Today was the day of a Mad Hatter Tea party at our local library. It was also an afternoon set aside just for Panda and I -together. When her tea party was over, we went for a wonderful walk along the river to see the waterfall and collect leaves for our annual Fall wreath project. What a beautiful trail it turned out to be! The leaves were everywhere and the colors! oh such wonderous colors covering the pathway like a carpet! It gave such a magical feel in the air. The crunching of fall under our feet and the earthy scent that filled our noses, was so invigorating! After Panda just had to touch the water- I really wonder sometimes about my little earth child- we rushed back to the truck and stopped off to get some hot cocoa for her and some delicious coffee for me. Next stop was back to the pumpkin farm to pick up some for more pies and a batch of wine. Now this is not a wine you can drink now like the apple. No, this my friends will have to sit in your "wine cellar" to age at least 8 months. Which makes it a perfect drink for next years Samhain! So here is the recipe I started this evening which was recomended by the local "wine making librarian" and is excerpted from "The perfect pumpkin" by Gail Damerow. The more pumpkin you use, the heavier bodied will be your wine.
-----------------------------------Happy Pumpkin Wine--------------------------

15-25 pounds raw pumpkin, grated
4 1/2 gallons water
juice of 3 large lemons
1 packet of wine yeast
Sugar or honey in one of these amounts: 7 pounds (lbs) for dry wine- 10 lbs for a normal wine- 12 lbs for a sweet wine
1. Boil the grated pumpkin in the water for 20 minutes. Cool & strain into fermenter through several layers of cheesecloth.
2. Add the sugar or honey in your desired quantities. stir in until it dissolves. Add the lemon juice.
3.Cool to 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). Add the wine yeast.
4. After fermention stops, rack the wine into a carboy and set aside until the sediment settles to the bottom and the wine clears~ about 3 months.
5.Siphon the wine into sterilized wine bottles, taking care not to stir up the sediment. Youll get a perfectly smooth drink if you leave behind a few inches of wine above the sediment. Cork the bottles and keep upright. Store in a cool, dark closet or a cellar for AT LEAST 8 months.
This will yeild 5 gallons of wine
I look forward to trying so many of our homemade wines this upcoming year. This one may sound not as yummy like mulberry or apple, but that is where you must go beyond the norm and walk the trail less used.
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1 cup of pumpkin contains 50 calories no cholesterol or fat but as much fiber as most breakfast cereals. *The leaves of pumpkin, crushed and rubbed on livestock, repel flies - according to the perfect pumpkin book.* Pumpkins are amazing and highly overlooked on their benefits to us and animals. I have found that my 2 girls (Cleo & Chia) go crazy over pumpkin! Thankfully to Mr. Local Farmer Man, My girls have half of The captains truck bed full of those treats and other squash such as many more Buttercups. I need to go clear some room in the cellar now...
Sweet dreams...
Tammie