Peanut and Pumpkin Butter Sandwiches, oh my!

Autumn can't roll around without me thinking, among other things, of that evocative line from a James Taylor tune: "the frost is on the pumpkin . . .."

What a symbol of all the glorious changes---from the spectacular to the sublime---underway in this great, big world as the cycle of life and death shows itself in the falling of the leaves and the sleeping of the trees and grasses.

But I know that, just under that ugly looking die-back, under the--ahem!--"garden refuse" to be gathered and swept and plopped in huge trash cans, there are busy networks of roots and bulbs and tubers all searching and pushing and growing and readying for another splashy display come Spring.

It's nice to have your menu change with the seasons as well. Like putting away the t-shirts and pulling out the sweaters, here at the Pepper household we enjoy letting hold of summer fare and spooning up the hearty, savory autumn flavors.

Food traditions, I think, should be for more than Thanksgiving, Christmas or whatever other major holidays you celebrate.

Even small food traditions---no, especially small food traditions---add a warmth to life and family that is one more layer of good.

For example, come Fall, one of the things the Peppers love to eat around my grandma's table---and every other wonderful venue we happen upon (that lovely, somewhat lonely and dramatic stretch along the Chesapeake Bay, for example)---is Peanut and Pumpkin Butter sandwiches.

We happened upon them completely by accident. I don't know about you, but I'd never heard of people eating such a thing before. It was just one of those days in the kitchen---the crush to quickly find something to feed Jipper and Finkie (the usually ravenous Pepper boys).

We'd just been at a local Fall Festival and, as usual, I hadn't been able to resist the urge to buy at least something at the local fare stands.

I wasn't quite sure the boys would like Pumpkin Butter, but there you have it. And then came that magical moment when the Pumpkin Butter, deep orange and flecked with tantalizing spice, made its way opposite the pedestrian favorite, Extra Chunky Peanut Butter, and--to be cheesy about it [[drumroll, please]]--a star was born!

Since then Peanut and Pumpkin Butter sandwiches have been one of our Fall favorites. Try it for a simple picnic out under the brilliant Autumn skies, maybe with a few Red Maple leaves falling and a nudgy wind out of the Nor-east to accompany your meal.

Even if you think you don't like Pumpkin Butter, I promise you this is a promising combination that is one of those synergies that is well beyond the separate tastes.

Go ahead, be adventurous!

Oh, and one last tip. To make your Peanut and Pumpkin Butter sandwich really grand, do something special to acquire that little jar of pumpkin goodness. A local festival, the farmer's pumpkin patch--attach a wonderful memory to it and it will taste even better!

We usually meet up with our Pumpkin Butter at a fall festival, but this year we connected with our little jar of yumminess at a farmer's market in Grandy, N.C. Yes, "Grandy's Pumpkin Patch Butter" is our font of sandwich goodness this year. We've yet to have our first sandwich (having just gotten the butter yesterday), but I'll be sure to let you know what we all think of it as we're sitting around . . . my grandma's table.

** The photo was taken from a moving car in Wainscott, N.Y. by wvs.topleftpixel.com.