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 My Aunt Viola was a wonderful cook and baker.  She passed on years ago, and I still have relatives who rave about her pies, especially the crusts.  She was also “old school.”  To make jelly you need a substance called pectin.  You can get it from green apples, and that is what Viola used.  I don’t think she ever canned pasta sauce since my Uncle Marvin didn’t care for tomatoes, but if she had, it would have been with fresh and natural ingredients.

Me, not so much.  Last night I made a squash pie.  You just substitute squash for pumpkin in the recipe, and I like the delicate flavor.  Here’s what I did for the crust.  I went to the refrigerator, pulled a crust out of the Pillsbury ready-made crust box, and unrolled that sucker into the pie pan.

As for pectin, there’s something called “Sure Jell.”  A powder that comes in a small box, you add it to the fruit mixture along with sugar and a bit of butter to keep down the foam.  The heck with little green apples.  

For pasta sauce I use Mrs. Wages “Pasta Sauce” mix.  After you use a food processor to prepare the tomatoes, you stir in Mrs. Wages pre-mixed ingredients and a bit of sugar and follow the directions on boiling time.  It might not be Ragu, but it uses up our tomatoes, and it is quite tasty.

I’m pretty sure Aunt Viola would roll her eyes.