Sweetened Pumpkin

Fall is in full swing, and that means more holidays (and more days off), colorful falling foliage and just a couple of months when sweet pumpkin treats are quite popular. These are all true on both sides of the Rio Grande. While pumpkin pie can be found in the more gringa-influenced stores (like Costco), the real deal here is dulce de calabaza (sweetened pumpkin, I guess, would be the translation), which is popular from the end of October through Christmas.

This sweet pumpkin treat is very cheap and simple with very few ingredients (and no rolling out dough). Besides the pumpkin, the recipe calls for little more than the typical holiday aromatics of fresh cinnamon and cloves. While the process is time-consuming, you can spend most of the time watching football (or futbol) on the couch. A cinnamon-spiced house, football games and pumpkins finding their 15 minutes of fame - now, isn't that what the autumn holidays are all about?

Ingredients

1 kg. Castillian pumpkin (although I think other pumpkins may work as well; this is what we have here)

2 fresh cinnamon sticks

3 cloves

2 cones of piloncillo (or 2 discs of panela....or 2 cups of brown sugar, if you're in a pinch)

water

Directions

1 - Cut the pumpkin into 2 inch pieces, and put them into a pot - everything goes in, including seeds and fibers.

2 - Break the piloncillo into 2 inch pieces, and put them into a pot.

3 - Add the cinnamon and cloves to the pot.

4 - Add just enough water to cover it all (the actual amount will depend on your pot).

5 - Allow the mixture to simmer over low heat for at least an hour, until the pumpkin becomes soft and the water and piloncillo become a thick syrup.

6 - Enjoy! (For a unique serving a la Jonatan, sprinkle some powdered milk on top.) And, of course, also munch on the candied pumpkin seeds!

(PS - You can do something similar with papaya and regular sugar and have a very popular Venezuelan Christmas treat.)