Mashed Pumpkin

After trimming off the dead vines, the last two pumpkin plants went bonkers and filled the planter.  Unfortunately, all of their female flowers keep dying before blooming or fail to pollinate.  I won't give up hope until the vines die, but it looks like my pumpkin season is over just as Bradley and Cherry finally start to put out tomatoes.  That is so backward.  Oh well, time to start cooking up the rest of the pumpkins.

You can treat pumpkins similar to butternut squash in recipes, as I did here with a mashed pumpkin.  It's a way to serve up pumpkin as a fall treat, perhaps as a replacement for yams at Thanksgiving.  And the nutrition makes you feel less guilty about adding butter and sugar.

1 small sugar pie pumpkin (about 3 lbs)
salt
2 Tb butter
1/4 C brown sugar (or less, to taste)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 Tb milk

1.  Chop up pumpkin and scoop out middles.  Save seeds for roasting and discard strings.

2.  Place pieces in a large pot and fill with 1" of water.  You can even put the pumpkin in a steamer basket.  Salt the water lightly and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover pot, and steam until pumpkin is fully cooked, about half an hour.  Remove pumpkin and allow to cool slightly.

3.  Once you can handle the pieces, either pare off the skin or scoop out the flesh, whichever you think you're better at.  Place in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher.  You can use an electric beater, but it's going to make a mess.  Drain off any pooled liquid and add remaining ingredients.  Beat thoroughly and serve hot, maybe garnished with cinnamon.

Difficulty rating  :)