Food For Thought

It’s a wonderfully welcome feeling; the crisp air outside, the warm aromas inside – Autumn. It’s my favorite season, especially around this time of year when it begins to transition to winter. Not only are you left with the feelings from Thanksgiving and all that comes with it, but expectant of what’s to come in the next month. All leading up to that one day – Christmas – when everything culminates making it necessary to have a 6 day cool down period to the next hoorah, or year as some might call it.

It’s with these ideas in mind, that I bring this first recipe to my NaBloPoMo challenge arena – Pumpkin Bread. It seems simple enough, and it is, really. Just throw a few things into a bowl, including hearty *canned* pumpkin, and bake for an hour. I mass produced this recipe easily and made a loaf for every group in my family for Thanksgiving. I didn’t want them to have to hold out until Christmas to get some sort of baked goods. )

Pumpkin Bread – Makes 2 loaves
(Adapted from epicurious.com)

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 15oz can solid pack pumpkin (not pie filling)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. (I used PAM for baking; it works just as well and is a LOT easier and less messy)

Mix sugar and oil in a large bowl with a wire whisk until combined. Add the eggs and pumpkin and whisk until smooth and no lumps are present. Combine the rest of the ingredients in another large bowl. Add this dry mixture in 3-4 additions whisking each time to avoid lumps forming. Split batter equally between the two pans and bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool in the pans at least 30 minutes before removing. You can freeze the extra loaf or give it as a gift!