Pumped about pumpkins!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!  Bright, orange, happy pumpkins.

There are so many things you can do with pumpkins besides carve scary faces into them.  Plus they are tasty and healthy . . . low fat, low calorie and an excellent source of Beta Carotene, Fiber and Vitamins C. 

A quick and homey thing to do with pumpkin is make pumpkin bread.  It is a sweet, yummy bread that is evokes the flavors of pumpkin pie.  It’s delicious with butter or cream cheese . . . nom-dilly-icious.

What you need:

• 2 Cups Of Fresh Pumpkin OR One 16 Ounce Can Of Canned Pumpkin
• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Not Self-Rising Flour)
• 2 Tsp. Baking Soda
• 3 Cups Sugar
• 4 Eggs, Beaten
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 And 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 2 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 2 Tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts (Optional)
• Water:
• 1/2 Cup Water If You Are Using Fresh Cooked Pumpkin
• 2/3 Cup Water If You Are Using Commercial Canned Pumpkin

This recipe makes 2 loaves.

-Preheat oven to 350 F.

-In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and sugar

-Add the eggs, water, oil and pumpkin.

-Stir until blended.

-If desired, add the nuts.

-Mix well, either by hand or with a mixer.

-Pour into two lightly greased and floured 9x5" loaf pans.  I sprinkle the loaves with raw sugar for a glitter crunch on top.

-Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 F.

The test for doneness is the knife test: when a clean knife can be stuck in and removed cleanly.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly (10 minutes). Then take out of pans to let cool on a rack.

Pumpkin bread tastes better if you wrap it in plastic wrap (Saran wrap, cling film), refrigerate it and wait until the following day to eat it. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.