I RECENTLY FOUND A PUMPKIN BREAD recipe offered by Martha Stewart. I wanted to make it because it was mid-winter and I was simply in the mood for a delicious pan bread. I began daydreaming, imagining that I would enjoy it with morning coffee or as an after-dinner dessert. I visualized whipped cream or perhaps a dollop of old-fashioned hard sauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of a generous slice. Sugar laden toppings are clearly to be avoided, but I often overrule my thoughts, so hang with me.
I’ll bet I hadn’t made a pumpkin bread in over ten years. I’m also confident that it was a newer recipe because I hadn’t followed Martha Stewart until after she had served time in federal prison. I began liking her much better after her travesty with our judicial system. This publicity drew me to her, discovering she is a clearly a survivor. I have found her recipes are usually “spot on,” and now believe she stands shoulder to shoulder next to my favorite TV chef, Ina Garten.
To be perfectly honest, my motivation in making the pumpkin bread was to savor the aroma that will begin to waft in the kitchen halfway through its bake. This is when the spices reveal themselves offering a sensory experience that I so fully appreciate. The aroma that cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg deliver to my olfactory neurons is unquestionably the major factor in my creative pursuits in my kitchen this day. I need that sensory kick.
Anticipation fills the air comparable to that feeling as a child on Christmas morning waiting for the family room doors to open to see the fir tree surrounded by presents.
Examining the warm pumpkin bread taken from the oven continues this heavenly experience. Now that I have you fully hooked here is the recipe:
Bob’s Great Pumpkin Bread Recipe
1 can of Libby’s 15 oz. pumpkin. Opened.
1 cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of apple sauce or a pear or apple chopped
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour, I mix half all-purpose and half whole wheat
½ cup walnuts
½ cup raisins
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon and ginger
½ tsp nutmeg and ground clove
Blend all dry ingredients and gradually incorporate them into the wet mix. Pour the batter into to two greased and floured bread pans. Bake about 50-60 minutes in a 350 F oven until done.